Fathom vs Otter.ai
Fathom scores higher overall: 69/100 (B-tier) vs 67/100 (B-tier) for Otter.ai in Productivity, meetings & personal agents. Fathom leads on ease and value. Otter.ai leads on trust & maturity. They tie on job fit, momentum, openness & portability and builder/gamer bonus.
Scores are initial editorial estimates from public information, not hands-on tests. How we score →
Side by side
| Fathom | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | B | B |
| Overall score | 69/100 | 67/100 |
| Job fit | 16/30 | 16/30 |
| Ease / time-to-first-result | 15/15 | 14/15 |
| Value | 14/15 | 12/15 |
| Momentum | 10/15 | 10/15 |
| Openness & portability | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Trust & maturity | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Builder/gamer bonus | 1/5 | 1/5 |
| What it does | Records and summarizes Zoom, Meet and Teams calls with a generous free plan. | Live transcription, summaries and an AI meeting agent for Zoom, Meet and Teams. |
| Best for | You want a free meeting recorder that just works. | You need searchable transcripts of meetings. |
| Skip it if | You need on-prem storage. | You dislike bots joining calls. |
| Pricing | Free forever plan; Team $19/user/mo ($15 annually, 2-user min); Business $34 ✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026 | Basic free; Pro $16.99/user/mo monthly (lower annually); Business $30/user/mo ✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026 |
| Starting paid price | $19/user/mo ($15 billed annually) | $16.99/user/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | web · Mac · Win | web · iOS · Android |
| Open source | No | No |
| Official site | fathom.ai | otter.ai |
| Last reviewed | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Which should you pick?
Pick Fathom if…
You want a free meeting recorder that just works.
Pick Otter.ai if…
You need searchable transcripts of meetings.
FAQ
Is Fathom better than Otter.ai?
Fathom scores higher overall: 69/100 (B-tier) vs 67/100 (B-tier) for Otter.ai in Productivity, meetings & personal agents. Fathom leads on ease and value. Otter.ai leads on trust & maturity. They tie on job fit, momentum, openness & portability and builder/gamer bonus. The better pick depends on the job: choose Fathom if you want a free meeting recorder that just works. Choose Otter.ai if you need searchable transcripts of meetings.
Do Fathom and Otter.ai have free tiers?
Fathom: free tier listed (verified on the official pricing page Oct 18, 2026). Otter.ai: free tier listed (verified on the official pricing page Oct 18, 2026). Unverified means an editorial summary not yet confirmed on the vendor's pricing page.
Is Fathom or Otter.ai open source?
Fathom is not open source; Otter.ai is not open source.
How are these scores calculated?
Both tools are scored out of 100 on the same public rubric (job fit 30, ease 15, value 15, momentum 15, openness 10, trust 10, builder/gamer bonus 5) within their category. Current scores are initial editorial estimates from public information, not hands-on tests. Sponsors cannot buy points.
Keep exploring
- Fathom review and score breakdown
- Otter.ai review and score breakdown
- Best AI productivity and meeting tools
- Best AI meeting notetakers
- Productivity, meetings & personal agents tier list