Head to head · Productivity · updated Oct 25, 2026
Fathom vs Otter.ai
Fathom scores 20 to Otter.ai's 11 on public evidence for meeting notes & transcription, and they rank #2 and #4 there. Both are free to start. Numbers below are the same public signals the ranking uses, recomputed nightly — nothing here is sponsored.
Fathom
A free meeting recorder for Zoom, Meet and Teams that produces summaries and lets you clip moments to share.
+ The free plan has no recording limit, and summaries are ready seconds after the call ends.
− Requires a desktop app and a visible bot in the meeting; advanced summary templates and CRM sync are paid.
Otter.ai
A meeting transcriber that joins Zoom, Meet and Teams calls, records live transcripts and writes summaries and action items.
+ Live transcript you can read during the call, with a generous free tier for individuals.
− The OtterPilot bot auto-joins meetings and emails attendees unless you turn it off, which annoys other participants.
Side by side
public evidence| Fathom | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence score / 100 | 20 | 11 |
| GitHub stars | closed source | closed source |
| Hacker News stories, 30d | 2 | 0 |
| Release-feed mentions, 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Last activity | – | – |
| Pricing | Free tier · Free plan with unlimited recordings; paid Premium tiers | Free tier · Pro from $8.33/mo billed annually |
| Platforms | web, mac, windows | web, ios, android, chrome-extension |
| Maker | Fathom | Otter.ai |
Which one?
Pick Fathom if
- you want the stronger public evidence (20 vs 11)
- you need it on mac, windows
Best for free unlimited meeting recording.
Pick Otter.ai if
- you need it on android, chrome-extension, ios
Best for live transcripts during calls.