Is Otio worth it in 2026?
Upload caps, storage, and research volume on Free, Lite, Go, and Pro, and where the no-limits line differs from the plan grid.
The quick answer
Otio is worth a paid plan when you will outgrow the free storage cap and you want several AI models on one library. Lite is listed at $84 billed annually, equivalent to $7 a month on that billing period. Check the monthly option at checkout. The catch is that the pricing page says there are no file upload limits while the plan grid caps uploads and storage on every plan, and it never prints a research-run count. For a published source cap per notebook, Gemini Notebook is the clearer alternative.
Otio is worth paying for when the free storage cap is what stops the work, and a poor buy if you came for unlimited uploads. Otio’s pricing page, read on 30 October 2026, lists Lite at $84 billed annually, shown as $7 a month on annual billing. With monthly billing selected, the same page displays Lite at $7/month. Checkout requires sign-in, so the final charge and currency were not confirmed. The same page says there are no file upload limits. The plan grid underneath does not.
Otio, from Frontdoor Labs Ltd in London, is a workspace for questions across PDFs, web pages, YouTube, podcasts, audio, spreadsheets, and notes, with citations to a page or a timestamp. The page lists ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Llama, DeepSeek, and Moonshot, plus an Auto router, on every plan, including Free.
The caps below come from that pricing page, the terms, the privacy policy, and the refund policy. This is not a hands-on test.
Otio upload and research limits, read 30 October 2026
The pricing page stamps itself Last Updated July 7, 2026. Annual amounts are the lines marked billed annually; the monthly option is listed separately in the pricing section. Checkout was not accessible without signing in. The Free card also lists a file count and a per-file size.
| Plan | Price | Uploads | Storage | PDF length | Research volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10/day in the grid | 50MB | Basic, no page count | Limited monthly use, no run count |
| Lite | $84/yr ($7/mo annual equivalent) | 50/day | 250MB in the grid | 500 pages | No multiplier on the card |
| Go | $216/yr ($18/mo annual equivalent) | 250/day | 500MB | 1000 pages | 3× chats and research claimed; base not stated |
| Pro | $540/yr ($45/mo annual equivalent) | 500/day | 1GB | 2,000 pages | 10× chats and research claimed; base not stated |
What you get
- ✓Models on Free: the grid checks every listed model, Deep Research, and page-level citations on the free plan.
- ✓No counted library cap: the source-count row is checked on every plan, which is a different rule from storage.
- ✓A low paid entry: Lite is the first paid card, and the first with the reader, desktop Zotero and Mendeley, and multi-step workflows.
- ✓Training opt-in: the May 2026 privacy policy says inputs and outputs are not used to train models unless you opt in.
The trade-offs
- ✕The no-limits line is not the grid: every plan has a daily upload cap, a storage cap, and a PDF-length label.
- ✕Free’s different limits interact: the per-file maximum does not override the total storage allowance, and the grid separately lists uploads per day.
- ✕No research-run number: the paid multipliers have no base count of chats or Deep Research runs.
- ✕Final billing is unclear: the monthly and annual cards imply different savings by tier; verify the final charge, currency and any team quote.
- ✕Cancellation stops renewal: a refund of the current period is not automatic, and terms say payment is processed in GBP unless otherwise specified.
Worth it if…
- →A solo researcher who will outgrow the free storage cap and can live inside Lite’s or Go’s storage line in the grid.
- →Someone who wants desktop Zotero or Mendeley and several model families on one library.
- →A reader who will export notes before cancelling, because storage after the plan ends is not promised.
Skip it if…
- →You need a source count per notebook that a vendor page states in numbers. Gemini Notebook publishes that count.
- →You are screening thousands of papers rather than chatting with files you already hold. Elicit is built for that.
- →You need a 5-seat or 20-seat price before you buy. The public cards do not provide one.
- →You need a guaranteed refund of the annual charge. The policy describes limited circumstances and applicable rights.
Where the file limits actually sit
The headline says every model, no limits, on every plan, and a later block says there are no file upload limits and no source caps. The grid then prints a daily upload cap, a storage cap, and a PDF length for every plan. A separate row, no cap on library or source count, is checked on all four, which is not the same as unlimited uploads. You can add sources without a counted library limit, and you still hit storage.
Free’s card says up to 10 files, 25MB per file, and 50MB total, with one space and two parallel chats. The grid says 10 uploads a day and the same storage total, and it calls PDF length only Basic. The per-file limit is a ceiling, not a promise that ten files can each reach that size: the 50MB total also applies. Paid cards raise the daily count, the PDF page length, and the number of spaces and parallel chats. Lite’s card never states storage. The grid does. Whether storage or the daily limit binds first depends on file sizes.
What research volume you can actually buy
The page never prints a count of chats, Deep Research runs, or credits. Free’s card says limited monthly AI usage. Go’s card says 3× more chats, research, and uploads, and Pro’s says 10× more, without stating a base for chats. Its upload table instead lists 250 per day for Go and 50 for Lite. Lite’s card prints no multiplier, and the usage row is less even than the upload row. Deep Research is checked on Free. Multi-step research workflows are checked only from Lite upward.
What the dollar lines do, and do not, mean
Each paid card displays an annual amount and a monthly equivalent for annual billing. Go is shown at $216 per year and Pro at $540 per year. Selecting monthly billing on that page displays Lite at $7/month, Go at $36/month, and Pro at $90/month. The yearly switch advertises a 50% saving. That matches the displayed Go and Pro yearly totals, but Lite’s $84 annual total equals twelve $7 payments. Checkout requires signing in and was not verified; confirm the final amount, currency, and saving before paying.
The terms, last updated May 2026, say payments are processed in GBP unless otherwise specified, before tax. The cards print dollars. A 5-seat or 20-seat team cannot be priced here. The terms put seat prices in checkout or an order form.
What Free leaves out besides storage
The highlight-in-source reader is off on Free, which matches the card’s basic PDF viewer. So are delivery to email, Drive, and Telegram, desktop Zotero and Mendeley, and listening or recording. Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive stay on. Zotero, the fuller reader, or multi-step workflows are what move you to Lite.
Privacy, training, and what cancel actually does
The privacy policy, last updated May 2026, says Otio does not use inputs or outputs to train its models or third-party models unless you opt in or another written agreement applies. Do not upload special-category data, health data, payment cards, or confidential files unless you already have the right.
The pricing footer says cancel anytime from Settings, Billing. The terms say that stops the next renewal and does not automatically refund the current period, including an annual fee; the refund policy and legal rights can apply. Deleting the app does not cancel. The refund policy allows a support call within 7 days for a mistaken signup or a major fault. Free, inactive, or cancelled plans may have materials deleted, so export first.
How the caps compare with Gemini Notebook and Elicit
Google’s Gemini Notebook plans page, read the same day, lists 100 notebooks per user and 50 sources per notebook on Standard, then 100, 300, 500, and 600 sources on Plus, Pro, and the two Ultra plans. Otio’s pricing page still says NotebookLM. It checks an uncapped library count, then caps storage.
Elicit’s pricing page, read the same day, still shows a free Basic plan for searching papers, plus paid seats for screening large sets. That is a different job from a library of your own uploads. Our Elicit review walks through the product. Confirm the seat price on Elicit’s page. Perplexity fits when the sources are on the open web, which our Perplexity Pro review covers.
Academy library: the NotebookLM source pack has 30 prompts for comparing and citing uploads, and the ChatGPT research pack has 36, counted on 30 October 2026. Use the NotebookLM source prompts when the notebook already holds the files, and the ChatGPT research prompts when you are still shaping the question.
The verdict
Pay when the free storage cap is the blocker and the daily upload numbers fit how you add sources. Lite is the smallest paid total on the page. Go and Pro buy more storage and a higher daily count, not a published number of research runs.
Skip the paid plans if the headline about unlimited uploads is why you were ready to pay. The grid is the offer. A hard cap on sources inside a notebook is Gemini Notebook’s published number. A team invoice is not named on Otio’s public page.
Better alternatives?
If it is not the right fit, these are worth a look.
Gemini Notebook
Google’s source notebook, still called NotebookLM on Otio’s pricing page. Standard publishes a per-notebook source cap.
Elicit
Paper search and screening, with a free Basic plan. Confirm the current seat price on Elicit’s page.
Perplexity Pro
Cited answers from the live web, for research that does not start from your own uploads.
ChatGPT
Otio says ChatGPT caps files per day. Confirm the current cap on OpenAI’s help.
Frequently asked questions
Does Otio limit file uploads?▾
The plan grid does. Free is 10 uploads a day and 50MB, Lite is 50 a day and 250MB, Go is 250 a day and 500MB, and Pro is 500 a day and 1GB. A separate row says the library has no source-count cap. The Free card also says 25MB per file. The 25MB per-file maximum is still subject to the 50MB total storage limit.
How much is Otio for a year?▾
The cards show annual billing of $84 for Lite, $216 for Go, and $540 for Pro. With monthly billing selected they display $7, $36, and $90 per month respectively. Go and Pro annual totals are half twelve such monthly payments, while Lite’s $84 equals twelve $7 payments. Checkout requires sign-in and was not verified. The terms say payment is processed in GBP unless otherwise specified; confirm the final currency and charge before paying.
Is Deep Research included on the free plan?▾
The grid checks Deep Research on Free as well as on the paid plans. It does not check multi-step research workflows on Free. Free’s card calls the allowance limited monthly AI usage and does not say how many runs that is. Go and Pro describe the allowance only as 3× more and 10× more, with no base count.
Can I cancel Otio and get the annual fee back?▾
Cancellation in the portal, in settings, or by email to support stops the next renewal. The terms say the current period is not automatically refunded; the refund policy and legal rights can apply. For a mistaken signup or a major fault, email [email protected] within 7 days to start a support call. Deleting the app does not cancel. App-store plans are cancelled in the store.
Does Otio train models on uploaded files?▾
The privacy policy, last updated May 2026, says inputs and outputs are not used to train Otio’s models or third-party models unless you opt in or another written agreement applies. It also says not to upload sensitive or confidential files unless you have the right. Free or inactive accounts, and cancelled paid plans, may have materials deleted. Export before you rely on the library staying put.