Fathom Alternatives: Which AI Note Taker Fixes Your Gripe?
November 6, 2026
The best Fathom alternative depends on why you're leaving, because Fathom is hard to beat on price. Its free plan still includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions. People switch for specific reasons: the bot in the call, in-person meetings, how deep the CRM sync goes, team admin controls, or where their meeting data ends up.
Match your reason to a tool:
- You don't want a bot in the call: Granola, which records your computer's audio on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android
- You need in-person or phone-call notes, on Android too: Granola, Fireflies, Otter or Read AI, which all have Android and iOS apps
- You need CRM sync for a whole team without paying top tier: tl;dv or Fireflies
- You want EU data hosting: tl;dv
- You already pay for Zoom, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace: check their built-in notes first
There's one new reason too. On September 14, 2026, Fathom announced it is now part of Superhuman, the company behind the Superhuman Go assistant. Fathom says nothing changes for users today. But if a new owner is a reason to review your vendors, that's fair.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Bot in the call? | In-person capture | CRM depth | Free option | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Bot, or bot-free beta on Mac | iPhone app | Summary sync; field sync on Business | Unlimited recordings | Individuals who want free and simple |
| Granola | Never; uses device audio | Mobile apps, phone calls | HubSpot, Attio, Affinity on Business; Salesforce on Enterprise | Yes, 30-day history | Private notes you write yourself |
| Fireflies | Bot, or desktop and Chrome capture | Mobile app | Auto-fills CRM notes and call logs | Yes, limited summaries | Many languages and integrations |
| Otter | Bot, or desktop app | Mobile apps | Salesforce and HubSpot on paid plans | 300 minutes a month | Live transcripts |
| tl;dv | Bot or no bot | Not listed | Logs notes and outcomes to CRM | Free forever plan | EU teams, CRM updates |
| Read AI | Bot, or apps | Mobile apps | Salesforce and HubSpot on paid plans | 5 meetings a month | Notes plus email and chat context |
| Built-in (Zoom, Teams, Meet) | No extra bot | No | None | Varies by plan | One-platform teams |
If you came here from a Fathom vs Otter search, our Otter.ai alternatives guide covers that pairing in detail.
What Fathom does well, and where people hit limits
Fair's fair. Per Fathom's pricing page, the free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI summaries, clips, playlists, and search across calls. Paid plans add AI action items, a shared team workspace, trackers, and Ask Fathom across team calls. Business adds CRM field sync, a deal view, and coaching scorecards. Enterprise adds SSO and SCIM.
The friction points show up in the same places:
| Gripe | What Fathom offers today |
|---|---|
| The bot in the participant list | Bot-free capture, but it's a beta on Mac only |
| In-person meetings | An iPhone app that captures in-person conversations |
| CRM sync | CRM syncs capped at 3 users per domain below Business; field-level sync on Business and up |
| Admin and security | Team plans have security controls and HIPAA with a standard BAA; SSO, SCIM and custom retention are Enterprise only |
| Privacy and ownership | Fathom's data now sits inside a larger company, Superhuman |
If none of these bother you, stay. Fathom's free plan is still one of the most generous around.
If the bot is the problem: Granola
Granola never sends a bot. It uses your computer's audio, so nothing new appears in the participant list, and it works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and any other meeting app. It runs on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, which matters if Fathom's Mac-only bot-free beta leaves out your Windows laptop.
The workflow is different, too. You type rough notes during the meeting, and Granola fills them out from the transcript. Before external meetings it can send a brief on who's attending and what you discussed last time.
- Privacy: per Granola's pricing page, audio is deleted after transcription, it doesn't let third parties like OpenAI or Anthropic train on your data, and every plan lets you opt out of model training
- Free plan limit: 30 days of meeting history. Paid plans keep everything
- Weaker at: shared team archives and recordings. There's no video to clip and share the way Fathom does
One responsibility moves to you. A bot announces itself; device audio doesn't. Tell people you're taking AI notes.
If you need in-person and phone calls covered
Fathom's mobile story is an iPhone app. If you're on Android, or you want calls from a dialer transcribed, look at these:
Fireflies
Fireflies captures meetings through its bot (Fred), a Chrome extension for Google Meet that skips the bot, desktop and mobile apps, dialer integrations like Aircall and RingCentral, and uploaded audio or video files. It claims transcription in 100+ languages. The free plan has unlimited transcription but limited AI summaries and storage, and paid plans are per seat. For a deeper look, see our Fireflies alternatives guide.
Otter
Otter records from a Mac or Windows desktop app, iOS and Android apps, a browser extension, or its meeting bot. Its live transcript is still its strongest feature: you can follow along during the call. The free Basic plan is capped at 300 transcription minutes a month, per Otter's pricing page. Paid plans add Salesforce and HubSpot integrations.
Read AI
Read AI has apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iPhone that capture in-person meetings, plus a bot for Zoom, Meet and Teams. It summarizes email and messages as well as meetings, so your notes come with more context. The free plan covers 5 meetings a month. Be aware that its bot is persistent; our guide to removing Read AI from Teams shows what that looks like.
If you need deeper CRM sync for the team
On Fathom, CRM syncs are capped at 3 users per domain below the Business plan, which is also where CRM field sync starts. If you have a sales team on a budget, two alternatives are worth testing:
- tl;dv says it logs call notes and CRM outcomes for you after every call, and drafts follow-up emails and next steps. It writes custom summary formats, such as MEDDIC, in many languages. It also runs without a bot, and says data is hosted and stored in the EU, which helps European teams
- Fireflies auto-fills CRM notes and call logs, and offers 200+ AI Skills that pull details like follow-up emails or candidate scores out of each call
Test either on one real week of calls. A field that maps cleanly in a demo can still go wrong with your custom properties.
If you need admin controls and compliance
Every tool here says it's SOC 2 compliant. The differences are in which plan you need:
| Tool | SSO / SCIM | HIPAA | Retention control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Enterprise | Team and up, standard BAA | Enterprise |
| Granola | Enterprise | Enterprise workspaces | Per user on all plans; workspace-wide on Enterprise |
| Fireflies | Enterprise | Enterprise | Enterprise |
| Read AI | Enterprise+ | Enterprise+ | Enterprise+ |
| Otter | Enterprise | Enterprise add-on | Not listed |
Fathom actually looks good here. HIPAA with a BAA on its Team plan is earlier than most. If admin controls are your reason for leaving, compare the plan you'd need on each tool rather than assuming Fathom is behind.
Check the AI notes you already pay for
Before buying another per-seat tool, check what your meeting platform already includes. None of these add a separate bot.
- Zoom: meeting summaries and transcription are built into Zoom Workplace on eligible paid plans. Zoom's announcement explains that these features dropped the "AI Companion" name, and ZoomMate is a separate agentic add-on
- Microsoft Teams: intelligent recap with AI notes needs Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, and the meeting must be transcribed
- Google Meet: Take notes for me needs an eligible Google Workspace edition or Google AI plan, and saves notes to a Google Doc
The catch: each only covers its own platform. If you take calls on Zoom, Teams and Meet, a cross-platform notetaker is still simpler.
How to choose a Fathom alternative
- Name the one thing that bugs you. Bot, mobile, CRM, admin or privacy. Each points to a different tool above.
- Check what you already pay for. Built-in notes may be enough.
- Compare plans, not just prices. CRM field sync, SSO and HIPAA often sit on different tiers.
- Run a real week. Free plans differ on history, minutes and summaries. Granola keeps 30 days free, Otter caps minutes, and Read AI caps meetings.
- Plan for consent. With botless tools, nobody is told automatically. Say you're taking AI notes, and stop if anyone objects.
If you're also reviewing other Superhuman products, our Grammarly alternatives guide covers the writing side.
Where Taku fits
A notetaker's job ends when the summary lands. Turning those notes into a weekly report, a CRM update or a draft follow-up is often still copy-paste. Taku is an AI-native desktop workspace where you find an AI app or workflow someone already built for that step, mirror it, run it, and remix it, without setting anything up yourself. Taku is in Beta, and the Mac app is available now.
FAQ
What is the best free Fathom alternative?
Granola, if you want no bot and are happy writing a few notes yourself; its free plan keeps 30 days of history. tl;dv has a free forever plan with optional botless recording. Fireflies' free plan has unlimited transcription but limited summaries.
Is there a Fathom alternative without a bot?
Yes. Granola always uses device audio and works on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. tl;dv offers recording without a bot, Fireflies has a Chrome extension for Google Meet that skips the bot, and Otter's desktop app records without one.
Does Fathom work for in-person meetings?
Yes, through its iPhone app, which captures in-person conversations. If you use Android, Granola, Fireflies, Otter and Read AI all have Android apps.
Who owns Fathom now?
Fathom announced on September 14, 2026 that it is now part of Superhuman. It said the app, login and product stay the same for users.
Fathom vs Fireflies: which is better?
Fathom is better for individuals who want an unlimited free plan and simple summaries. Fireflies is better if you need many languages, dialer and file transcription, or more integrations across a team.