Real-time AI meeting transcription, summaries and AI chat for meetings.
Fathom vs Fireflies.ai
Features, pricing, strengths and trade-offs — and which one fits your situation.
The verdict
Editor’s verdict
Fathom offers the simplest path to free, unlimited meeting recording with fast summaries, while Fireflies.ai offers a broader feature set covering more platforms, languages and ways to capture audio. Choose Fathom if you want unlimited recordings and transcripts on a free plan, quick post-call summaries and native HubSpot or Salesforce syncing for a sales team, and you mostly meet on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. Choose Fireflies.ai if you need to transcribe uploaded files, record in-person meetings on a phone, work in many languages, or want AI chat across your whole meeting library. Fathom's bot-free mode is still a Mac-only beta and it has no mobile app or file uploads, which rules it out for field or offline recordings. Fireflies' free plan is more restrictive and CRM features sit on higher tiers. Teams that dislike any bot in calls and want notes shaped by their own typing may prefer a notepad-style tool instead.
Both Fathom and Fireflies.ai offer a free plan, so you can try each before paying.
Which should you choose?
Choose Fathom if…
- You need individuals and sales teams who want unlimited free meeting recording with quick summaries
- You're one of: sales reps, customer success teams, freelancers and consultants
- You want something quicker to learn
- Free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcripts
Choose Fireflies.ai if…
- You need teams that want a meeting bot with broad integrations, CRM sync and cross-meeting AI search
- In-person / mobile recording matters to you
- Transcribe uploaded files matters to you
- You're one of: sales and customer success teams, recruiters, remote teams with many recurring meetings
At a glance
| Fathom | Fireflies.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Individuals and sales teams who want unlimited free meeting recording with quick summaries | Teams that want a meeting bot with broad integrations, CRM sync and cross-meeting AI search |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Starting price | From $16/mo | From $10/seat/mo |
| Learning curve | Low | Medium |
| Platforms | Web, macOS, Windows, Chrome extension | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, API |
| Ideal for | Sales reps, Customer success teams, Freelancers and consultants, Budget-conscious individuals | Sales and customer success teams, Recruiters, Remote teams with many recurring meetings, Operations teams building workflow automations |
Feature comparison
| Fathom | Fireflies.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Records without a bot joining | Beta, Mac only | Yes |
| Meeting platforms | Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack Huddles | Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex, 10+ more |
| Transcription languages | 38 languages | 100+ (many in beta) |
| CRM sync | Yes | Paid plans only |
| Ask AI across meetings | Limited | Yes |
| Speaker identification | Yes | Yes |
| In-person / mobile recording | No | Yes |
| Transcribe uploaded files | No | Yes |
| Translation | Limited | Limited |
IncludedLimited / higher plansNot available— Not confirmed
Security & enterprise
| Fathom | Fireflies.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Business / enterprise plan | Yes | Yes |
| SSO (SAML / OIDC) | Team plans | Enterprise plan |
| SCIM user provisioning | Team plans | Enterprise plan |
| SOC 2 | Type II | Type II |
| ISO 27001 | — | — |
| HIPAA (BAA available) | Yes | Enterprise plan |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Data residency options | — | — |
| No training on your data | — | Yes |
| Audit logs | — | — |
| Admin controls | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
From each vendor's security documentation. "—" = not confirmed. What to ask vendors · Compare all tools
What each tool does
Fathom
Fathom is an AI notetaker that records Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls, then produces transcripts, summaries and action items shortly after the meeting ends. It offers a choice of a bot that joins the call or a bot-free desktop capture mode (beta, Mac). Paid tiers add team workspaces, coaching metrics and CRM field syncing.
Key features- Unlimited recordings and transcripts, including on the free plan
- AI summaries with 15+ meeting templates and action items
- Ask Fathom chat within a call, plus account-wide search (beta)
- Automatic HubSpot and Salesforce record updates on team plans
- Clips, highlights and playlists for sharing moments
- AI-drafted follow-up emails
Fireflies.ai
Fireflies.ai records, transcribes and summarizes meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and other platforms, either via its notetaker bot or bot-free through its desktop app and Chrome extension. Its AskFred assistant answers questions across your meeting library, and higher tiers add conversation intelligence, CRM sync and API access.
Key features- Notetaker bot for Zoom, Meet, Teams and 10+ other platforms
- Bot-free recording via Mac/Windows desktop app or Chrome extension
- AskFred AI chat across all meetings
- Transcription in 100+ languages with multi-language detection
- Upload and transcribe audio and video files
- Mobile apps for in-person recording
Pricing
Fathom
Free plan (unlimited recordings); Premium $16/mo annual ($20 monthly); Team $15/user/mo annual
Fireflies.ai
Free plan; Pro $10/seat/mo annual ($18 monthly)
Prices last checked September 2026. Plans change often — confirm on each vendor's site.
Pros and cons
Fathom
Strengths- Free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcripts
- Summaries are delivered within about a minute of the call ending
- Choice between bot-based and bot-free capture
- Native CRM syncing for HubSpot and Salesforce
- Bot-free capture is in beta and Mac-only
- No dedicated mobile app for in-person meetings yet
- Cannot transcribe uploaded audio or video files
- Native summaries limited to seven languages; other languages rely on translation
Not ideal for: Teams that need to transcribe in-person conversations or pre-recorded files should look at a tool with a mobile app and file uploads.
Fireflies.ai
Strengths- Wide platform coverage including dialers and file uploads
- Large integration library including CRMs, Slack and project tools
- Both bot and bot-free capture options
- Speaker talk-time and conversation analytics
- Many languages beyond the main few are marked beta
- CRM integrations and conversation intelligence require higher tiers
- Free plan has limited storage and AI credits
- Bot joining calls can be off-putting to external guests
Not ideal for: People who only want lightweight personal notes without a meeting bot or a large feature set may find a simpler notepad-style tool easier.
Integrations
Fathom
Fireflies.ai
FAQ
What is the main difference between Fathom and Fireflies.ai?
Fathom is built for individuals and sales teams who want unlimited free meeting recording with quick summaries; Fireflies.ai is built for teams that want a meeting bot with broad integrations, CRM sync and cross-meeting AI search. Key differences: Fireflies.ai offers in-person / mobile recording and transcribe uploaded files.
Is Fathom or Fireflies.ai cheaper?
Fathom starts from $16/mo and Fireflies.ai starts from $10/seat/mo (as of September 2026). On entry price, Fireflies.ai is cheaper — but compare what each plan includes, since limits differ. Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Do Fathom and Fireflies.ai have free plans?
Both Fathom and Fireflies.ai offer a free plan, so you can try each before paying.
Which is easier to use, Fathom or Fireflies.ai?
Fathom is generally quicker to learn (Fathom: low, Fireflies.ai: medium learning curve).
What are good alternatives to Fathom and Fireflies.ai?
Other meetings tools worth comparing include Otter.ai, tl;dv and Granola.
