Fathom and the other product names on this page are trademarks of their respective owners. They are used here only to identify those products for comparison. Recordist is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them. Statements about Fathom describe what its own pages said on the date shown, and the pages are listed under the table; tell us at hello@recordist.app if something is out of date and we will correct it.
Recordist and Fathom
Fathom: Cloud notetaker with a free plan, a bot-free option and CRM sync.
What we admire. Fathom made notes that are ready the moment a call ends feel effortless, and its free plan is generous to people trying AI notes for the first time.
Fathom is known for its free plan, which includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions with AI call summaries. It works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, and it now offers capture without a bot as well as with one (bot-free capture is a beta feature for Mac). Its Business plan adds CRM field sync. On 14 September 2026 Superhuman announced that it has acquired Fathom; its announcement does not say what changes for Fathom's plans or data.
Recordist is also free to start, for a different reason: recording and transcription cost us nothing to run because the app does that work itself. What you pay for is unlimited AI notes, Ask and follow-up emails. The larger difference is that Recordist never holds your meetings.
| Feature | Fathom | Recordist |
|---|---|---|
| Joins the call as a bot | A bot, or capture without one (a beta on Mac) | Never |
| Where audio is transcribed | Fathom's service, hosted in the US; video too | On-device (Whisper); audio only |
| Free plan | Unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI summaries | Unlimited recording and transcription; 7-day Pro trial, then 3 AI notes a month |
| Price | Premium $16/user/mo yearly, $20 monthly; Business $25 yearly, $34 monthly | Free with no time limit; Pro $9/mo or $90/yr for anyone who subscribes by 8 Jan 2027, kept while subscribed; $15/mo or $144/yr after |
| Agent access | Public API and MCP | Local MCP server and A2A agent |
| CRM sync | HubSpot and Salesforce; field sync on Business | Exports only |
What this page says about Fathom comes from these pages, read on the date shown. Prices and plans change, so check Fathom's site before you decide.
- fathom.ai: capture with a bot or without one, public API and MCP (read 7 October 2026)
- fathom.ai/pricing: Premium, Team and Business prices and CRM sync (read 7 October 2026)
- fathom.ai/pricing: the free plan's contents, and bot-free capture as a beta feature for Mac (read 14 October 2026)
- Superhuman's announcement, 14 September 2026, that it has acquired Fathom (read 14 October 2026)
- fathom.ai/privacy: meeting audio, video and speaker identification received; hosted in the United States (read 7 October 2026)
The bot
Fathom offers both: a notetaker bot that joins the call, which everyone on the call can see, and a way to capture a meeting without a bot, which Fathom's pricing page marks as a beta feature for Mac.
Recordist never joins a call. It records your microphone and the call's audio as it reaches you, so it does not appear in the participant list. It copies a short notice for you to read out or paste into the chat and keeps a mark of when you said you gave it, but telling people stays your job. A card asks before each recording, and nothing is captured until you click Record, unless you add that app to the automatic-recording list in Settings, which is empty until you do. The recording-law guide explains where consent is required.
Where the audio goes
Fathom's privacy policy says that when you record or transcribe a meeting with it, Fathom receives the meeting's audio, video and speaker identification, and that its service is hosted in the United States.
Recordist writes audio to your machine, transcribes it there with Whisper, and writes notes there with the built-in engine unless you choose your own cloud key. It captures no video. The Privacy Ledger lists the app's network requests (a few kinds are not recorded yet; the help article lists them), and on the default setup none of them carries your meetings.
Price and limits
Fathom Free includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions and instant AI call summaries; AI-generated action items are listed under Premium. Premium is $20 per user per month, or $16 billed yearly. Team is $19 per user per month, or $15 billed yearly, for two or more users, and Business, which adds CRM field sync, is $34, or $25 billed yearly.
Recordist Free is unlimited recording, transcription, search and export with 7 days of Pro, then 3 AI notes a month. Pro is $9 a month or $90 a year for anyone who subscribes by 8 January 2027, and that price stays for as long as the subscription stays active; from 9 January 2027 new subscribers pay $15 a month or $144 a year. Pro removes the notes limit and adds Prep Briefs, Ask and follow-up emails. Custom templates, export as Markdown, plain text and JSON, and agent access are on every plan, and Pro adds PDF, Word and subtitle files. A team of 3 to 49 people buys Pro in one checkout, with a personal key for each person; larger organisations write to hello@recordist.app.
Agent access and offline use
Fathom lists a public API and MCP, so other tools and assistants can reach the meetings in your Fathom account.
Recordist's MCP server and A2A agent run on-device and read your local database, with no API key and no hosted service in the middle. Recording, transcription, search and local notes all work with no network connection once the models are downloaded.
When Fathom is the better choice
If you want video of your calls, or your sales team needs call summaries pushed into HubSpot or Salesforce, Fathom is the stronger choice.
When Recordist may suit you better
If you would rather nobody else held your meetings, or if your agents should read your meetings where you keep them, Recordist is the tool for that.
Try Recordist free, with no bot in the call.
The Free plan gives you unlimited recording, transcription, search and export, with no account. On the default setup, nothing in the Privacy Ledger carries your meetings.
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