Best AI Meeting Assistants, Otter vs Fireflies vs Fathom
We ran the three most popular AI meeting assistants through real calls to see which transcribes best, summarises smartest, and is worth a paid seat.
Eddie Ochieng
June 23, 2026
Nobody enjoys taking minutes. AI meeting assistants join your calls, transcribe everything, and hand you a summary with action items while you actually pay attention to the conversation. The three names that come up most are Otter, Fireflies, and Fathom, and they are more different than they first appear.
We put all three on the same set of calls, a sales chat, a messy team standup, and a one to one, and judged them on transcription accuracy, summary quality, and what you get without paying.
How we judged
We scored transcription accuracy on the same audio, the usefulness of the auto summaries and action items, how well each handled crosstalk and accents, and the value of the free tier. Integrations with calendars and tools were a tie breaker.
Otter
Otter is the veteran and it shows in transcription quality, which was the most accurate of the three on clear audio. It produces a clean, searchable transcript in real time, highlights key points, and its assistant can answer questions about what was said. It leans toward people who want the full record, not just a summary.
The free tier is the most limited here, capping monthly minutes tightly, so regular users will hit the paywall quickly.
Fireflies
Fireflies is the integrator. It plugs into a huge range of tools, pushes notes into your CRM, and its search across past meetings is excellent. If your meetings feed a sales pipeline or a knowledge base, Fireflies fits the workflow better than the others. Its AI summaries are strong and customisable.
All that flexibility means more setup. It rewards teams who configure it, and feels like more than you need if you just want quick notes from a weekly call.
Fathom
Fathom is the surprise. Its free tier is genuinely generous, with unlimited recording and transcription for individuals, which neither rival matches. The summaries are fast, clean, and well structured, and the whole thing is refreshingly simple to use. For solo professionals and small teams it is the easiest to recommend.
It is more focused than Fireflies, with fewer deep integrations, so very process heavy teams may outgrow it. For most people that simplicity is the point.
| Tool | Price | Best for | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter | Free tier, Pro from about $10/user/mo | Most accurate transcripts | 4.0/5 |
| Fireflies | Free tier, paid from about $10/seat/mo | CRM and tool integrations | 4.0/5 |
| Fathom | Free for individuals, paid from about $15/mo | Best free tier and simplicity | 4.5/5 |
Before you record anyone
Recording people speaking has rules. In many places you must tell everyone on the call that an assistant is capturing it, and some industries have stricter requirements. Turn on the visible recording notice and get consent before you rely on these tools at work.
FAQ
Which is most accurate?+
Otter had the edge on clear audio in our tests, with Fathom close behind. All three struggle a little with heavy crosstalk and strong accents, as every transcription tool does.
Is there a genuinely free option?+
Fathom has the most generous free tier by a wide margin, with unlimited recording and transcription for individual users. Otter and Fireflies free tiers are capped.
Do they work with Zoom, Meet, and Teams?+
Yes, all three support the major video platforms. Fireflies has the widest set of extra integrations beyond the call itself.
Will they join calls automatically?+
Each can connect to your calendar and join scheduled meetings on its own, so the notes happen without you remembering to start anything.
Meeting notes are one piece of a bigger setup. See our roundups of the best AI tools for team communication and for remote team management.
