Which has the better free plan?

Fathom, if you record many meetings: it lists unlimited recordings. Otter's free plan is capped at 300 minutes a month.

Which is rated higher, Otter.ai or Fathom?

They are tied at 8.5/10 in our initial editorial ratings. These are not benchmark results; testing is in progress.

How much does Otter.ai cost?

Pro $16.99/user/month billed monthly ($8.49 billed annually, shown as a 50% saving); Business $30/user/month (shown at $24 with a 20%-off-for-3-months offer); Enterprise via demo. Prices in USD.

How much does Fathom cost?

Team $19/user/month monthly or $15 billed annually (2-user minimum); Business $34/user/month monthly or $25 annually (2-user minimum); Enterprise via sales.

When was pricing checked?

On 2026-10-15, on each tool's official pricing page. Prices change often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you buy.

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Comparison · Meeting notes

Otter.ai vs Fathom

Initial editorial ratings, testing in progress. Scores are editorial judgments, not benchmark results, and will be replaced by hands-on test scores. Sponsors never affect scores.

Otter.ai and Fathom both appear in our meeting notes ranking. This page puts them side by side: our current ratings, what each costs and includes according to its own pricing page (checked 2026-10-15), and which one to pick for which job. Where we could not verify something on the official site, we say so instead of guessing.

At a glance

	Otter.ai	Fathom
Our rating	8.5/10	8.5/10
Why it ranks	Mature transcription, live notes	Generous free tier, fast summaries
Pricing	Pro $16.99/user/month billed monthly ($8.49 billed annually, shown as a 50% saving); Business $30/user/month (shown at $24 with a 20%-off-for-3-months offer); Enterprise via demo. Prices in USD.	Team $19/user/month monthly or $15 billed annually (2-user minimum); Business $34/user/month monthly or $25 annually (2-user minimum); Enterprise via sales.
Free tier	Basic plan is free: 300 monthly transcription minutes, live transcription, speaker identification, 3 lifetime file imports, Zoom, Teams and Google Meet.	Free plan, described as free forever: unlimited recordings, instant call summaries and integrations with LLMs.
Best for	People who want to follow a live transcript during the call and need long, searchable records.	Individuals who want unlimited recordings and quick recaps without paying, and sales teams that want CRM sync.
Source	Checked 2026-10-15 on the official site	Checked 2026-10-15 on the official site

Scores by criterion

Our methodology weights five criteria. Per-criterion scores come from hands-on testing, which hasn't been done yet for this category, so we show the weights and leave the scores blank instead of making numbers up. The overall ratings above are editorial.

Criterion	Weight	Otter.ai	Fathom
Output quality	40%	Not yet tested	Not yet tested
Speed & reliability	20%	Not yet tested	Not yet tested
Ease of use	15%	Not yet tested	Not yet tested
Value	15%	Not yet tested	Not yet tested
Privacy & trust	10%	Not yet tested	Not yet tested

Key differences

Both score 8.5/10, so the choice comes down to how you work. Otter.ai's free plan is metered by minutes (300 a month), while Fathom's free plan offers unlimited recordings. Otter shows a live transcript during the call; Fathom focuses on instant summaries afterwards. Fathom's paid plans are team plans with a two-user minimum, while Otter Pro can be bought by one person.

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Otter.ai in brief

Otter.ai is the most established tool in this category, and its free Basic plan is still built around transcription minutes: 300 a month, with live transcription and speaker identification included. Paid plans lift the per-meeting cap (90 minutes on Pro, 4 hours on Business) and add CRM integrations. We rate it 8.5/10 for its mature transcription and live notes.

Live transcription and speaker identification
AI Chat within and across meetings
Pro: 1,200 recording minutes, up to 90 minutes per meeting, Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier integrations
Business: up to 4 hours per meeting, 3 concurrent meetings, admin analytics
Enterprise: SSO/SCIM, HIPAA add-on, API and webhooks

Fathom in brief

Fathom's pitch is its free plan: unlimited recordings and instant summaries, free forever according to its pricing page. Paid tiers are team plans with a two-user minimum and add action items, collaboration and, on Business, CRM field sync and coaching. We rate it 8.5/10 for its generous free tier and fast summaries.

Unlimited recordings and instant AI summaries on the free plan
AI-generated action items and a conversational meeting assistant (Team)
Highlight playlists, comments, folders and keyword alerts
Business: CRM field sync, Deal View, coaching metrics and AI scorecards
Integrations listed include Asana, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, plus a public API and MCP

Which should you pick?

Verdict: Pick Fathom if you're one person who wants unlimited free recordings and quick recaps. Pick Otter.ai if you need to follow a live transcript, record long meetings, or want a solo paid plan.

How that maps to our criteria:

Output quality (40%): until testing is done, our editorial ratings are the best guide: Otter.ai 8.5/10, Fathom 8.5/10. They are tied, so decide on the other criteria.
Value (15%): compare the free tiers in the table. Otter.ai: Basic plan is free: 300 monthly transcription minutes, live transcription, speaker identification, 3 lifetime file imports, Zoom, Teams and Google Meet. Fathom: Free plan, described as free forever: unlimited recordings, instant call summaries and integrations with LLMs.
Ease of use (15%): Otter.ai is best for people who want to follow a live transcript during the call and need long, searchable records. Fathom is best for individuals who want unlimited recordings and quick recaps without paying, and sales teams that want CRM sync.
Speed & reliability (20%) and Privacy & trust (10%): not yet tested. Before you commit, read each vendor's data-retention and training settings on its own site.

Frequently asked questions

Which has the better free plan?: Fathom, if you record many meetings: it lists unlimited recordings. Otter's free plan is capped at 300 minutes a month.
Which is rated higher, Otter.ai or Fathom?: They are tied at 8.5/10 in our initial editorial ratings. These are not benchmark results; testing is in progress.
How much does Otter.ai cost?: Pro $16.99/user/month billed monthly ($8.49 billed annually, shown as a 50% saving); Business $30/user/month (shown at $24 with a 20%-off-for-3-months offer); Enterprise via demo. Prices in USD.
How much does Fathom cost?: Team $19/user/month monthly or $15 billed annually (2-user minimum); Business $34/user/month monthly or $25 annually (2-user minimum); Enterprise via sales.
When was pricing checked?: On 2026-10-15, on each tool's official pricing page. Prices change often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you buy.

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