Fireflies AI alternatives for Mac, with no bot and no auto-join
Fireflies AI alternatives for Mac that never join a call on their own: Koi, Fathom, Otter, Granola AI, tl;dv, Jamie and MacWhisper, on video, storage and price.
Start here
What is the best Fathom alternative?
If you're leaving over the bot or the cloud, Koi keeps the transcript and a video of the screen on your Mac. If you want another free plan, tl;dv is the closest match. Granola AI writes cloud notes with no bot, Fireflies AI and Otter suit teams, Jamie keeps data in the EU, and MacWhisper stays local.
Be clear on one thing first: on price, Fathom wins. Its free plan has unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI summaries, clips, playlists and search. Koi has no free plan at all. Koi also names no one beyond You and Them, has no team library or CRM sync, and runs only on a Mac.
We make Koi, so it's first below, and you should read it that way. Every fact about the others comes from their own sites, checked October 16, 2026. We didn't test any of them.
Stay on Fathom if
When Fathom is still the right tool
- Free matters more than anything. Nothing in this list matches unlimited recordings for $0.
- Your team shares clips and playlists of calls, or coaches from them.
- Your notes need to land in HubSpot or Salesforce without a copy and paste.
- You want a bot that joins from the calendar while you're running late.
- You're moving to Windows: Fathom says its desktop app is coming there next.
If none of those fit, keep reading.
Why switch
Why people look for a Fathom alternative now
The news is the reason most people search this month. On September 14, 2026, Superhuman announced it had acquired Fathom and plans to bring its notetaking into Superhuman's apps. The post doesn't say whether the free plan or the standalone app stays as it is. Nothing has changed yet, but it's fair to want a plan B.
The other reasons come from Fathom's own pages:
- The bot is the default. Bot-free capture is live on Mac, but bot-free video is a limited beta for Zoom only, per its what's new page.
- Every call goes to Fathom's service to become text and notes.
- On the free plan, AI action items and Ask Fathom are limited use.
- Team and Business plans need at least 2 users.
The picks
7 Fathom alternatives for Mac
1. Koi
Best for: Bot-free video and transcripts that stay on your Mac
Fathom's bot-free video is a Zoom beta. Koi has no other mode: tap Fn + ⌃, pick Online call, and Koi films the screen with both sides' sound in Zoom, Meet, Teams or a browser call, with nothing joining. Your microphone is You, what the Mac plays is Them, and each stretch is written down on your Mac with Whisper as the call goes. The audio and video never leave your Mac.
The call is written onto a document as it goes, and it opens when you stop: the video, then You and Them in turns. Koi then asks “Summarize this call?” Say yes, and the transcript's words alone go to Koi's AI for a title, a short summary, your to-dos and a follow-up email draft for Mail. For a sales call it adds what they need and what held them back. Say no, and nothing leaves.
No free plan. Pro is $20 a month or $192 a year after a 3-day trial that needs a card, or Lifetime once: $59 for the first 25 buyers, rising to $199. Calls are unlimited on every plan. Writing notes counts as Koi usage: Pro includes a monthly share, Lifetime a one-time credit.
2. tl;dv
Best for: Another free plan, with video, hosted in the EU
tl;dv is the nearest like-for-like swap. Its homepage lists a free plan with unlimited recordings and transcriptions in 30+ languages, video and audio, data stored in the EU, and a promise never to train AI on your recordings. A bot records Meet, Zoom and Teams, or the desktop app records system audio on Apple silicon and Intel Macs with no bot.
Pro is €29 a seat a month, or €18 billed yearly, on its pricing page, which shows euros.
3. Granola AI
Best for: No bot, and notes that read like you wrote them
Granola never sends a bot: it uses your computer's audio and blends your own rough notes with the transcript. It keeps no audio and no video, so there's nothing to rewatch, which is the big change from Fathom. Transcription and notes are cloud services, per its security page.
Basic is free with 30 days of history. Business is $14 a user a month and adds briefs, follow-up emails, HubSpot and other integrations. It runs on desktop, iPhone, Android and Apple Watch. More in our Granola AI alternatives.
4. Fireflies AI
Best for: Teams that need CRM sync and file uploads
Fireflies is the closest to Fathom for teams: a bot by default, a desktop app and a Meet extension without one, file uploads, a team library and CRM sync. Free has 400 minutes of storage per team and limited AI summaries. Pro is $18 a seat a month, or $10 yearly.
If video is why you used Fathom, read the fine print: the pricing cards list video recording on Pro, but the FAQ names it as a Business feature. Our Fireflies AI alternatives page goes further.
5. Otter
Best for: Live transcripts for a team, bot or no bot
Otter's desktop app records without a bot, and its Notetaker can join from your calendar instead. The free plan is tight: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, and your 25 latest conversations in view. Pro is $16.99 a user a month, or $8.33 yearly.
Video replay is on Enterprise only, so it's a step down from Fathom if you rewatch calls. See our Otter page.
6. Jamie
Best for: Bot-free notes kept in the EU
Jamie records your device's audio with no bot, online or in person. Its security page says processing and storage stay in the EU, audio is deleted after transcription, and nothing is used for training. Free gives 10 AI notes a month for meetings up to 30 minutes, and Plus is €21 a month billed yearly. No video.
7. MacWhisper
Best for: Local meeting transcripts and files, paid once
MacWhisper Pro records meetings on your Mac with local models, splits up to 8 speakers since version 15.2, and transcribes audio and video files too. Pro is €64 once, against $16 a month for Fathom Premium billed yearly. It needs macOS 15, and its meeting recording is still in beta, per its docs. Compare it with the cloud in MacWhisper vs Granola AI.
Comparison
Fathom vs the alternatives
From each company's own site, checked October 16, 2026.
| Bot | Video | Speech becomes text | Free plan | Paid from | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Default, bot-free on Mac | Yes, bot-free only in a Zoom beta | Fathom's service | Unlimited recordings | $20 a month, $16 yearly | Free, with clips and CRM |
| Koi | Never | Yes, any call, on your Mac | On your Mac | None. Pro has a 3-day trial | $20 a month, or $59 once | Calls kept on your Mac |
| tl;dv | Bot, or the desktop app | Yes | tl;dv's cloud, in the EU | Unlimited recordings | €29 a seat a month, €18 yearly | A free swap |
| Granola AI | Never | No, audio isn't kept | Cloud providers | 30 days of history | $14 a user a month | Notes in your words |
| Fireflies AI | Default, or the desktop app | Paid plans | Fireflies' cloud | 400 minutes of storage | $18 a seat a month | CRM-heavy teams |
| Otter | Optional | Enterprise only | Otter's cloud | 300 minutes a month | $16.99 a user a month | Live team transcripts |
| Jamie | Never | No, audio deleted | Cloud, in the EU | 10 AI notes a month | €21 a month, yearly | EU data |
| MacWhisper | Never | Not listed | On your Mac | Files, meetings need Pro | €64 once | Local, paid once |
Head to head
Fathom vs Koi: what you gain and what you give up
You gain the call itself, on your own disk. Fathom's video lives in Fathom's cloud; Koi's is a file on your Mac, made without a bot in any call app, not just Zoom. The transcript is made on your Mac too. You also get things Fathom doesn't do: In person recording for a meeting in the room, live captions of the other side in your language on macOS 26 and later, and a “Brief me” page before a meeting your own notes mention.
You give up a lot that Fathom does well. No free plan. No clips, playlists or share links: sharing means exporting the page to Word or PDF and sending it. No CRM. No names: everyone else on the call is Them. And no Windows.
Consent
Do you need consent when there's no bot?
A Fathom bot in the participant list tells people they're being recorded. Koi doesn't announce itself to the call, and its dock never shows in a screen you share, so the telling falls to you. Some places require everyone on the call to agree. This isn't legal advice; check the rules where you and the others are.
Bot-free recording is also where the lawsuits are. Chamberlain v. Granola, a proposed class action, alleges Granola captures conversations without the other people's knowledge, per RuntimeWire. Nothing has been decided. The simplest fix is a sentence at the start: “Mind if I record this for my notes?”
Choosing
Which Fathom alternative should you pick?
- Bot-free video and transcripts kept on your Mac, in any call app? Koi.
- Another free plan, with your data in the EU? tl;dv.
- No bot, and notes in your own words? Granola AI.
- A sales team that needs CRM sync? Fireflies AI.
- Live transcripts across a team? Otter.
- Local transcripts and file transcription, paid once? MacWhisper.
Want the wider list? Our best AI note takers for Mac covers every bot-free option. Or try Koi on a real call: see Koi's plans.
Keep exploring
The best AI note takers for Mac, no bot required
The best AI note takers for Mac with no bot in the call: Koi, Fathom, Granola AI, Otter, Fireflies AI, Jamie, MacWhisper and Talat, checked October 16, 2026.
Read AI alternatives that never join your meetings
Read AI alternatives with no bot in your calls: Koi, Granola AI, Jamie, Otter, Fathom and MacWhisper, plus Read AI's own steps to stop it joining meetings.
The best Granola AI alternatives in 2026
Granola AI alternatives compared: Koi, Otter, Fathom, Fireflies, Jamie, MacWhisper and Meetily. Bots, where transcription happens, free tiers and prices.
Support
Frequently asked questions
Superhuman announced on September 14, 2026 that it had acquired Fathom and plans to bring its notetaking into Superhuman's apps. Its post doesn't say whether Fathom's free plan or standalone app will change.
tl;dv is the closest: its free plan lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions in 30+ languages. Granola AI, Fireflies AI, Otter and Jamie have free tiers with tighter limits. Koi has no free plan.
Yes, on Mac. Fathom says bot-free capture is live there, with bot-free video in a limited beta for Zoom. Koi records any call app's screen video without a bot, saved on your Mac.
No. A recorded call is a document on your Mac, with the video, the transcript and any notes you said yes to. You can export it to Word or PDF or share it as a PDF, but there are no clips, playlists or links.
Not if you're on Fathom's free plan. Against Fathom Premium at $16 a month billed yearly, Koi Pro is $192 a year, or Lifetime is paid once: $59 for the first 25 buyers, rising to $199.