Otter vs Fireflies vs Fathom (2026): Pricing & Privacy

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This is an editorial research comparison based on official documentation, pricing pages and the sources listed below — how we review. Prices and plans change often; confirm on the vendor’s site.

Otter, Fireflies and Fathom all do the same basic job. They join or capture your video calls, transcribe them, write a summary with action items and let you search or ask questions across past meetings. The differences that matter to a technical team are elsewhere: how long a free or cheap plan lets you record, what a seat costs once the whole team is on it, how each tool tells other participants that they are being recorded, and what happens to the audio and transcripts afterwards.

This comparison is for developers, engineering managers and small teams choosing one notetaker for stand-ups, customer calls and interviews. It is one part of our wider guide to AI productivity tools for developers and tech teams, which covers the rest of the stack. If you want an app for your own written notes rather than a meeting recorder, see our roundup of AI note-taking apps instead.

This is an editorial research article. It is based on each vendor’s pricing page, help center, security page and privacy policy, plus public reporting where cited. We did not record meetings with these tools or run our own accuracy benchmarks, so we make no claims about transcription quality.

Quick verdict

In our assessment, Fathom is the easiest place to start for individuals, because its free plan offers unlimited recordings and transcription and its help center says it cannot record silently. Fireflies suits teams that want low annual per-seat prices, a large set of integrations and an API, with consent controls you should switch on deliberately. Otter is a reasonable fit if you want live transcription, an MCP server on every plan and sales or education features, but its free tier caps meetings at 30 minutes, and it is defending a consolidated privacy class action over how its notetaker records participants.

At a glance

Dimension	Otter	Fireflies	Fathom
Free plan	Basic: 300 transcription minutes per user per month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports	Free: transcription (with conditions), limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team, 2-hour recording limit	Free: unlimited recordings and transcription, instant AI summaries; some AI features marked “limited use”
Lowest paid plan (annual billing)	Pro, $8.33 per user per month	Pro, $10 per seat per month	Team, $15 per user per month (2-user minimum); Premium for individuals, $16
Meeting length on paid plans	90 minutes (Pro), 4 hours (Business)	2 hours (Pro), 3 hours (Business), 4 hours (Enterprise)	Not limited on the pricing page
Capture without a bot	Desktop app and Chrome extension available; notetaker bot is the main method	Chrome extension and desktop app “Take Notes” mode	Bot-free capture in beta, Mac only
Ask questions across meetings	AI Chat, 20/50/200 queries per user by plan	AskFred, with 20–50 AI credits by plan	Ask Fathom; account-wide version in beta
Default in-meeting notice	Named participant plus chat message	Platform consent prompts where offered; chat message and pre-meeting email are settings	Visible bot plus recording banner (the banner can be turned off on some paid plans; the bot stays visible); chat notice in bot-free mode
Uses your data to train its own AI	Yes, de-identified audio and transcriptions (privacy policy)	“Don’t train on it by default” (security page)	Yes, de-identified data, with an opt-out
Developer access	MCP server on all plans; API and webhooks on Enterprise	API on all plans with per-plan rate limits	Public API and MCP; Zapier and Make integrations

This is the area where the three products differ most, and it matters legally. Otter’s own help center points out that some jurisdictions require every participant’s permission (it names California, Illinois and Florida). All three vendors put the legal responsibility on you, the account holder. So check what each tool does by default and which extra notices you need to switch on.

Otter

Otter’s “Recording Permissions” guide says Otter Notetaker joins as a named participant and posts a message in the meeting chat with a link to the live transcript. Pre-recording emails to all calendar guests exist, but they are a setting: members can turn on “Send pre-recording emails”, and workspace admins can make it the default. Otter’s guide calls them “strongly recommended” for teams under all-party rules. Auto-join defaults to “meetings with a video conference link”. Admins can lock it down to “meetings the member manually selects”. For Microsoft Teams, an Otter for Outlook option makes guests acknowledge recording before they join. Otter says it requires the “Microsoft Enterprise license” and has to be enabled by an Otter account manager.

The default matters because of a lawsuit. In August 2025, NPR reported a proposed class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It alleges that Otter’s notetaker “by default does not ask meeting attendees for permission to record”. Otter had not commented when NPR published. The case now proceeds as In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation (No. 5:25-cv-06911). On August 13, 2026, the court granted Otter’s motion to dismiss only in part: some claims, including a California Invasion of Privacy Act wiretapping claim, survived, and the plaintiffs may amend others. The order is not a finding that Otter is liable, but the case is a reason to configure notices deliberately.

Fireflies

Fireflies’ consent guide describes two kinds of platform. On Zoom, Google Meet (via its SDK) and Microsoft Teams, the platform can prompt participants to approve recording, and Fireflies joins only if they agree. On other platforms, Fireflies joins and participants can pause or remove it. You can also turn on a pre-meeting email, sent one hour before, with a link that lets a participant decline so the bot does not join. A pinned chat message announces the notetaker and lists the “/ff pause” and “/ff leave” commands. The desktop app’s “Take Notes” mode adds a camera badge, a spoken notice and a chat message. Fireflies says these are enabled by default, and that if you disable them you are responsible for informing participants.

Fathom

Fathom’s help center makes the strongest statement of the three: “There’s no way to silently record without some form of consent or visibility.” In bot-based meetings the bot is visible and a recording banner appears to all participants. Fathom adds that turning the banner off does not hide the bot from the participant list. In the newer bot-free mode, a Recording Notice posts a chat message when recording starts, or in-app consent prompts appear if that notice is off. An optional “Auto Request Recording Consent” setting emails external attendees 24 hours before scheduled meetings, under conditions Fathom lists (in bot-based meetings, for example, only when you host and there is exactly one guest). If someone declines, auto-record is disabled for that meeting. If nobody replies, Fathom records as normal.

Data handling and AI training

All three use your meeting content to produce summaries, but they describe training and retention differently. Read the policies themselves before you record customer or HR conversations.

Otter: its privacy policy (effective June 16, 2026) lists “training our proprietary AI technology on de-identified audio recordings and on transcriptions (which may contain Personal Information)” as a use of data. It shares data with AI service providers and data-labelling providers, and it keeps personal information “for as long as necessary”. The policy tells you to make sure you have “the necessary permissions” before you record others. HIPAA compliance is an Enterprise add-on.
Fireflies: the security page says “We don’t train on it by default” and describes a “0-day data retention policy with all vendors and partners”. It cites AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS in transit, and SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA compliance. Custom data retention, private storage at a location you choose, and a transcript-and-summary-only mode (no stored recording) are Enterprise features.
Fathom: its “Is Fathom secure?” article says its AI sub-processors (Anthropic, OpenAI and Google) are not permitted to train on users’ data. Fathom does use de-identified customer data to improve its own models. You can opt out in My Settings, and Team admins can opt out for the whole organisation. All data is stored in the United States, with a DPA available for EU and UK customers. Fathom states it is HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant, and its pricing table lists a signed BAA and custom data retention on Enterprise.

In our assessment, Fireflies’ default is the most conservative of the three on training, provided its “by default” wording fits your needs. Fathom’s opt-out is a short settings change. If training on de-identified data is unacceptable to you, ask Otter’s sales team about controls before you buy.

Plan limits that change the real cost

Headline seat prices hide the limits that actually decide which plan you need.

Otter limits minutes and meeting length. Basic gives 300 transcription minutes a month with a 30-minute cap per conversation, which ends most one-hour calls early. Pro raises this to 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per meeting. Business removes the meeting-minute cap, allows 4-hour meetings and 6,000 minutes of imported files. AI Chat queries are also capped: 20, 50 and 200 per user on Basic, Pro and Business.
Fireflies limits storage and recording length. Free has 400 minutes of storage per team, and Pro has 8,000 minutes per seat. Business and Enterprise are unlimited. The recording limit is 2 hours on Free and Pro, 3 hours on Business and 4 hours on Enterprise. AI credits for features such as AskFred range from 20 (Free and Pro) to 50 (Enterprise).
Fathom does not limit recordings on any plan. It differentiates plans by features instead. Advanced summaries, AI action items and account-wide Ask Fathom are limited or absent on Free. Team adds shared playlists, folders and global search. Business adds CRM field sync, deal view and coaching scorecards. Team and Business need at least two users.

Integrations and developer access

All three join Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. For developers, the API and automation story is often the deciding factor. Otter lists an MCP server on every plan, so AI assistants can query your meetings. Zapier, Salesforce and HubSpot integrations start on Pro, and the Otter API and webhooks are Enterprise-only. Fireflies includes API access on every plan, with published rate limits (30 requests per minute and 500 per day on Free, rising to pooled per-seat limits on paid plans), and lists all integrations from Pro upward. Fathom offers a public API and MCP server, Claude and ChatGPT integrations, Slack, and Zapier or Make automations. Its pricing table marks some of these as “limited use” on lower tiers. If you plan to pipe summaries into other tools, our comparison of Zapier, Make and n8n explains how those automation platforms count usage. If your team lives in chat, the choice between Slack and Microsoft Teams affects which meeting platform and notification channel you integrate with.

One more option is worth knowing about. Notion’s Business plan now includes AI Meeting Notes that work without a bot. If your team already documents everything in Notion, read our look at Notion AI and its meeting notes before you add a separate notetaker.

Pricing compared (as of October 2026)

Prices are in US dollars per user or seat per month, as shown on each vendor’s pricing page, before any applicable tax. Annual prices are billed upfront for the year.

Tier	Otter	Fireflies	Fathom
Free	Basic, $0	Free, $0	Free, $0
Individual / entry paid	Pro: $16.99 monthly or $8.33 billed annually	Pro: $18 monthly or $10 billed annually	Premium: $20 monthly or $16 billed annually
Team tier	Business: $30 monthly or $19.99 billed annually	Business: $29 monthly or $19 billed annually	Team: $19 monthly or $15 billed annually (2-user minimum)
Advanced team tier	Not offered separately	Not offered separately	Business: $34 monthly or $25 billed annually (2-user minimum)
Enterprise	Custom (demo)	$39 billed annually only	Custom (sales)

Caveats: Otter shows a promotional Business price of $24 a month for the first three months for first-time subscribers, and lower Pro prices that are valid only with an India-issued card. Otter also offers a student price for Pro. Fathom advertises a 90-day guarantee on paid plans and free or discounted programmes for some startups and nonprofits. Fireflies offers volume discounts above 50 seats through sales. The tiers are not perfectly equivalent: Otter’s Business and Fireflies’ Business include features (admin analytics, conversation intelligence) that sit in Fathom’s Team or Business tiers.

Otter pricing · Fireflies pricing · Fathom pricing

Prices verified against each vendor’s official pricing page (listed under Sources). Plans, promotions and renewal prices change often — confirm on the vendor’s page before you buy.

Which should you choose?

Choose Fathom if…

You are an individual or a small team that wants unlimited free recording to start with, a visible-by-design approach to recording notices, and an API or MCP server for your own tooling. Budget for Team or Business once you need shared libraries and CRM sync, and turn off model training in settings if you prefer. Visit Fathom

Choose Fireflies if…

You want a low annual seat price for a small team (Pro is $10 per seat billed annually), API access on every plan, and a “no training by default” position. Turn on the pre-meeting email and chat notification, because those notices are settings rather than guarantees. Watch the 2- to 3-hour recording caps if you run long workshops. Visit Fireflies

Choose Otter if…

You value live transcription in the Otter app, an MCP server even on the free plan, and Otter’s sales and education features. Plan for Business if your meetings regularly run past 90 minutes. Before rollout, enable pre-recording emails, review auto-join settings, and read the privacy policy’s training clause with your legal or security team. Visit Otter

FAQ

Do I have to tell people that an AI notetaker is recording?

Often yes. Laws vary by location, and Otter’s own guide notes that some U.S. states and many other jurisdictions require all-party permission. All three vendors say the responsibility sits with you. The simplest safe practice is to announce the notetaker, keep pre-meeting emails on and remove the bot if anyone objects.

Which of these tools can record without a bot joining the call?

Fireflies can capture through its Chrome extension and its desktop app. Fathom offers bot-free capture in beta on Mac. Otter has desktop and browser apps, but its documentation centres on the notetaker bot. Bot-free capture still requires you to notify participants. Fathom and Fireflies post chat notices or show prompts in these modes.

Can I stop these vendors training AI models on my meetings?

Fireflies says it does not train on your data by default. Fathom uses de-identified data to train its own models but offers a user-level and organisation-level opt-out. Otter’s privacy policy lists training on de-identified audio and transcriptions as a use of data, and the policy does not describe a specific opt-out. Ask Otter’s sales team what controls Enterprise offers.

Otter vs Fireflies vs Fathom: Best AI Meeting Assistant

Quick verdict

At a glance

Recording consent and participant notice