A Fathom alternative that records without joining the call

Why people look for a Fathom alternative

Fathom is one of the most popular free AI note takers, so people rarely leave because of price. The usual reasons are:

• The notetaker joins the meeting. Fathom normally records by joining as a participant. Its bot-free option is a beta for Mac as of October 2026, so Windows users still have a bot.
• Meetings outside the big three. Fathom is built for video meeting platforms. People who also have Webex calls, Slack huddles or calls on other apps want one recorder for everything.
• Cloud storage. Recordings and transcripts live in Fathom's cloud. Some people want sensitive conversations to stay on their own computer.
• Knowing who is speaking. In calls where several people share one room or one device, names from the meeting platform are not enough to tell voices apart.

Fathom in brief: a fair summary

Fathom is an AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes your video meetings. Its free plan for individuals is generous, with unlimited recordings and transcriptions and instant AI summaries. Paid plans add team features, a custom meeting bot, CRM sync and admin controls.

Fathom is quick to set up, its summaries arrive right after the call, and it is easy to share clips with teammates. If you mostly meet on Zoom, Meet or Teams and do not mind a bot, it is an excellent free choice.

So the question is rarely "which is cheaper." It is whether you want a cloud service that joins your calls and shares easily with a team, or a private recorder on your own computer that works with every app.

Hark vs Fathom at a glance

Fathom details from fathom.ai/pricing, checked October 2026.

How Hark is different

It records your computer, so it works everywhere

Hark records your microphone and your computer's audio as separate tracks. That means Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex, Slack huddles and phone calls through your laptop all work the same way, with no participant joining. A caveat for Mac users: Hark records the microphone only on macOS for now, so the other side is captured only through your speakers. On Windows and Linux it records both sides.

Private, local transcription

Speech recognition runs on your computer, so your audio is not uploaded to be transcribed, and you get a live transcript during the call plus a more accurate one afterwards. See local AI transcription for how this works.

Voices, not just names

Hark tells speakers apart by their voice, even when several people share one microphone. Name each voice once and Hark suggests the right person in future meetings. Learn more about speaker labels in transcription.

AI notes are optional

Fathom gives AI summaries for free; Hark's AI notes come with the $12/month subscription (every new account gets a 2-day preview). Claude writes them in the style you choose, and the transcript text, not the audio, is sent to Claude for this.

When to choose Hark

• You are on Windows or Linux and want no bot in your calls.
• You use more meeting apps than Zoom, Meet and Teams.
• You want recordings kept on your computer, with transcription done locally.
• You want speakers told apart by voice and remembered over time.
• Your meetings are in English.

When to stay with Fathom

• You want free AI summaries with no subscription at all.
• You are on a Mac and need both sides of the call recorded through headphones.
• You need video recordings, shareable clips, CRM sync or team libraries.
• You like recording to start from your calendar automatically.

Other Fathom alternatives

• Otter.ai. Cloud transcription with mobile apps and a bot-free desktop app. See Fathom vs Otter.
• Fireflies.ai. Many integrations and languages for teams. See Fireflies vs Fathom.
• tl;dv. Another bot-based recorder for Zoom, Meet and Teams, with video and a free plan.

Comparing free options? See the best free AI note takers.

How to switch from Fathom to Hark

1. Download any Fathom recordings you want to keep, and copy summaries you rely on.
2. Turn off Fathom's automatic recording so the bot stops joining your meetings.
3. Download Hark free for Windows, Mac or Linux and sign in with your email.
4. Let Hark download its speech models once (about 730 MB).
5. Drag downloaded mp4 or audio files into Hark, or use File > Import, to transcribe them locally.
6. Before your next call, open Hark and press record. Name the voices afterwards.

Recording laws vary, and some places require everyone's consent. Without a bot, nobody is notified automatically, so tell people you are recording.