Otter vs. Fathom: Which AI Meeting Tool Is Better

When your schedule is packed with meetings, it’s hard to take thorough, meaningful notes. That’s why AI notetaking tools like Otter and Fathom are cropping up — and leading the market.

These tools drive productivity by automatically capturing key insights, tracking action items, and making follow-ups easier than ever. Teams in all departments save time and never miss a detail.

Otter and Fathom are two popular AI meeting note takers, but they’re built differently. Keep reading to learn how they compare and which is the best choice. 

Key differences between Otter.ai and Fathom

Real-time transcription

Otter transcribes your meetings in real time so you can read along as the conversation unfolds. This supports greater accessibility and keeps everyone on the same page. If you zone out and miss what your boss just said, you can catch up instantly. Plus, real-time transcripts are searchable, making it easier to revisit key points and action items even before the meeting ends.

Unlike competitors like Fathom, Otter also works for in-person meetings, not just video calls. You can use it to capture interviews, lectures, brainstorming sessions, or team huddles — any conversation, anywhere. This makes Otter a more versatile solution for hybrid teams and on-the-go users.

Post-meeting transcription

Most AI meeting assistants, like Fathom, join live calls to record and transcribe. Otter does this too, but it also allows you to transcribe pre-recorded videos and audio files. This is helpful if you forgot to let Otter join your meeting or simply want to transcribe a conversation after the fact.

Having both live and post-recording transcription in one tool means you’re not locked into a single workflow. It also means you never miss a chance to capture important information. Forgot to hit record during a call? Need notes from a podcast you watched last week? Otter handles it all.

AI summarization and action items

Both Otter and Fathom use AI to generate meeting summaries and action items — but Otter does it better. Otter delivers a concise overview and a comprehensive list of action items to show you decisions and next steps at a glance. You can also easily highlight, edit, add context, and assign tasks directly in Otter, making every summary more actionable and collaborative.

Plus, customize your summaries with Otter Meeting Types. This feature tailors your summary to fit the specific context of the meeting, whether it’s a sales call, team sync, interview, or one-on-one. Otter automatically adjusts the summary’s structure and focus to match the conversation’s goals and highlight the most important ideas.

AI agent capabilities

Otter is more than a transcription tool — it’s an intelligent meeting agent. Otter AI Chat acts like an extra participant. Ask Otter questions about past meetings, quickly retrieve key details, and navigate transcripts with ease. Instead of scrolling through pages of notes, just type your question (or ask it aloud) and Otter provides instant, accurate answers.

You can also use Otter AI Chat to generate content, like a follow-up email, based on your calls. Or, use it to analyze and compare insights from multiple meetings. This can help you spot trends and track your team’s progress over time. 

Fathom offers a similar feature, Ask Fathom, but it has more limitations. Fathom’s free model only allows you to use it on your first five calls of the month. To unlock comprehensive cross-meeting analysis, you need Fathom Team Edition. With Otter, you get a more versatile AI assistant that helps you connect the dots across conversations, even with a free plan.

Pricing

Fathom’s pricing is its main selling point. It promises full functionality for free, and that’s true for its core features (transcription and clip cutting). But its AI features, like custom meeting summaries, Ask Fathom, and action items, are a different story. You can use these features for your first five calls each month. Beyond that, you have to upgrade to one of its paid plans at $15–$39 per user per month.

Otter offers more AI features for free. With a Basic plan, you can transcribe up to 300 minutes, customize your summaries with Meeting Types, and use Otter AI Chat to its fullest extent. Upgrade to Pro for $8.33 per month to unlock even more advanced AI features, or try a Business plan for $20 per month. With Otter, you get more for less.

Collaborative features

Otter is built for teamwork. It allows you to share transcripts, tag colleagues, assign action items, and collaborate on transcripts in real time. This makes your meeting notes more actionable — and that translates to better productivity.

Fathom is collaborative in some ways: You can share summaries and video clips, or create follow-ups to send out after the meeting. But it’s designed primarily for individual users rather than true teamwork in the note-taking process. There’s no real-time collaboration or shared editing. In comparison, Otter offers a more interactive, team-friendly experience.

Use cases

Otter goes beyond an AI meeting assistant. It’s an AI Meeting Agent that actively participates in calls, answers questions, and even drafts follow-up emails. Otter also offers specialized meeting agents for specific use cases, like sales and prospecting.

With Otter Sales Agent, you can capture key deal information and automatically log call notes into your CRM — no extra steps required. Otter Sales Agent also coaches you during sales calls, offering real-time prompts and objection handling tips to help you tighten your sales strategy. You can also use Otter Sales Agent to prep for calls and generate follow-up emails so your team never loses momentum.

Likewise, Otter SDR Agent simplifies outbound sales by conducting live sales calls and product demos autonomously. When a lead visits your website, they can engage with the agent instantly to get more information. Even when your sales reps are off the clock, Otter keeps your pipeline flowing. And with CRM integrations, Otter automatically pushes insights and call notes to Salesforce, saving time and keeping pipelines up to date. 

Integrations

Fathom integrates with meeting hosts and CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce. Otter’s integrations include these tools — plus a broader set that supports general collaboration, education, and knowledge management. For example, you can integrate Otter with Asana, Notion, and Dropbox. You can also connect Otter to Zapier to unlock thousands of automation possibilities.

Ease of use

Both Otter and Fathom are designed to simplify meeting management. But Otter’s intuitive interface and customizability make it easier to use. Whether you need simple meeting notes, detailed transcripts, or specialized insights, Otter adapts to your style. It even learns your team’s names and vocabulary so you don’t have to waste time correcting your transcript. This streamlines documentation and makes future meetings smoother.

Otter’s easier to use on a technical level, too. With Fathom, you have to download a desktop app and run it alongside your video calls. This is cumbersome if you’re on the go or switching between devices, which is why many people turn to Fathom alternatives. In contrast, using Otter only takes a few steps:

- Open Otter via browser or mobile app.

- Let Otter auto-join your meeting — no complicated setup required.

- Get real-time transcripts instantly.

This flexibility means you can access meeting notes and AI features anywhere, without installing extra software. Otter also makes collaboration easier by automatically sharing summaries and action items with other attendees. That way, your team always knows its next move.

Final verdict: Why Otter is the smarter choice

When you look at Otter’s pros and cons compared to Fathom’s, Otter comes out on top. With real-time AI capabilities, more intuitive features, and competitive pricing, Otter is the best AI meeting assistant on the market. 

Fathom can help you capture quick highlights and create basic follow-ups. But if you want to boost your team’s productivity with smart meeting automation, Otter’s your new best friend. Try Otter today.