Fathom vs Fireflies: Which AI Notetaker Saves More Time? (2026)

You sit through a 45-minute meeting. Two hours later, you can’t remember the three action items you agreed to. Sound familiar?

AI notetakers promise to fix this. They join your calls, transcribe everything, and hand you a summary with action items. But Fathom vs Fireflies — the two big names — take very different approaches. One’s free tier is genuinely useful. The other gates video behind a paywall. Pick wrong and you’ll either overpay or miss features you need.

We tested both across dozens of meetings. Here’s the verdict on Fathom vs Fireflies.

The Quick Verdict (TL;DR)

For most people: Fathom Free. Unlimited recordings, solid AI summaries, zero cost. You’ll never hit a paywall for personal use.

For sales teams and power users: Fireflies Business. Conversation analytics, API access, 50+ integrations. Worth it if you coach reps or build custom workflows.

Skip Fireflies Free. The 800-minute monthly cap runs out fast — that’s roughly 13 hours of meetings. Most professionals blow past that in a week.

Why AI Meeting Notetakers Matter Now

The average knowledge worker spends 21 hours a week in meetings. That’s half the workweek. Manual notes are unreliable — you miss details, forget follow-ups, and waste time deciphering your own scribbles.

AI notetakers solve three problems at once:
1. Capture — every word, speaker-labeled, searchable
2. Summarize — key decisions, action items, next steps in seconds
3. Integrate — push summaries to Notion, Slack, CRM, task managers automatically

But not all notetakers are created equal. Fathom vs Fireflies is the main choice you’ll face.

Fathom vs Fireflies: Side-by-Side Comparison

Free Plan Showdown

Fathom Free

————-

Unlimited

Yes, full quality

Yes

7 days

Full transcript search

Yes

iOS only

Winner: Fathom, by a landslide. Unlimited recordings with video and full AI summaries on a free plan? That’s unheard of. Fireflies Free is a trial, not a usable tier.

Paid Pricing & Hidden Costs

Fathom

——–

Team: $15/user/mo

Unlimited retention, CRM sync, team workspace

N/A

N/A

Hidden costs to watch:

• Fathom: No API at any tier. No Android app. CRM sync only on Team ($15).
• Fireflies: Video recording is Pro+ only. Analytics and API require Business ($19). Custom vocabulary is Business-only.

For a 5-person team: Fathom Team = $75/mo. Fireflies Pro = $50/mo. Fireflies Business = $95/mo.

AI Summary Quality

Both use LLMs to generate summaries. In our testing:

Fathom produces tighter, more action-oriented summaries. Action items are bolded, assigned to speakers, and grouped by topic. The “TL;DR” at the top is genuinely skimmable.

Fireflies gives more detail — sometimes too much. You get a full outline, topic timestamps, and sentiment markers. Great for review. Overkill for “what do I do next?”

Winner: Fathom for speed. Fireflies for depth.

Integrations & Workflow

Fathom (~10 core): HubSpot, Salesforce, Close, Slack, Notion, Asana, Linear, Zapier. Covers the basics well.

Fireflies (50+): Everything Fathom has plus Pipedrive, Copper, Gong, Chorus, Jira, Trello, Monday.com, Google Docs, and an open API.

If your stack is standard (HubSpot + Slack + Notion), Fathom covers it. If you use niche tools or need custom workflows, Fireflies wins.

Video Recording & Retention

Fathom: Video on ALL plans. Free = 7-day retention. Team = unlimited.

Fireflies: Video on PAID plans only. Free = audio only. Pro = unlimited retention with video.

This matters more than you think. Video lets you replay a specific moment — a demo, a heated discussion, a client’s exact wording. Audio-only loses context.

Winner: Fathom. Video on free is a massive differentiator.

Real-World Test: How They Handle a 45-Min Meeting

We ran both on the same Zoom call: a project kickoff with 5 people, screen sharing, and a demo.

Fathom output:

• 12-minute processing time
• Summary: 3 paragraphs + 6 action items (each assigned)
• Video available immediately
• Searchable transcript with speaker labels
• One-click clip sharing for the demo segment

Fireflies output:

• 8-minute processing time
• Summary: Detailed outline with 12 topics, timestamps, sentiment score
• Audio only on Free (video would need Pro)
• Excellent search with filters (speaker, topic, date)
• “Soundbites” feature for sharing moments

Time saved vs. manual notes: ~20 minutes per meeting for both. Fathom’s action items were more immediately actionable. Fireflies’ topic breakdown was better for post-meeting review.

Who Should Choose Fathom

• Solo professionals and freelancers — Free tier covers everything you need
• Small teams (2-10) — Team plan at $15/user is simple, no per-feature upsells
• Anyone who wants video — Client calls, demos, interviews
• Non-technical users — Cleaner UI, fewer settings to mess with
• Privacy-conscious — 7-day auto-delete on Free (feature, not bug)

Who Should Choose Fireflies

• Sales teams — Conversation intelligence (talk time, questions, sentiment) coaches reps
• Enterprises — API access, custom vocabulary, SSO, compliance features
• Heavy integration users — 50+ connectors, Zapier/Make for custom flows
• Android users — Fathom is iOS-only on mobile
• Long-term archivers — 30-day free retention vs. Fathom’s 7 days

The Bottom Line on Fathom vs Fireflies

Fathom vs Fireflies isn’t really a fair fight for most people. Fathom Free gives you 90% of the value for $0. Unlimited recordings, video, actionable summaries. Fireflies Free is too limited to rely on.

If you’re a sales leader managing 10+ reps, Fireflies Business pays for itself in coaching insights. Everyone else: start with Fathom. Upgrade only when you hit a wall — and you probably won’t.

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Takeaway: Download Fathom from fathom.video. Connect your calendar. Let it join your next three meetings. If the summaries save you 15 minutes each, you’ve already won. No credit card required to find out.