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Fathom vs Otter: which meeting note taker is right for you?
Pick Fathom if you want the most generous free plan and polished AI summaries of video calls. Pick Otter if you want to read a live transcript during meetings, transcribe recordings you upload, or need languages beyond English.
The short verdict
- Choose Fathom if you're on lots of Zoom, Google Meet or Teams calls and want them recorded and summarized for free, with clips you can share. Sales teams who want CRM sync will find it on the paid plans.
- Choose Otter if you're a student, researcher or journalist who wants a live transcript on screen, needs to import audio files, or works in Spanish, French, German, Japanese or Chinese as well as English.
- Look elsewhere if you don't want any notetaker in your calls or your recordings in the cloud. See a third option.
Fathom vs Otter at a glance
Checked on each company's pricing page in October 2026. Prices are per month; "annual" means the monthly price when you pay for a year up front.
| Fathom | Otter | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI summaries, clips and search (some AI features limited) | 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation, 3 imports total, 25 most recent conversations, 20 AI chat questions |
| Individual paid plan | Premium: $20 monthly or $16 annual (as of October 2026). Advanced summaries, action items, AI assistant | Pro: $16.99 monthly or $8.33 annual (as of October 2026). 1,200 min/month, 90 min per meeting |
| Team plans | Team: $19/user monthly or $15 annual. Business: $34/user monthly or $25 annual (2-user minimum, as of October 2026) | Business: $30/user monthly or $19.99 annual (as of October 2026). Unlimited meeting minutes, 4 hours per meeting |
| Enterprise | Talk to sales; SSO, SCIM, custom retention | Contact sales; SSO, SCIM, API and webhooks |
| Bot | Bot joins calls by default; bot-free capture in beta on Mac only | Bot joins Zoom, Teams and Meet; bot-free desktop app on Mac and Windows |
| Recording type | Video and audio with clips and playlists | Audio and transcript, with screenshots in virtual meetings |
| File import | Not listed on the pricing page | Yes: 3 files total on free, 10 per month on Pro, unlimited on Business |
| Integrations | Slack, Zapier and Make, Claude and ChatGPT, public API, MCP; CRM sync on paid plans | MCP server; Zapier, Salesforce and HubSpot on paid plans |
| Guarantee | 90-day guarantee shown on paid plans | Not stated on the pricing page |
Otter was showing limited-time discounts when we checked; list prices are shown. Sources: fathom.ai/pricing, otter.ai/pricing.
Free plans: Fathom is more generous
This is the biggest practical difference. Fathom's free plan doesn't cap the number of recordings or transcription minutes, and you still get a summary after each call. That makes it popular with freelancers and small businesses who never want to think about limits.
Otter's free plan is fine for short calls, but each conversation stops at 30 minutes, and only your 25 most recent conversations stay available. If your meetings run an hour, you'll hit the wall quickly. For more free options, see our list of the best free AI note takers.
What each does best
Fathom: video calls, summaries and clips
Fathom records the video and audio of your calls, writes a summary when the call ends, and lets you cut clips and build playlists to share. The paid plans add action items, an AI assistant you can ask about past calls, keyword alerts, and, on Business, CRM field sync, deal views and coaching scorecards. It's built for people whose work happens on video calls.
Otter: live transcripts and recordings of anything
Otter shows the transcript as people speak, which helps if you're hard of hearing, taking notes in a lecture, or just want to scroll back to what someone said a minute ago. It also handles uploaded files and in-person conversations, and lists six languages. Custom vocabulary helps it get names and jargon right.
Bot vs no bot
Both tools join meetings as a visible notetaker by default. That's simple and transparent, but some clients and meeting hosts don't like extra participants, and some organizations block them.
Otter has the more complete bot-free option today: its desktop app for Mac and Windows records Zoom, Google Meet, Slack huddles and in-person conversations without a bot. Fathom's bot-free capture is listed as a beta for Mac only as of October 2026. Our guide to an AI note taker without a bot explains the trade-offs.
Skip the bot and keep recordings on your computer
Hark records any meeting app from your own computer and transcribes it there. Unlimited, free forever, with an optional $12/month for AI meeting notes.
Privacy and data handling
Both are cloud services, so your recordings live on their servers. Their privacy policies say:
- Fathom (policy updated August 16, 2026) may use de-identified data from meeting content to train its own models, depending on your account settings, and says you can opt out in settings. It says it does not authorize outside companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic or Google to use your personal information, and aims to delete recordings within 30 days of an account deletion request.
- Otter (policy effective June 16, 2026) says it trains its AI on de-identified audio recordings and transcriptions and uses data labeling providers. Its trust center lists SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR and CCPA. Otter also faces a pending privacy class action, covered in Is Otter AI safe?
Recording laws vary by state and country, and some require everyone's consent. Whatever tool you use, tell people the meeting is recorded and get their agreement.
A third option: Hark
If what you really want is a record of your calls without a bot and without sending audio to a cloud service, Hark is worth a look. It's a desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux.
- Records your microphone and computer audio, so it works with Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex, Slack huddles and anything else. No bot joins.
- Transcribes on your computer with no minute limits, live during the meeting and again more accurately afterward.
- Works out who spoke by voice and remembers people you name, so future meetings are labeled for you.
- Imports existing recordings (mp3, m4a, wav, mp4 and more), like Otter's file import.
- Free forever on your computer; AI meeting notes by Claude and sync are $12 per month, with a 2-day preview for new accounts.
Hark isn't for everyone. It transcribes English only, records audio rather than video, and on a Mac captures the microphone only (not the computer's audio). It has no team workspace or CRM sync. Its AI notes send transcript text to Claude. If you need video clips or a sales workflow, Fathom fits better; if you need other languages, Otter does. Compare more options in our Fathom alternatives and Otter alternatives guides.
Related
- Otter vs Fireflies Otter and Fireflies side by side, and who should pick which.
- Granola vs Otter Bot-free Granola against bot-based Otter.
- Fireflies vs Fathom Two meeting bots compared, plus a bot-free option.
- Otter.ai alternatives Why people switch from Otter and what to use instead.
- Fathom alternatives Fathom alternatives compared on privacy, platforms and price.
- Best AI note takers An honest roundup of AI note takers, with what each does best.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fathom better than Otter? +
For people who want a free plan, Fathom is usually the better deal: its free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions, while Otter's free plan stops at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation. Otter is stronger if you want to read a live transcript as the meeting happens or transcribe uploaded files and lectures.
Is Fathom really free? +
Fathom's free plan lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI call summaries, clips and search. Some AI features are marked as limited use on the free plan. Paid plans add advanced summaries, action items, team features and CRM sync.
Does Fathom work without a bot? +
Fathom normally joins calls as a bot. As of October 2026 its pricing page lists bot-free capture as a beta for Mac only, so on Windows you still use the bot. Otter's desktop app for Mac and Windows can also record without a bot.
How much does Fathom cost compared to Otter? +
As of October 2026, Fathom Premium was $20 per month or $16 per month billed annually, and Otter Pro was $16.99 per month or $8.33 per month billed annually. For teams, Fathom Team was $19 per user monthly ($15 annually) and Otter Business was $30 per user monthly ($19.99 annually).
Do Fathom and Otter use my meetings to train AI? +
Both privacy policies say they may train their own models on de-identified meeting data. Fathom's policy says you can opt out in account settings and that it does not let outside AI companies use your personal information. Otter's policy says it trains on de-identified audio and transcriptions. Check both policies and your settings.
Record, transcribe and remember every meeting
Hark records your calls on your own computer, transcribes them privately, and learns who is speaking. Free forever, with a 2-day preview of AI meeting notes.