Fathom vs Fireflies AI: which meeting note taker fits?

• Fathom is better if you want the most on a free plan: unlimited recordings and transcripts, with summaries, clips and search.
• Fireflies AI is better if you pay for a team: Pro costs less billed yearly, and it adds file uploads and more languages.
• Both send a bot by default and both now record without one, Fathom on Mac in beta and Fireflies with a desktop app and a Meet extension.

Neither is ours. We make Koi, a third option at the end, which works very differently. Every fact about Fathom and Fireflies AI comes from their own pages, checked October 16, 2026. We didn't test either.

Sources: Fathom's pricing and what's new; Fireflies' pricing and its FAQ.

Maybe. 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 will stay as they are. If you're choosing for a team that will build habits around it, that's a question worth asking Fathom directly.

Per person, at list prices.

Fireflies' free plan caps storage, not transcription: 400 minutes per team, and 8,000 minutes per seat on Pro. Unlimited storage starts on Business. Fathom's free plan has no recording cap at all.

• The free plan: unlimited recordings and transcripts, with summaries.
• Clips and playlists of calls, for coaching or sharing a moment.
• Full video and audio from its bot.
• A bot-free mode with video, even if only Zoom for now.

• A cheaper Pro plan, billed yearly.
• File uploads to transcribe, on every plan.
• 100+ languages listed.
• Mobile apps for Android and iPhone, and free dictation in its desktop app, called Talk.
• A Chrome extension that records Meet without the bot.

Their bots do, by sitting in the participant list. Their bot-free modes don't join, so the call sees nothing. Some places require everyone to agree. This isn't legal advice, so check the rules where you and the others are, and say you're recording at the start.

Note takers are in court now. Brewer v. Otter.ai, a proposed class action filed in August 2025, alleges a bot recorded people without their consent, per NPR. It's an allegation, not a ruling, and it's about Otter, but the same question applies to any recorder.

Koi is built the other way round. Tap Fn + ⌃, pick Online call, and it records your Mac, not the meeting, so nothing ever joins. Your microphone is You, what the Mac plays is Them, each stretch written down on your Mac with Whisper, and the screen is filmed with both sides' sound in any call app. The video and transcript stay on your Mac. Notes are written online only when you say yes.

It isn't a team tool. Koi names no one past You and Them, has no clips, CRM, library or file uploads, no free plan, and runs on Mac only. Pro is $20 a month after a 3-day trial with a card, or Lifetime from $59. See Fathom alternatives and Fireflies AI alternatives, or every bot-free option in our best AI note takers for Mac.