Fathom vs Granola
Both are lightweight AI meeting notetakers, but they capture calls in opposite ways: Fathom sends a bot into the meeting, Granola records your computer's audio locally with no bot at all. Here is how they compare on capture, platforms, integrations, privacy, pricing, and reviews.
By Rahul Bageria, co-founder · Updated June 2026
Same job, opposite way to capture
Both record, transcribe, and summarize your meetings. They split on the one thing the bot-versus-no-bot choice decides.
The mature, widely proven option with a strong (now-capped) free tier, fast clean summaries, broad platform support, and a near-perfect score across thousands of reviews.
Bot-free local audio capture that feels natural and private, the 2026 breakout, though it is Mac-first (now on Windows and iOS), has no Android or web app, and trains on your data unless you opt out.
- ✓You want the most proven option with the strongest free tier
- ✓You need broad platform and integration coverage
- ✓A visible bot in the call is fine for your meetings
- ✓You want bot-free capture with nothing joining the call
- ✓You work on a Mac, Windows, or iPhone, not Android
- ✓Effortless, clean notes matter more than deep analytics
Short on time? We'll tell you which fits your team.
What each tool actually is
Fathom
A lightweight AI meeting notetaker with a strong free tier, tightened in 2026. It joins calls as a bot to record, transcribe, and summarize, with very little setup. Praised for speed and simplicity, fast accurate summaries, a clean UI, and low setup friction. Best for founders, solo operators, and small teams who want clean notes with zero fuss.
Visit FathomGranola
The AI notepad for back-to-back meetings. A bot-free, desktop-first notetaker that captures your computer's audio instead of joining the call as a bot, then writes notes from customizable templates with AI chat over the content. It runs on macOS, Windows, and iPhone. Best for people who want effortless, natural notes without a bot in the room.
Visit GranolaFathom vs Granola, side by side
The facts that decide it, verified from each tool's official site in June 2026.
| Dimension | Fathom | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Teams who want the proven option with the best free tier | People who want bot-free, natural notes on a Mac or PC |
| Capture method | Bot joins the call | Bot-free, local computer audio |
| Free plan | Unlimited recordings, transcripts, and storage; advanced AI capped | Basic, notes with limited history |
| Platforms | Desktop, mobile, and web | macOS, Windows, iPhone (no Android, no web) |
| Speaker attribution | Yes, speaker-labeled transcripts | No, continuous text, weaker with 3+ people |
| Notes and AI chat | AI summaries, action items, Ask Fathom | Template notes, AI chat over the meeting |
| Seat model | Individual plan plus per-seat team plans (2+ users) | Per seat, no flat-rate option |
| Entry paid price | Premium $16/mo annual (individual) | Business $14/user/mo |
| Privacy default | Standard data controls and retention settings | Trains on your data unless you opt out; org-wide opt-out on Enterprise |
| Integrations | HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, Zoom, Meet, Teams | Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Affinity, Attio, Zapier, MCP |
Both are priced in USD. Numbers verified June 2026, confirm the current plan on Fathom and Granola before you buy.
What each one can and cannot do
A capability check, scored the same way for both tools.
| Capability | Fathom | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Recording and transcription | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bot-free capture | Limited bot by default | ✓ core, local audio |
| AI summaries and notes | ✓ capped on Free | ✓ templates |
| Ask-AI chat over meetings | ✓ Ask Fathom | ✓ |
| Speaker attribution | ✓ | ✕ continuous text |
| Multi-language | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows app | ✓ | ✓ added 2026 |
| Android app | ✓ | ✕ |
| Web app | ✓ | ✕ |
| CRM integrations | ✓ HubSpot, SF | ✓ HubSpot, Attio, Affinity |
| MCP and API access | ✓ API | ✓ MCP and API on Business |
| Free plan | ✓ unlimited recordings | ✓ limited history |
"Limited" means available but not a core strength. Fathom can capture without a visible bot on its desktop app, but a meeting bot is its default, while bot-free local capture is Granola's whole design.
What real users say
Public review scores and the themes that come up most, checked June 2026. The live links are the source of truth.
Fathom
Praised for: speed and simplicity, fast accurate summaries, a clean UI, and low setup friction.
Watch-outs: the 2026 free-tier AI cap drew criticism, it is lighter on deep conversation intelligence and analytics, and some users note occasional transcription inaccuracies.
Granola
Praised for: bot-free capture that feels natural with no bot in the call, effortless intuitive notes with clean summaries and action items, and the privacy and simplicity of local capture.
Watch-outs: no reliable speaker attribution as transcripts run as continuous text, no Android and no web app, and privacy by default where meeting data trains the AI unless you opt out.
Read the scores in context. Fathom's near-perfect scores rest on thousands of reviews, while Granola is newer with a much smaller G2 base, so treat Granola's score as an early signal rather than a settled verdict. The live links are the source of truth.
Where each one actually wins
Six things separate these tools in practice. Here is the honest call on each.
Bot-free capture
Edge: GranolaThis is the real fork between the two. Granola records your computer's own audio, so nothing joins the call and nothing shows in the participant list, which feels natural on client and sensitive meetings. Fathom can capture without a visible bot on its desktop app, but its default is a bot that joins the call. If a clean, bot-free presence is the point, Granola is built around it from the ground up.
Proof and maturity
Edge: FathomFathom is the widely proven option, with a near-perfect score across thousands of G2 and Capterra reviews and years of use behind it. Granola is the 2026 breakout, fresh off a $125M Series C at about a $1.5B valuation, but its review base is still small. On a track record you can lean on today, Fathom has far more evidence behind it.
Free tier
Edge: FathomBoth are free to start. Fathom's free plan keeps unlimited recordings, transcripts, and storage, with only advanced AI capped after the 2026 tightening. Granola's free Basic plan gives you notes with limited history. For a durable free archive of your calls, Fathom does more, though the AI cap is a real downgrade from how generous its free tier used to be.
Platform coverage
Edge: FathomFathom runs across desktop, mobile, and the web and joins calls on the major meeting platforms. Granola added Windows and iOS in 2026, so it now covers macOS, Windows, and iPhone, but it still has no Android app and no web app. If your team includes Android users or needs browser access, Fathom reaches more of them.
CRM and sales integrations
Edge: splitBoth connect to the tools a GTM team uses. Fathom syncs with HubSpot and Salesforce, the two most common sales CRMs. Granola integrates with Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Affinity, Attio, and Zapier, plus an MCP connector, which fits modern startup stacks well but leans away from Salesforce. The better fit depends on which CRM your team already lives in.
Privacy model
Edge: dependsGranola's local capture is private at the point of recording, with nothing joining the call. By default, though, your meeting data trains its AI unless you opt out, and a genuine org-wide opt-out is locked to the $35 Enterprise tier. So the privacy story is strong on capture and weaker on data handling unless you pay up. Read the current terms before you put sensitive calls through either tool.
Want the right one picked for your team?
We run both on live calls. Tell us how you work and we'll call it.
What each one costs in 2026
Verified from each official pricing page in June 2026. Read the seat model alongside the headline number.
Fathom
USD / annual rates- Premium
Individual, unlimited advanced summaries, action items, Ask Fathom$16/mo - Team
2+ seats, global search, collaboration, SSO$15/seat/mo - Business
CRM field sync, Deal View, coaching metrics, scorecards$25/seat/mo
Free plan keeps unlimited recordings, transcripts, and storage (advanced AI capped). Monthly rates run higher: Premium $20, Team $19, Business $34. Paid plans carry a 90-day guarantee.
Granola
USD / per seat- Basic
Free, notes with limited history$0 - Business
Unlimited notes and history, advanced AI, integrations, MCP and API$14/user/mo - Enterprise
SSO, enterprise security, usage analytics, org-wide opt-out, admin controls$35/user/mo
Free Basic plan to start. Pure per-seat pricing with no flat-rate option. The org-wide opt-out from model training sits only on the $35 Enterprise tier.
True cost at scale. Granola is pure per seat with no flat-rate option, so a 50-person team is $700 a month on Business or $1,750 a month on Enterprise, and a genuine org-wide opt-out from model training is locked to the $35 Enterprise seat. Fathom mixes a flat individual plan with per-seat team plans, so one person stays cheap, while a larger team scales by seat much like Granola. Price by the team size and the privacy controls you actually need.
What neither tool does well
Both are notetakers, so they share the same blind spots. Worth knowing before you expect either to carry your whole motion.
Neither is a deal-analytics or CI platform like the enterprise conversation-intelligence tools. They summarize, they do not score pipeline.
Both sync to a CRM, but neither is one. The system of record for your accounts and deals still lives somewhere else.
Both are notetakers, not coaching or pipeline systems. They capture the calls you get; filling the calendar is a separate job.
A notetaker captures the calls you get. The harder part is filling the calendar with the right ones. Want the right accounts found, timed, and booked for you? That is the signal-based outbound we run. Chasing more pipeline by email? See our best cold email tools for 2026.
Our take, after running both
The choice is mostly about the bot, not a feature count. Here is how we'd call it in three situations.
The strongest free tier, broad platform and integration coverage, and a near-perfect score across thousands of reviews make it the safe default.
Local capture with no bot in the call feels natural and private on a Mac, Windows, or iPhone, if you can live without speaker labels and opt out of training.
Both capture calls well, but neither books them. The pipeline that fills your calendar is a separate motion you still need.
Not sure which fits? We run signal-based outbound for early-stage teams and will tell you straight.
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Co-founder of Real Good GTM. He has been the first business hire and Chief of Staff across seed and pre-seed B2B startups like Palm.ai and Cef.ai, building sales engines from nothing, with a strategy foundation from AWS and Accenture. This comparison comes from running these tools on live campaigns, not from a spec sheet.
Connect on LinkedInQuestions buyers ask
Is Fathom or Granola better?
What does bot-free capture mean, and why does it matter?
Which tool has the better free plan?
Does Granola work on Windows and Android?
How does Granola handle privacy and model training?
Which is cheaper, Fathom or Granola?
Can Fathom or Granola replace a sales or pipeline tool?
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