Fathom vs Otter.ai
Fathom is aI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes video calls. Otter.ai is aI notetaker that transcribes, summarizes and searches meeting conversations. Here is how they compare on price, free plan, platforms and the jobs each does best, from each vendor's own pages.
| Fathom | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes video calls | AI notetaker that transcribes, summarizes and searches meeting conversations |
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $16/user/mo billed annually (Premium) | $8.33/user/mo billed annually (Pro) |
| Free trial | None stated | None stated |
| Platforms | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, API | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Chrome extension, API |
| Integrations (vendor's figure) | Not stated | Not stated |
| Open source | No | No |
| Made by | Fathom (part of Superhuman) | Otter.ai Inc |
Choose Fathom if…
- The job is recording client or sales calls without taking manual notes.
- The job is sending call summaries and action items to a CRM such as HubSpot or Salesforce.
Choose Otter.ai if…
- Price matters: its cheapest paid plan is $8.33/user/mo against $16/user/mo.
- The job is keeping searchable transcripts and summaries of recurring team meetings.
- The job is recording and transcribing in-person conversations with the mobile app.
Still weighing it up?
If neither is quite right, Fathom and Otter.ai are also compared with their other rivals: Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai and Granola vs Fathom.
What Fathom does
- Unlimited call recording and transcription, including on the free plan
- AI summaries of Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls
- Choice of meeting bot or bot-free capture (beta, Mac)
- Ask Fathom questions about one call or across calls
- CRM field sync and AI scorecards on the Business plan
- Slack, Claude and ChatGPT integrations, plus a public API and MCP
Watch out for
- Free plan does not include advanced summaries, AI action items or AI follow-up emails
- Ask Fathom is marked 'limited use' on the free plan
- Team plan requires at least 2 users
What Otter.ai does
- Live transcription with speaker identification
- AI summaries with decisions and action items
- AI Chat across meetings and connected apps
- Joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet calls
- Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier integrations on paid plans
- Channels for sharing meeting notes with a team
Watch out for
- Free Basic plan caps transcription at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation
- Free plan shows only the 25 most recent conversations
- Otter API and webhooks are listed only on the Enterprise plan
Questions
Is Fathom or Otter.ai cheaper?
On published entry prices, Otter.ai is cheaper: $16/user/mo billed annually (Premium) for Fathom against $8.33/user/mo billed annually (Pro) for Otter.ai. What each plan includes differs, so compare the limits too.
Do Fathom and Otter.ai have free plans?
Both do. Fathom: Free forever: unlimited recordings, transcription, storage, downloads and clips, plus automated AI summaries. Ask Fathom is marked 'limited use'; advanced summaries, AI action items and AI follow-up emails are not included. Otter.ai: Basic plan: 300 transcription minutes per month, up to 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime audio/video file imports, 20 AI Chat queries per user (3 per conversation), 1 meeting at a time, and access to the 25 most recent conversations.