Fathom and Fireflies both do the same thing: record, transcribe, and summarize your meetings. But Fathom wins on simplicity and a generous free plan, while Fireflies offers more depth for teams that need sales analytics and advanced search features.
Fathom in brief
Fathom is an AI meeting assistant focused on speed and simplicity. The tool automatically records your Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams meetings, transcribes them, and generates summaries with action items. What makes Fathom special: the free plan has no limit on the number of recordings or transcriptions. Additionally, you can record with the desktop app without a visible bot appearing in your meeting – ideal for customer conversations where you don’t want an extra participant.
Fireflies in brief
Fireflies is an AI notetaker focused on conversation intelligence. The tool transcribes your meetings but goes further with features like AskFred (a chatbot that lets you ask questions about your meeting data), sentiment analysis, and detailed analytics on talk time and conversation patterns. Fireflies has more than 40 integrations and offers an AI Apps store where you can build custom workflows. The tool is more powerful than Fathom, but also more complex and with more limitations on the free plan.
Fathom vs Fireflies: the differences
The biggest difference is in the approach. Fathom chooses simplicity: you get transcriptions, summaries, and action items without hassle. Fireflies loads your dashboard with metrics, filters, and analysis tools. For individual users or small teams who just want to capture their meetings, Fathom is the better choice. For sales teams looking to discover patterns in their conversations, Fireflies offers more value.
A second crucial difference: the bot. Fireflies sends a visible bot to all your meetings by default, including internal calls. That can be disruptive, especially in customer conversations. Fathom recently introduced a bot-free recording option through the desktop app – you record locally without others seeing it. This feature also works on mobile. If discretion is important, Fathom scores points here.
Then the free plans. Fathom gives you unlimited recording and transcription, with five advanced AI summaries per month. Fireflies limits you to 800 minutes of storage and doesn’t provide access to CRM integrations. For those who meet frequently without a budget, Fathom is the clear winner. Fireflies pushes you toward a paid plan more quickly.
Where Fireflies excels: search functionality and analytics. With AskFred you can ask questions like “What were customer objections in Q4?” and get answers based on all your meetings. Fathom has a basic search function, but lacks this conversational interface. Fireflies also shows detailed metrics like talk-to-listen ratio and sentiment per speaker – useful for sales coaching. Fathom did introduce AI Scorecards for sales teams, but that feature is less comprehensive.
Integrations are another difference. Fireflies has more than 40 connections, including Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Notion. Fathom focuses on a selection of popular tools: HubSpot, Salesforce, Close, and Zapier. If you use specific niche tools, check whether Fireflies supports them. Both tools integrate well with the major meeting platforms.
Finally: transcription accuracy. Users report that Fathom handles accents and jargon better. Fireflies sometimes struggles with technical terms and speaker recognition, especially in larger groups. Not a dealbreaker, but relevant if you have a lot of specialized conversations.
Pricing compared
Fathom starts at $1 per month for the Premium plan (annual subscription) or $1 monthly. That gives you unlimited advanced AI summaries and keyword alerts. The Team plan costs $1 per user per month (annually) or $1 monthly, with CRM sync and team features. Fireflies starts at $1 per month for Pro (annually) or $1 monthly, with more storage and AI summaries. The Business plan is $1 per user per month (annually) or $1 monthly.
On paper, Fireflies seems cheaper, but watch out for the limitations of the free plan. If you need more than 800 minutes, you’ll pay sooner with Fireflies. With Fathom you can use the free version longer. For teams that need multiple users, the costs are comparable: both charge per seat starting at the Team/Business level.
Fathom has no storage limits on the free plan. Fireflies does. That makes Fathom more attractive for those who have a budget but meet frequently. Fireflies is more interesting if you want immediate access to analytics and advanced search features without paying for the more expensive tier.
Conclusion
Fathom wins for individual users and small teams who want a reliable, simple meeting assistant without hassle. The unlimited free plan, bot-free recording option, and high transcription accuracy make it the practical choice. Fireflies is the better option for sales teams and power users who want to dig deeper into their meeting data, need advanced analytics, and want to take advantage of the extensive integrations. If you mainly want to record and transcribe: choose Fathom. If you want to discover patterns and query your meetings like a database: choose Fireflies.
