When’s the last time you whipped out a notebook in a virtual meeting? My guess is it’s been a while. AI note taking apps are fast becoming the standard because they remove the need to take hurried notes, allowing you to stay present in conversations.
Fathom and Fireflies are two fan favorites at the moment. I use Fathom for all my client meetings, but while shopping for the best AI note taking app, I tried Fireflies—which, turns out, is a strong contender. Here’s my blow-by-blow comparison of Fathom vs. Fireflies.
Fathom vs. Fireflies at a glance
Here’s the short version: both apps have similar features and serve teams of all sizes, so you won’t go wrong with either. But while Fathom is the simpler tool, Fireflies offers more advanced features, which large organizations will appreciate. I summarized the key differences in this quick comparison table, but for my detailed experience testing both apps, keep reading.
Fireflies
Fathom
Ease of use
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Easy to use but has a busier interface and takes a while to get used to
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very easy to use with a straightforward interface and few essential features
Transcription
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fairly accurate but misses a few times, so you have to confirm with the audio
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Slightly more accurate than Fireflies
AI summary
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Generates comprehensive meeting notes but doesn’t have context-specific templates
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Generates and delivers concise notes in up to 14 call templates
Integrations
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Integrates with more collaboration tools, CRMs, and web conferencing tools, including Zapier
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Has fewer integrations but connects with Zapier
Pricing
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Affordable for small businesses
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Also affordable but requires a minimum of two seats on the team plan
Both tools offer valuable features, but the approaches differ
Maybe you plan to use AI note takers as a conversational intelligence tool for your team. Or maybe you’re thinking of using them as a personal assistant. Either way, both platforms will give you just about all the tools you need.
Yes, they create recordings and transcripts. They summarize meetings. They identify soundbites. And of course, they’re stocked with sharing features. It’s just that the way they do these things differs. Depending on your priorities, you might prefer one app’s approach over the other.
Recordings and transcripts
Both apps come in as participants during meetings and run in the background. But while Fathom automatically captures audio and video recordings, Fireflies records only audio by default.
After each call, both Fathom and Fireflies transcribe the audio from your meeting, providing a text record of the conversation. They do a pretty good job identifying speakers, but when it comes to transcriptions, neither has Simone Biles–level precision. (Though it’s worth noting Fireflies missed a few more times than Fathom in my testing.)
You can edit the transcript after the fact in both tools, but Fathom takes this a step further by giving you the option to reassign speakers and trim sections—great for removing awkward or unrelated tangents before sharing the recording.
Meeting summaries
Gone are the days of reading lengthy transcripts. WithAI-powered summaries, which you’ll find in both apps, you save so much time. And both structure the summary into chapters—like overview, topics, key takeaways, and action items—for quick scanning. They even add timestamps that bring you to the specific parts of the transcript, video, or audio where the conversation occurred.
Here’s where the tools differ. Fireflies presents the summaries in a single chronological order. And it tries to use appropriate headings for each section based on the type of call it thinks you’re having. For example, check out how it labeled sections after I discussed a potential content strategy project.