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AI Tools · head to head

Fathom vs Otter.ai

Fathom logo

Fathom

AI Tools

Free AI meeting assistant

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Otter.ai logo

Otter.ai

Remote Work

Transcription and meeting notes powered by AI

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fathom team plan requires minimum 2 users; cannot purchase single seat at team pricing; Otter.ai two separate limits apply at once, a monthly minute allowance and a per conversation cap, so a long meeting can be cut short with allowance remaining
  • They diverge on capability: Fathom covers Auto-recording, Otter.ai covers Automatic transcription.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fathom and Otter.ai actually diverge.

Attributes where Fathom and Otter.ai differ
AttributeFathomOtter.ai
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft TeamsWeb, Ios, Android, Mac
CategoryAI ToolsRemote Work
Founded20202016

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Fathom

  • Auto-recording
  • AI summaries
  • Transcription
  • Highlight clips
  • HubSpot
  • Desktop support

Only in Otter.ai

  • Automatic transcription
  • Real-time transcription
  • Speaker identification
  • Searchable transcripts
  • Highlights and summaries
  • Sharing
  • Mobile apps
  • Microsoft Teams

Both cover

  • Zoom
  • Google Meet
  • Salesforce
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Fathom

  • AI-powered meeting transcription and automatic note-taking for sales teams and professionalsnot Otter.ai
  • Meeting analysis with AI scorecards and action item generation that syncs to CRMsnot Otter.ai

Otter.ai

  • Transcribing meetings and generating summaries automaticallynot Fathom
  • Searching and sharing notes from recorded conversationsnot Fathom

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Fathom

  • Team plan requires minimum 2 users; cannot purchase single seat at team pricing
  • CRM field sync and deal view summaries available only on Business plan ($34/user/month) and above

Otter.ai

  • Two separate limits apply at once, a monthly minute allowance and a per conversation cap, so a long meeting can be cut short with allowance remaining
  • The free plan cuts off at 30 minutes per conversation and 300 minutes a month
  • The Pro plan still caps a single conversation at 90 minutes
  • Even unlimited plans cap a conversation at 4 hours
  • Imported file transcription has its own separate monthly limit, at 6,000 minutes on Business
  • Paying monthly rather than annually roughly doubles the rate, from $8.33 to $16.99 on Pro

Pricing, plan by plan

Fathom

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Fathom review.

Otter.ai

Free
  • BasicFree
    • 600 minutes transcription
    • 3 searches
    • Basic sharing
  • Pro$10/month
    • 6000 minutes transcription
    • Unlimited searches
    • Team collaboration

Which should you pick?

Choose Fathom if

  • You need auto-recording.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.
  • You also want ai summaries.
Fathom review

Choose Otter.ai if

  • You need automatic transcription.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Mac.
  • You also want real-time transcription.
Otter.ai review

Questions people ask

Is Fathom or Otter.ai better?
Neither clearly leads. Fathom starts at Free and Otter.ai at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fathom or Otter.ai?
Fathom starts at Free and Otter.ai at Free.
Does Fathom or Otter.ai run on more platforms?
Fathom runs on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams. Otter.ai runs on Web, Ios, Android, Mac.
Can I use Fathom for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Fathom best used for?
Fathom is most often used for ai-powered meeting transcription and automatic note-taking for sales teams and professionals, meeting analysis with ai scorecards and action item generation that syncs to crms. Of those, ai-powered meeting transcription and automatic note-taking for sales teams and professionals and meeting analysis with ai scorecards and action item generation that syncs to crms are not what Otter.ai is typically brought in for.
What can Fathom do that Otter.ai cannot?
Fathom covers Auto-recording, AI summaries, Transcription, Highlight clips. Otter.ai covers Automatic transcription, Real-time transcription, Speaker identification, Searchable transcripts. Both handle Zoom, Google Meet, Salesforce, Web support.
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Related pages

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