Fathom vs Fireflies (2026): which AI note-taker should you use?

Fathom and Fireflies are two of the most popular AI note-takers, and both have a free plan. They record your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams calls, write a transcript and summarize what was decided. The differences are in how generous the free plan is, what you pay for upgrades, and how each treats your data.

Quick answer: for one person on a free plan, Fathom is more generous. For a team that will pay, or anyone who needs many languages, Fireflies is cheaper per seat and covers 100+ languages.

Fathom vs Fireflies at a glance

	Fathom	Fireflies
Free plan	Unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI summaries	Unlimited transcription, 400 min storage per team, 20 AI credits
Cheapest paid plan	$15/user/mo (yearly), $19 monthly	$10/seat/mo (yearly), $18 monthly
Next plan up	$25/user/mo (yearly), $34 monthly	$19/seat/mo (yearly), $29 monthly
Languages	Check Fathom’s site	100+ for transcription
Bot-free recording	Yes (beta), or a bot	Bot joins the call
Trains on your data?	De-identified data, you can opt out	Says it doesn’t train on personal information
Minimum age	18+	Check terms

Free plan: Fathom is more generous

This is the biggest difference. Fathom’s free plan has no recording limit and includes instant AI summaries. Fireflies’ free plan transcribes without limit too, but only keeps 400 minutes of recordings per team and gives you 20 AI credits. If you have several hour-long calls a week, you’ll hit Fireflies’ storage cap quickly on the free plan.

Paid plans: Fireflies is cheaper

If you’re paying, Fireflies costs less: $10 per seat per month billed yearly for Pro, which adds unlimited AI summaries and 8,000 minutes of storage per seat. Fathom’s first paid plan is $15 per user per month billed yearly and adds AI-generated action items and advanced summaries.

For a team of five on yearly billing, that’s about $600 a year for Fireflies Pro versus $900 for Fathom’s first paid plan.

Features that matter

• Languages: Fireflies transcribes in 100+ languages, a strong reason to pick it for international teams.
• Bot-free capture: Fathom lets you choose between a bot joining the call or bot-free recording (in beta). Some clients find meeting bots awkward.
• Sales teams: Fathom’s higher plan adds deal views, coaching metrics and AI scorecards, aimed at sales calls.

Privacy

Read this part before you connect your calendar:

• Fireflies says it does not train on your personal information. It also faces two proposed class actions in Illinois alleging it collected voiceprints without consent. These are allegations, not findings.
• Fathom trains its own models on de-identified meeting data, and you can opt out. Fathom requires users to be 18 or older.

Whichever you choose, tell people when you record. In many places everyone on a call must consent. Our meeting notes guide covers the safe setup.

Which should you choose?

• Choose Fathom if you’re one person who wants a free note-taker with no recording limit, or you want the option of no bot in the call.
• Choose Fireflies if you’re paying for a team, need many languages, or prefer a tool that says it doesn’t train on your data.

Also weighing Otter? Read Otter vs Fireflies.