Fathom vs Otter: Which AI Notetaker is better for you?

Want to streamline meeting note-taking? Fathom and Otter are two of the most talked-about AI note-taking tools.

In this guide, we’ll compare Fathom vs Otter to see which tool fits different needs. We’ll break down their features, strengths, limitations, and pricing, along with customer feedback from G2.

We’ll also explore why some teams are shifting to more robust, all-in-one solutions at the end of this article.

Let’s get started.

What to look at when choosing an AI note-taking app

When you decide on a note-taking app, you want a tool that fits your/your team’s style and needs. Here are some things you can look at:

• Real-time transcription: Captures everything as the meeting happens.
• Meeting summaries: Quickly scan the key points and takeaways from the meeting.
• Action items: Identify tasks, next steps, and who’s responsible for them..
• Integration with meeting apps: Works seamlessly with video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or any dialers you may use.
• Search functionality: Turns notes and transcriptions into a searchable knowledge base for easy reference.
• Ease of use: A simple design helps teams adopt it quickly.
• Collaboration features: Collaborative note-taking, quick sharing, comments, and tagging to improve teamwork.
• Speaker recognition: Helps clarify who said what.
• Language support: Useful for multilingual teams.
• CRM and other integrations: This reduces manual data entry for sales teams.
• Security and compliance: Important for protecting sensitive discussions.
• Custom note templates: Lets you capture and organize the details that matter to you.
• Pricing and value: Should align with your budget and needs.
• Analytics and insights: Bonus features that can improve meetings over time.

Both Fathom and Otter include most of the features mentioned above. Instead of covering those common capabilities, we will focus on the key differences and standout features that set them apart.

Fathom Video: Made for small, collaborative teams

Fathom is a great option if you’re looking to record, transcribe, and automate notes. It has quite a generous free plan. Their team plan is built for teams that want a tool to help with syncing meeting notes to the CRM and collaboration.

Limitations include basic privacy controls, the inability to apply note-taking templates or customization to different meetings, and no mobile app for recording on the go.

Features

Fathom brings a set of features that can help you get the most out of your meetings:

• Transcription in 25 languages: It can write down what’s said in many languages, which helps if your team speaks different tongues.
• AI meeting summaries: It creates 14 types of meeting summaries, so you can pick the style that fits your work.
• Action items and follow-up emails: The tool picks out tasks and can send follow-up emails, saving you extra work after a meeting.
• Team collaboration: With folders, comments, and the ability to tag moments, you can work together on meeting notes.
• CRM sync: With the purchase of their higher plans, it connects with your CRM to keep customer data up to date.
• Global search: This lets you quickly find a past conversation or topic among all your meetings.

Pros

Here’s what people like about Fathom:

• Good for teamwork: Its sharing and commenting features make it easy for teams to work together.
• Variety in summaries: With many summary options, you can choose what works best for you.
• Multiple languages: Transcribing in 25 languages helps if you work with international teams.
• Free plan benefits: Even the free plan gives you unlimited recordings and storage, which is a plus if you are just starting.

Cons

Some users have noted a few downsides:

• Advanced features cost more: Features like unlimited team collaboration, CRM sync come only with the higher-priced plans.
• Limited meeting templates: The free plan restricts you to preset AI summaries with no customization. Upgrading unlocks 14 summary types, but customization remains limited, as templates apply to all meetings without flexibility for different call types.
• Broad focus: While Fathom supports CRM integration, it isn’t primarily designed for deep sales analytics and is limited in customization.
• Intrusiveness in meetings: The visible presence of the notetaker as a "guest" in meetings can feel disruptive or intrusive during sensitive discussions, and it can be hard or impossible to turn off depending on your plan.
• No mobile app: The absence of a mobile app makes it less convenient for users constantly on the go.

Pricing

Fathom’s plans are made to fit different needs:

• Free plan:
  
  • Cost: $0
  • What you get: Unlimited recordings, storage, transcription in 25 languages, basic meeting summaries for first 5 calls each month, and team collaboration tools.
• Premium plan:
  
  • Cost: $15 per user/month
  • What you get: Everything in the free plan plus unlimited advanced meeting summaries, more detailed action items, and follow-up emails.
• Team Edition:
  
  • Cost: $19 per user/month
  • What you get: All Premium features with added tools like team folders, comments, and a team-wide search.
• Team Edition Pro:
  
  • Cost: $29 per user/month
  • What you get: Everything in Team Edition with extra features like unlimited CRM sync, coaching, more integration options, and added security.

Customer ratings on G2 

5.0 out of 5 (4,697 reviews)

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Fathom’s free plan is a big plus, and users love how it eliminates the hassle of note-taking, letting them focus on conversations instead of writing things down. 

However, its limitations stand out in the reviews. It only works on Zoom and Google Meet, and you must be the meeting host to use it. 

Otter: The go-to for individuals, students, and smaller teams

Otter is known for its easy-to-use real-time transcription. It works well for individual users like students and small teams who need clear, quick meeting notes. 

It may not be the best choice for professionals or teams looking to automate notes and capture call insights, as it lacks language support, note-taking templates, collaboration features, and conversation insights. 

Features

Otter offers features that many users appreciate:

• Real-time transcription: It writes down conversations as they happen.
• AI-generated summaries and action items: After a meeting, you get a summary and a list of tasks.
• Custom vocabulary: You can add specific words to improve accuracy, which is useful for technical terms.
• Integration with popular meeting apps: It works with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet.
• User-friendly design: Its clear interface makes it simple to use.

Pros

Here are some reasons why users like Otter:

• Live transcription: This makes sure you don’t miss any details during meetings.
• Quick follow-ups: With auto-generated summaries and action items, post-meeting work is easier.
• Simple and clear: The interface is straightforward, which helps reduce the time you spend figuring out the tool.
• Flexible plans: The free plan and student discounts make it accessible to many.

Cons

Some points to consider:

• Limits on transcription minutes: Free and Pro plans have limits, which might be a problem for heavy users.
• Basic collaboration: It is best for individual note-taking and may not offer deep team features.
• Disjointed video recording: Video playback isn’t synced with the transcript, so you can’t jump to specific parts of the call or follow along easily.
• Fixed-format notes: Users cannot customize AI summaries in more detail or use different meeting templates for different types of calls (e.g., one for interviews and another for sales calls)
• Language Support: Otter currently only supports English, Spanish, and French transcription.
• Lack of conversation analytics: Otter AI offers almost no advanced conversation analytics and deal insights, which are valuable for revenue teams.

Pricing

Otter’s pricing plans are set to match different needs:

• Basic (Free) plan:
  
  • Cost: $0
  • What you get: Real-time transcription, AI summaries, 300 minutes per month, and support for common meeting platforms.
• Pro plan:
  
  • Cost: $16.99 per user/month (or $8.33 per month with yearly billing)
  • What you get: More transcription minutes (up to 1200 per month), longer meeting support, speaker tagging, and advanced search options. There are also student discounts available.
• Business plan:
  
  • Cost: $30 per user/month (or $20 per month with yearly billing)
  • What you get: Everything in the Pro plan along with admin features like usage analytics, support for multiple meetings, and unlimited file imports.
• Enterprise:
  
  • Cost: Custom pricing
  • What you get: Options for large teams including Single Sign-On, organization-wide deployment, enhanced security, and special tools like OtterPilot™ for Sales.

Customer ratings on G2

4.3 out of 5 (292 reviews)

Users love how Otter simplifies meeting notes. One user shared that they used to take handwritten notes or listen to recordings to create meeting summaries, but that’s no longer needed. After discovering Otter, their workload became much easier. The tool captures key points and provides a concise summary at the end, making follow-ups effortless. Plus, it was easy to integrate and is now a go-to for all their meetings. 

Other use though said that Otter.ai is generally reliable, but speaker identification could be more accurate, and editing can feel clunky at times. The lack of an undo option after saving and slow customer support responses, especially for premium users, can be frustrating.

Fathom vs Otter - Quick summary

In summary, Fathom supports transcription in 25 languages and delivers 14 summary styles with action items and follow‑up emails. It also enables team collaboration with features like folders, comments, and global search, while CRM sync is available in its higher‑tier plans.

Otter focuses on real‑time transcription in English, French, and Spanish, offering straightforward summaries with action items. Its user‑friendly interface, custom vocabulary, and basic collaboration tools such as sharing, tagging, and annotations make it well‑suited for individuals and small teams.

There’s no limit to what you can do with meeting recordings – from transcription and note-taking to tracking action items and follow-ups. If you need a solution that goes beyond what Fathom and Otter offer, Avoma might be the answer.

Avoma: A future-proof AI note-taker for every team

Avoma is aimed at teams that want more from their meeting notes.

It automatically generates notes, creates action items, and drafts follow-up emails based on what was discussed, ensuring nothing important is missed. With native CRM integrations (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot), Avoma updates your CRM directly, streamlining workflows. 

One of its standout features is the ability to customize topics detected during different types of meetings and breaks long discussions into 40+ “Smart Chapters” for easy navigation. Additionally, Avoma offers transcription in 75+ languages, making it a versatile tool for teams across the globe.

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With the AI Copilot, you can easily ask about meetings and deal details and focus on what's most important.

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Features

Avoma comes with a set of features that help you keep track of meeting details:

• Transcription in 75+ languages: It writes down meetings in many languages.
• AI-powered meeting templates: Avoma better understands what is important to capture based on different meeting types, whether it's a demo, HR interview, or internal meeting. You can also make your own templates.
• Smart and custom topics:  Avoma offers 40+ default smart topics and lets you create custom ones. Customize the details and context the AI captures, and it will organize them in notes according to the meeting type.
• Smart Chapters: This feature breaks down long meetings into topics, making it easier to review later.
• Collaborative note editor: Team members can co-edit notes in real-time during or after meetings and share comments about the meeting.
• Automated email follow-ups: It can draft emails based on your meeting notes.
• CRM integration: Avoma connects with your CRM to update fields automatically, which reduces extra work.
• Ask Avoma AI Copilot: You can ask questions about your meetings or deals to quickly get answers.

Pros

Some good things about Avoma:

• Flexible pricing: Avoma’s mix-and-match pricing is best for growing team needs. You can start small and upgrade or add add-ons as your needs develop. 
• Advanced AI note-taking: With custom meeting templates, it helps break down meetings into clear smart topics like 'Next Steps,' 'Pain Points,' and 'Business Needs’. You can customize templates and notes based on the type of meeting.
• Perfect for team collaboration: Team members can co-edit notes in real time, add comments, and share snippets. Plus, you can create playlists of top calls to help with onboarding or align go-to-market teams.
• Native CRM support: Avoma has very robust integration with CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce compared to other tools. 
• Multilingual support: With over 75 languages, it suits teams that work globally.
• More privacy controls: With robust privacy settings and extensive customization options, Avoma allows you to control the flow of sensitive information, ensuring that internal and external meeting data are handled appropriately.
• Compliance & security: Avoma is compliant with leading industry standards, including SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, EU-US DPF, and CCPA, ensuring the utmost security and privacy of your meeting data.

Cons

A few things to consider:

• Not made for basic needs: For students or individuals who are looking for just transcription and basic notes, Avoma isn’t a great choice.
• Higher cost: Avoma can be more expensive than Otter or Fathom if you need more advanced features, but their AI Meeting Assistant plan is quite similar in price. But it's worth the investment for teams looking for more precise notes, security, and advanced analytics.

Pricing

Avoma’s pricing plans are set up to offer advanced tools, as compared to Fathom and Otter:

• AI Meeting Assistant Plan:
  
  • Monthly billing: $29 per user
  • Yearly billing: $19 per user (billed annually)
  • What you get: Automatic video recording, unlimited transcription, advanced notes, and scheduling. This plan is good for teams that want more detail from every meeting.
• Additional options:
  
  • Collaborators/Listeners: Free access for those who only need to view recordings, notes, and transcripts.
  • Conversation Intelligence plan: Advanced Conversation Insights into interactions and team skills, smart tracking, auto-scoring calls with custom AI Scorecards, and more privacy controls.
  • Lead routing add-on: An extra option for $19 per user/month (billed annually) that adds features like advanced scheduling and inbound lead routing.

Customer ratings on G2

4.6 out of 5 (1,324 reviews)

Users find Avoma highly valuable for capturing customer insights and streamlining workflows. They appreciate its quality in AI-powered transcription, meeting summaries, and integrations with tools like Zoom and HubSpot. It helps teams focus on strategic discussions instead of note-taking. 

Fathom, Otter, and Avoma: A quick recap of AI note-taking features

Here’s a comparison table for a quick overview of how Avoma, Fathom, and Otter stack up across key features for AI note-taking:

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Use cases and team fit

When you choose a tool, think about what your team really needs. Here’s a look at how each tool might fit:

• Fathom works well for professionals looking for flexible meeting documentation. It offers different summary styles, action item tracking, and follow-up emails, making it useful for anyone who wants structured but adaptable meeting notes.

Its free plan with unlimited recordings makes it a strong choice for individuals, startups, and mid-sized teams who want AI-driven insights without high costs.

• Otter excels at real-time transcription and accessibility. Its simple, AI-generated summaries and action items make it ideal for individuals, educators, researchers, and journalists who need quick, accurate transcripts.

While it includes basic collaboration features, it’s best for personal use or small teams that prioritize ease of use over deep integrations.

• Avoma is a great fit for teams that need structured meeting insights, automated follow-ups, and deep CRM integration. With AI-powered summaries, smart chapters, and customizable note-taking, it helps professionals stay better organized and aligned. 

Sales teams, customer success managers, project leads, HR, marketing teams, and business strategists can all benefit from its ability to quickly capture information, collaborate efficiently, and streamline workflows.

Wrapping up

Fathom, Otter, and Avoma each bring unique strengths to the table with their AI-powered meeting note solutions. If you’re after flexible summaries, real‑time transcription, or detailed insights that integrate with your CRM, there’s a tool designed to fit your workflow.

Avoma, in particular, stands out with advanced topic detection, well-organized notes, and multi-language support. 

Its advanced plan is an excellent choice for revenue teams that need deeper conversation analysis and seamless CRM connectivity. 

With flexible pricing tiers, you can opt for basic note-taking. It is priced similarly to Fathom and Otter. You can also upgrade to advanced conversation and revenue intelligence features. 

If this sounds like what you need, try Avoma or book a demo. We’re here to help you streamline meetings and boost team productivity.

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