Otter vs Fireflies vs Fathom: what to compare

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Otter vs Fireflies vs Fathom: what to compare cover graphic

Otter, Fireflies and Fathom are AI meeting assistants: they join or capture your calls, transcribe them, and produce summaries and action items. They look similar from the outside, and each has a free plan, so the useful comparison is about limits, capture method, data handling and what you pay when a team grows.

This article is a decision framework plus researched facts about each product. It is not a ranking and names no winner. One thing to know up front: we could read official pricing for Fathom and Fireflies, but not Otter’s live pricing page, so Otter prices are left out rather than guessed.

How we researched this: we did not run hands-on tests for this article. It is based on the vendor’s own documentation and public sources, checked on 11 November 2026. Features and prices change, so confirm details on the vendor’s site before you buy.

Key takeaways

  • Fathom’s pricing page lists a free plan with unlimited recordings and transcription, while its help centre says free users get advanced AI summaries for only their first 5 calls each month.
  • Fireflies’ July 2026 pricing post lists Free, Pro, Business and Enterprise tiers with storage and per-meeting recording limits that differ by plan.
  • Otter states that it trains its own models on recordings and transcripts after de-identifying them, which is a data question to weigh. Fireflies states it does not use meeting data to train AI models. Fathom’s page we read did not say either way.
  • Recording other people raises consent and legal questions. This is general information, not legal advice.
  • Test with two real meetings per tool, including one with accents or crosstalk, and count the corrections you make.

Why compare these

Meeting notes are one of the most common first uses of AI at work, because the gain is easy to see: less typing, searchable calls and clear follow-ups. They are also one of the riskiest, because the input is a recording of real people. If you want a general overview, read our guide to getting accurate AI transcription, and if you use notes to prepare, see how to use AI to prepare for a meeting in 10 minutes.

One caution about sources. Much of what is written about these three comes from competitors. The Fireflies blog post on Otter’s pricing is from November 2023 and promotes Fireflies, and an Otter pricing article from eesel AI, a competing product, was last edited in August 2025. Those two articles give different Pro prices for Otter, which shows how quickly numbers move. We use them only to flag that history, not to state current Otter prices.

Quick overview table

Item Otter Fireflies Fathom
Plans named Free, Pro, Business, Enterprise (help centre) Free, Pro, Business, Enterprise (July 2026 post) Free, Premium, Team, Business, Enterprise (pricing page)
Official prices read by us No Yes, from a July 2026 vendor post Yes, from the pricing page
Free plan Yes, described as basic features Yes, described as permanent Yes, “Free forever”
Platforms Mobile and web browser; Zoom integration named as most popular Mobile, desktop and Chrome apps Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack huddles; iOS app for in-person
Bot-free capture Not confirmed Not confirmed Yes, on Mac (beta per pricing page); Windows listed as coming
Languages stated Not confirmed 100+ languages on all plans 38 languages (Fathom’s comparison page claim)

Criteria that matter

Decide your criteria first, as suggested in how to compare AI tools side by side fairly.

  1. Where your meetings happen: Zoom, Meet, Teams, phone, in person or recorded files.
  2. Capture method: a visible bot joining the call, or capture on your own device.
  3. Limits: minutes, storage, meeting length and number of AI summaries.
  4. Team features: shared workspaces, admin controls, CRM sync, SSO.
  5. Data handling: retention, training use and compliance claims.
  6. Cost for your team size: per seat, annual or monthly, with minimum seat counts.

How each captures meetings

Fathom

Fathom’s overview page says it records and transcribes video calls on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Slack huddles, and in-person meetings through its iOS app, but not phone calls. It gives you a choice between a bot and bot-free capture. Bot-free options are transcript only, audio plus transcript, and full audio plus video, available on Mac with Windows support listed as coming. It says speaker attribution carries over to bot-free recording. It syncs notes to tools such as Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, Asana, Notion and Zapier, connects to ChatGPT and Claude, and has a public API and MCP support.

Otter

Otter’s help centre describes a transcription tool that turns voice conversations into searchable, shareable notes. It records and transcribes meetings, interviews and existing recordings, lets you capture photos such as whiteboards during a recording, supports playback and text editing, and imports common audio and video file types. It runs on mobile and in a web browser and integrates with Google Calendar and Contacts, Microsoft Calendar and Contacts, Dropbox and Zoom, which it calls its most popular integration.

Fireflies

Fireflies’ July 2026 pricing post lists unlimited transcription and AI summaries on all plans, AskFred with tier-based AI credits, 100+ language support, and mobile, desktop and Chrome apps. Paid plans add features such as video recording, downloads, AI Skills, a Personal Assistant, Voice Agents and Live Assist (Pro), team-level conversation intelligence, Multi-language Mode and Deal Intelligence (Business), and SSO, SCIM, private storage and custom retention (Enterprise).

Documented features by plan

Need Otter Fireflies Fathom
Free tier recording Basic features (limits not confirmed from official source) 400 minutes of storage per team, 2 hour recordings, no video recording or downloads Unlimited recordings and transcription; 5 advanced summaries a month
Team workspace Business for larger teams, per help centre Business adds team-level conversation intelligence Team plan adds shared folders, comments, trackers and team search
CRM and sales tools Not confirmed Deal Intelligence on Business CRM field sync, Deal View, coaching metrics on Business
Security features SOC 2 Type 2, HIPAA practices (privacy page) SSO, SCIM, HIPAA readiness with BAA on Enterprise SSO and SCIM on team plans (overview); HIPAA with BAA on Team

The Fathom help centre adds that Free and Premium match on recording, storage, transcription and CRM integration, with differences in AI features and branding: Premium offers unlimited advanced summaries, action items, follow-up email drafts, custom summaries and Ask Fathom, and lets you remove in-meeting banners and rename the meeting bot. It says you keep the Free plan if you do not upgrade after the 30-day preview.

Pricing models

Prices are in US dollars per user per month, as read on 11 November 2026. Confirm on each vendor’s site, and see how to read an AI tool’s pricing page for traps around seat minimums and annual billing.

Fathom (pricing page, no date shown)

Plan Billed annually Billed monthly Notes
Free $0 $0 Unlimited recordings and transcription
Premium $16 $20 For individuals; advanced AI features
Team $15 $19 2 user minimum; shared workspace
Business $25 $34 2 user minimum; CRM sync, scorecards
Enterprise $35 (page also shows $34) Annual only SSO, SCIM, custom retention

The page lists a 90 day guarantee on every plan and marks some features as limited use, including account-wide Ask Fathom, which is also a beta feature. Note the page’s Enterprise price shows two figures, so confirm it.

Fireflies (vendor post, 10 July 2026)

Plan Annual per seat Monthly per seat Storage Max recording
Free $0 $0 400 minutes per team 2 hours
Pro $10 $18 8,000 minutes per seat 2 hours
Business $19 $29 Unlimited 3 hours
Enterprise $39 Annual only Unlimited 4 hours

This post points readers to the live pricing page for current numbers, so check it. It says annual billing saves up to 44% versus monthly on Pro, and that downgrading to Free is available with past recordings remaining visible.

Otter

Otter’s help centre names Free, Pro, Business and Enterprise but gives no prices or limits on the page we read, and we could not open its pricing page. Third-party figures we saw were from 2023 and 2025 and disagree with each other, so we do not repeat them. Check Otter’s current pricing page, in particular minutes per month, meeting length caps and seat limits, which have been a point of difference in older articles.

When you compare, price your actual team, including whether you need annual commitments, and count only the features you will use.

Privacy and data

This is the area where the three differ in stated policy, so read carefully. Meeting recordings can contain customer information, HR matters, financial details and personal data. Our guide to protecting company data when using AI tools gives a wider checklist.

Topic Otter (privacy page) Fireflies (July 2026 post) Fathom (overview and comparison pages)
Certifications stated SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR and CCPA, HIPAA requirements for health data, ISO 27001/2 based policies SOC 2 Type II and ISO/IEC 42001 on every plan; HIPAA readiness and FERPA on Enterprise SOC 2 Type II audited, HIPAA compliant, GDPR aligned
Training on your data Trains its own models on recordings and transcripts after automatic de-identification; imported documents are not used States it does not use meeting data to train AI models Not stated on pages we read
Retention Deleted items go to Trash and are removed after 30 days; active retention not stated Custom retention on Enterprise Custom retention on Enterprise
Human access Staff need explicit customer consent for transcripts or audio Not stated in the source Not stated

The Otter page says no human manually reviews audio or transcripts for training, and that its AI service providers do not use customer data to train their models. Fathom’s compliance statements come from its own marketing pages, and one of them, the comparison with Read.ai, says to check its trust centre for details, which we did not review. Treat all certification claims as vendor statements until you see the reports under NDA or the trust centre documents.

Recording and transcribing a meeting may require consent from participants, and rules differ by country and region. A visible bot is not automatically enough, and bot-free capture is not a way around consent. Tell attendees at the start, record the consent in the notes where policy requires, and ask your legal or compliance team about client calls. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who each suits

If you need Documented fit
Unlimited free recording and a bot-free option on Mac Fathom documents both on its pricing and overview pages
Tiered storage and recording length limits with per-seat pricing and a stated no-training policy Fireflies publishes these in its July 2026 post
Imports of existing recordings and photo capture during recording Otter’s help centre documents file imports and photo capture
Sales coaching and CRM sync Fathom Business and Fireflies Business list CRM or deal features
Strict security reviews All three list certifications; request the reports and check training terms

This is “best for X if Y” based on documentation, not a score. A freelancer who joins a few calls a week needs different things from a sales team that wants scorecards and CRM fields.

How to run your own test

  1. Pick two real meetings: one clean one-to-one call, and one with several speakers, accents or technical terms.
  2. Run each tool on both, using the free plan or trial.
  3. Count corrections: wrong names, missed action items, wrong attributions. Time how long fixing the notes takes.
  4. Check the summaries against your own notes for invented or missing points. Our guide to testing an AI tool before you pay covers the method.
  5. Check export options and whether past recordings stay available if you downgrade.
  6. Read the data terms for the plan you would buy, not just the free plan.

Decision checklist

  • Does the tool cover your meeting platforms, and phone calls if you need them?
  • Do you want a visible bot or device capture?
  • Do the plan limits cover your longest meetings and your storage needs?
  • Do you know whether your recordings are used for training?
  • Have you handled participant consent for recording?
  • Do you know seat minimums and monthly versus annual pricing?
  • Can you export notes and delete recordings when you leave?

Frequently asked questions

Is there a fully free option?

All three list a free plan. Fathom lists unlimited recordings and transcription, with limited advanced summaries. Fireflies lists storage and feature limits on Free. Otter describes Free as basic features, with limits we could not confirm.

Does any of them train on my meetings?

Otter says it trains on recordings and transcripts after de-identification. Fireflies says it does not use meeting data to train models. Fathom’s pages we read did not say. Read the privacy policy for your plan.

Can I use them without a bot joining?

Fathom documents bot-free capture on Mac. We did not confirm this for Otter or Fireflies from the pages we read.

Do they work for phone calls?

Fathom says it does not support phone calls. We did not confirm phone support for the others.

Which is cheapest for a team?

That depends on seats, billing period and features. Compare using official prices on the day you buy, and add any seat minimums.

Do I need to tell people I am recording?

Often yes, and rules vary by place. This is general information, not legal advice, so ask your legal or compliance team.

Conclusion

Otter, Fireflies and Fathom solve the same problem with different capture methods, limits and data policies. Decide where your meetings happen, how you want to capture them and what your data rules require, then test two real meetings per tool. Use how to compare AI tools side by side fairly as your guide and re-check the pricing pages on the day you buy.

Sources

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