Head-to-head
Fathom vs Otter.ai: which one in 2026?
Fathom is an AI meeting recorder that says on its homepage it is now part of Superhuman, and Otter.ai is a transcription and meeting assistant from Otter.ai Inc. Fathom leads with unlimited recordings on a free plan, while Otter meters minutes, meeting length and AI chat queries by plan.
Verdict
Fathom is the better starting point for an individual or small team that records many calls, because the free plan has no minutes cap and the privacy policy offers an opt-out. Otter.ai fits larger groups that need 4-hour meetings, API access and live assist. Neither vendor's security page could be read, so ask for certification documents and confirm which price column is monthly before you buy.
Fathom and Otter.ai side by side
| Fathom | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Price entry | $16 per user per month, billed annually | $8.33 per user per month, billed annually |
| What the free plan allows | Unlimited recordings and transcriptions with instant summaries. AI action items and Ask Fathom are listed as limited use on Free. | Basic is free with 300 transcription minutes per user monthly, 30 minutes per conversation, 25 conversations in history and 20 AI Chat queries. |
| Paid price points | Premium lists $20 per user, Team $19, Business $34 and Enterprise $35. A second column shows $16, $15 and $25. | Pro lists $16.99, Business $30 and Enterprise is custom. Footnoted lower figures such as $8.49 apply only to an India-issued credit card. |
| Monthly versus annual columns | The pricing page shows two figures per tier without a clear label for which is monthly. Check the checkout screen before budgeting. | Pricing shows monthly and annual views, but the printed numbers mix list prices, a 20 percent offer and card-specific footnotes, so confirm at checkout. |
| How meetings are captured | Bot-free capture is marked as available, in beta on Free, alongside a meeting bot. Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams are named. | A notetaker joins meetings, or you record from Mac or Windows apps, Chrome or mobile. Zoom, Teams and Google Meet are listed. |
| Limits on long meetings | The pricing page lists recording and storage as unlimited, and no per-meeting length cap was found on the pages read. | Pro caps a meeting at 90 minutes and Business at 4 hours. Pro also holds 1,200 transcription minutes per user. |
| Sales and coaching tools | Business adds CRM field sync, Deal View, coaching metrics and AI scorecards. CRM sync is capped at a few users on some tiers. | Live Assist gives real-time prompts from playbooks, and Pro syncs Salesforce and HubSpot for 1 user, Business for 5 users. |
| Training on your meetings | Fathom may train in-house models on de-identified meeting data, with an opt-out in account settings. Third parties may not train on it. | Otter trains its proprietary AI on de-identified audio and transcripts. The policy read here did not describe an opt-out for that. |
| Hosting and certifications | Hosted in the United States. SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA claims appear on the homepage only, since no security page loaded, so unverified. | Runs on Amazon Web Services in the United States. SOC 2 and encryption claims were not verified because the security page showed only a title. |
Where each one wins
Fathom wins on
- Free plan records and transcribes without a minutes cap, so a light user never hits a monthly ceiling.
- States an opt-out for training on de-identified meeting data in account settings.
- Business tier adds CRM sync, Deal View and AI scorecards aimed at sales managers.
Otter.ai wins on
- Higher Business ceilings: 4-hour meetings, unlimited transcription and up to 25 members.
- Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM and API with webhooks, plus a wider integration list including Jira and Dropbox.
- Pre-call briefs and Live Assist prompts work before and during the meeting, not only afterward.
Which to pick
Pick Fathom if
You want unlimited free recording, a bot-free option and a clear route to a sales coaching tier, and you accept an opt-out step for model training.
Pick Otter.ai if
You need longer meetings, larger teams, API access or live prompts during calls, and you can live with training on de-identified audio and transcripts.
Each tool in context: Fathom profile, Otter.ai profile, and the full Best AI Meeting Assistants in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fathom still an independent product after joining Superhuman?
Fathom's homepage states it is now part of Superhuman, and the pages read gave no change to plans or the privacy policy. The pricing and privacy pages still carry the Fathom name. Check the vendor's terms for any change of data controller before signing a team contract.
Which of Fathom and Otter.ai has the better free plan?
Fathom's Free plan lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions, with AI action items and Ask Fathom limited. Otter's Basic gives 300 minutes per user monthly, 30-minute conversations and 25 conversations in history. Someone who records several calls a day will outgrow Basic far sooner than Fathom Free.
Do Fathom and Otter.ai train AI on my meetings?
Both use de-identified data. Fathom may train its in-house models on de-identified meeting data and offers an opt-out in account settings. Otter says it trains its proprietary AI on de-identified audio and transcripts. Fathom says third parties like OpenAI may not train on it.
Are Fathom and Otter.ai SOC 2 certified?
Unverified here. Fathom's homepage claims SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA, but its security and trust pages returned 404. Otter's security and trust pages showed only a title. Ask each vendor for a current report under NDA before approving either for sensitive meetings.