Our verdict
Start with Fathom if you want an excellent free note taker and quick summaries. Choose Fireflies if you want a searchable, analysable record of meetings across the company and more integrations.
Fathom and Fireflies.ai are two of the most popular AI meeting assistants. Both join calls on Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, record and transcribe them, and produce summaries and action items. Fathom is known for a generous free plan and fast, clean summaries. Fireflies emphasises searchable meeting libraries, analytics and broad integrations.
Choose Fathom if…
- You want a generous free plan with unlimited recordings
- Fast, accurate summaries right after each call matter most
- You want simple CRM sync for sales calls
- Individuals or small teams are adopting bottom-up
Choose Fireflies.ai if…
- You want a searchable library across all company meetings
- Conversation analytics and topic tracking are useful
- You need many integrations and an API
- You want to record phone dialers and uploaded audio too
Side by side
| Criterion | Fathom | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.4 / 10 | 8.2 / 10 |
| Features & fit | 8.2 | 8.6 |
| Ease of use | 9.2 | 8.6 |
| Value for money | 9.0 | 8.0 |
| Support & reliability | 8.0 | 7.4 |
| Security & privacy | 8.0 | 7.6 |
| Integrations & ecosystem | 8.0 | 8.6 |
| Starting price (indicative) | Free; paid from around $15–19 / user / month | Free plan; paid from around $10–19 / seat / month |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | No |
| Best for | Individuals wanting free notes | Sales teams |
Feature by feature
| Feature | Fathom | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes — unlimited recordings | Yes — limited |
| Paid entry (indicative) | ~ $15 / user / month | ~ $10 / seat / month |
| Zoom, Meet, Teams | Yes | Yes |
| CRM sync | HubSpot, Salesforce and others | HubSpot, Salesforce and many others |
| Searchable meeting library | Yes | Yes, strong |
| Conversation analytics | Basic | Yes |
| API | Limited | Yes |
| Best fit | Individuals and sales teams | Company-wide meeting knowledge |
Pricing compared
Fathom
| Plan | Indicative price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Unlimited recordings |
| Premium | ≈ $15 / user / mo | Billed annually |
| Team | ≈ $19 / user / mo | Billed annually |
| Business | ≈ $29 / user / mo | Billed annually |
Fireflies.ai
| Plan | Indicative price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | — |
| Pro | ≈ $10 / user / mo | Billed annually |
| Business | ≈ $19 / user / mo | Billed annually |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | — |
| Team size | Fathom | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| 5 seats | $75 (Premium) | $50 (Pro) |
| 10 seats | $150 (Premium) | $100 (Pro) |
| 25 seats | $375 (Premium) | $250 (Pro) |
Indicative USD list prices; excludes tax, add-ons and promotions. Confirm on each vendor’s site.
Free plan
Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings with core summaries, making it one of the most generous in the category. Fireflies' free plan is more limited on AI summaries and storage.
Summaries
Fathom is praised for summaries that appear quickly and read well. Fireflies offers customisable summaries and AI apps for specific meeting types.
Search and analytics
Fireflies' strength is its searchable library, topic trackers and analytics across many meetings. Fathom has added team features and search, but Fireflies goes deeper here.
Pricing
Fathom's paid plans run from around $15 to $29 per user per month annually. Fireflies' Pro is around $10 and Business around $19 per seat per month annually.
Integrations
Both sync to major CRMs such as HubSpot and Salesforce. Fireflies supports a wider range of integrations and an API.
Pros & cons
Fathom
- Generous free plan
- Fast summaries after calls
- CRM sync on paid plans
- Advanced features paid
- Video calls only
Fireflies.ai
- Extensive integrations
- Conversation intelligence
- Searchable transcripts
- Storage limits on free plan
- Bot presence can deter some guests
Key features of each
Fathom
- Recording & transcripts. Zoom, Meet and Teams.
- AI summaries. Action items and highlights.
- CRM sync. HubSpot and Salesforce on Team plans.
- Clips. Share key moments.
Integrates with: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack.
Fireflies.ai
- CRM sync. Push notes to Salesforce, HubSpot and more.
- Topic tracking. Track keywords across calls.
- Soundbites. Share clips of key moments.
- AskFred. AI assistant over your meetings.
Integrates with: HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, Asana, Zoom, Google Meet.
Who should avoid each
Skip Fathom if…
- In-person meeting recording
- Organisations requiring on-premise storage
Best for: Individuals wanting free notes; Sales teams syncing to CRM; Customer success calls.
Skip Fireflies.ai if…
- Teams uncomfortable with recording bots
- Strict on-premise requirements
Best for: Sales teams; CRM-centric workflows; Conversation analytics.
Switching between Fathom and Fireflies.ai
Migration difficulty: Easy
Switching note takers is simple; the main question is what to do with past recordings. Export transcripts you need before cancelling.
- Export transcripts and summaries you must keep.
- Disconnect the old assistant from calendars to avoid two bots joining.
- Connect the new assistant to calendars and CRM.
- Tell external participants about recording, per your policy.
- Review retention and consent settings.
Weigh it your way
Adjust the weights to your priorities to see which tool comes out ahead for you. Print or export the result for your team.
| Tool | Features | Ease | Value | Support | Security | Integrations | Your score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Fathom | 8.2 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.38 |
| 2. Fireflies.ai | 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.0 | 7.4 | 7.6 | 8.6 | 8.19 |
Drag the sliders to match your priorities. Scores are our editorial sub-scores; weights start at the values we publish on the methodology page. Nothing you change is stored or sent anywhere.
How our scores and weights work · Add a third tool side by side
Frequently asked questions
Is Fathom really free?
Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings and basic AI summaries; advanced features are on paid plans.
Does Fireflies work with Microsoft Teams?
Yes. Fireflies works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, among others.
Do I need consent to record meetings?
Recording laws vary by location; many require all-party consent. Both tools notify participants, but follow local law and your policy.
Which is better for sales teams?
Both sync to CRMs. Fathom is simple and fast; Fireflies adds deeper analytics. Dedicated revenue tools like Avoma go further.
Does Fathom or Fireflies.ai have a free plan?
Fathom has a free plan; Fireflies.ai has a free plan. Indicative starting prices: Fathom — Free; paid from around $15–19 / user / month; Fireflies.ai — Free plan; paid from around $10–19 / seat / month.
Which is cheaper for a team of 10, Fathom or Fireflies.ai?
On indicative list prices, the cheapest paid plan that fits 10 users costs about $150 per month on Fathom (Premium) and about $100 on Fireflies.ai (Pro), so Fireflies.ai is cheaper at that size. Taxes, add-ons and discounts are excluded — and the plan you actually need may be higher.
Which scores higher in our review, Fathom or Fireflies.ai?
Fathom scores 8.4/10 and Fireflies.ai 8.2/10 on our weighted rubric. Fathom leads on 4 of six criteria. A higher score does not make it right for every buyer — see the “choose if” lists above.
