Fathom vs Granola: Which AI Notetaker Wins in 2026?

If you're trying to choose between Fathom and Granola, older reviews and Reddit threads may not help much. Both tools have changed quite a bit in 2026, including how they record meetings and what you can do without a bot.

Fathom vs Granola: What Does Each Tool Offer?

Fathom is an AI notetaker that automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes your meetings, and keeps the recording so you can go back and replay it later. Granola works more like an AI notepad, combining the transcript with any notes you jot down during the meeting to give you a fuller set of notes afterward.

Both can now take notes without a bot joining the meeting, although Granola is built around this way of working. Fathom's bot-free option is still a test version and only works for English meetings on Mac, while its regular setup still uses a visible meeting bot.

Fathom keeps the full recording, so you can replay a conversation, search through it, create clips, or share it with someone else. It also has extra sales features for syncing meeting details to your CRM, keeping track of deals, and reviewing how reps handle calls. Granola takes a different route: it deletes the meeting audio right after transcribing it and leaves you with the transcript and notes, using anything you wrote during the meeting along with the transcript to fill in the details afterward.

Choose Fathom if:

• You want the AI to take notes automatically while you focus on the conversation
• You want to replay meetings, search transcripts, or share clips with your team
• Your sales team needs CRM syncing, deal tracking, or coaching tools
• You want a free plan that keeps your past meetings available
• Your organization needs a HIPAA BAA for meeting data

Choose Granola if:

• You like jotting down rough notes and want AI to fill in the details afterward
• You don't want your meeting audio stored once it has been transcribed
• You want to take notes without a bot joining your meetings
• You want native apps for Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android
• You're fine with access to only the last 30 days of meetings on the free plan

Fathom vs Granola at a Glance

Here’s a side-by-side look at what you get with each tool. Last verified: September 2026.

Bot vs. Bot-Free (and Why It's Converging in 2026)

Granola used to have an easy advantage here: it could take notes without sending a bot into your meeting. In 2026, Fathom added that option too, so Fathom vs. Granola is no longer as simple as choosing between a bot and no bot.

Granola has worked without a meeting bot from the start. It captures audio from your device instead of joining the call as another participant, so you can use it with Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack Huddles, FaceTime, or pretty much any app playing audio through your device. The one thing you have to do is start it yourself.

Fathom still sends its bot by default, including when it automatically joins scheduled meetings. But on Mac, you can now switch to its beta bot-free mode for English meetings and choose to save the transcript, audio and transcript, or, on Zoom, limited video.

Going bot-free with Fathom changes what you get afterward. Without the full bot recording, you lose features like clips, playlists, and jumping from a transcript straight to that moment in the video.

And it isn't a way to record people secretly. Fathom shows a chat notice or banner when bot-free capture is running, and companies can turn the option off altogether if they require employees to use the visible bot.

Recording, Platforms, and Sales Features

If you're comparing Fathom and Granola for a sales team, Fathom gives you a lot more tools built specifically for selling. Granola can still send meeting notes to your CRM and let you search through past calls, but it doesn't have Fathom's deal tracking or coaching scorecards.

Recording and Platforms

Fathom keeps the audio and video from meetings recorded with its standard bot, so you can watch calls back, jump straight to the parts you care about, and cut quick clips later. Recordings are kept unless your company sets its own retention rules.

Granola uses the meeting audio to create the transcript and then deletes the audio right away. That leaves you with the transcript and any notes you typed during the call.

Granola has apps for Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. On your computer, it captures audio directly from your device, so it works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Slack Huddles, FaceTime, or other apps playing audio through your device. Its web version is for reading and editing notes you already took, not recording new meetings.

Sales Features

Fathom integrates directly with HubSpot and Salesforce. It can match a call to the right person, company, and deal, then automatically send over summaries, key takeaways, and a link to the video. It can even turn your follow-up steps into tasks inside your CRM.

If you pay for the Business plan, you get Deal View, which puts your deal details and meeting history in one place so reps and managers can easily see what's happened. Fathom also has coaching scorecards to track things like how much a rep talked versus listened, how many questions they asked, and how long they spent speaking without a break. Team plan users only get a 30-day trial of these scorecards.

Granola has a native HubSpot setup that lets you attach meetings to contacts, companies, and deals, but it doesn't have a pipeline dashboard like Deal View or any coaching scorecards. Instead, you can create custom templates for sales frameworks like MEDDPICC or BANT, and you can use Granola Chat to ask questions across multiple meetings and folders at once.

So if you're looking at AI notetakers for sales teams, Fathom is a better fit when you want the app to help manage your pipeline and coach your reps. Granola makes more sense if you mainly want good notes that you can send over to the sales tools your team is already using.

A Third Option: Fireflies

Maybe you like how Fathom handles meetings automatically, but you want more integrations, more language options, or more ways to record. That's where Fireflies comes in. Like Fathom, it takes notes for you rather than relying on what you type, and its AI assistant, AskFred, lets you ask questions about a single meeting or search across past meetings.

Here's what you get:

• Meeting platforms: Works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and other meeting platforms
• Integrations: Connects with 100+ other tools
• Ways to record: Desktop app, mobile app, or Chrome extension
• Languages: Transcribes meetings in 100+ languages
• Free plan: Unlimited transcription, with 800 minutes of storage per seat, pooled across the team, and 3 AI summaries per month
• Paid plans: Pro starts at $10 per user per month, billed annually

Pricing and Free Plans Compared

You can use either Fathom or Granola for free, and neither one stops you from recording as many meetings as you want. But there are a few limits you need to know about before choosing one.

Fathom's free plan gives you unlimited video recordings and transcripts. You get five advanced AI summaries each month. Once you use those up, Fathom goes back to its standard summaries. If you want team features,paid plans start at $15 per user per month when billed annually, or $19 when billed monthly. Business costs $25 per user per month when billed annually, or $34 when billed monthly.

Granola also lets you take notes on as many meetings as you want for free. The limit is how far back you can access them: the Basic plan gives you access to your last 30 days of meeting history. Older notes aren't deleted, but you can't open them again unless you upgrade. Business costs $14 per user per month, while Enterprise costs $35 per user per month.

So, which has the better free plan? Fathom makes more sense if you need to go back to meetings from months ago. Granola works well if you mainly need your recent notes and don't mind older ones being locked until you upgrade.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between Fathom and Granola?

Fathom records and summarizes your meetings automatically, then keeps the video and audio so you can watch them back later. Granola works more like a digital notepad: you jot down your own thoughts during the call, and it uses the transcript to fill in the details afterward. The audio is then deleted.

Is Fathom or Granola better for sales teams?

Fathom gives sales teams more dedicated tools. It syncs meeting details with your CRM, tracks deals through Deal View, and includes coaching scorecards for reviewing rep performance. Granola can connect your notes to CRM records too, but it doesn't have Fathom's pipeline dashboard or coaching scorecards.

Does Granola join meetings as a bot?

No. Granola doesn't join your meeting as another participant. It captures audio directly from your device, so you won't see a Granola bot in the participant list. You do have to start it yourself, though, since it doesn't automatically join and record your meetings.

Which has a better free plan, Fathom or Granola?

Fathom is better if you need access to older meetings. Its free plan gives you unlimited recording and transcription, but only five advanced AI summaries per month. Granola also lets you take notes on unlimited meetings, but you can only access the last 30 days of your meeting history for free.

Does Fathom keep meeting recordings?

Yes. Fathom keeps the video and audio from meetings recorded with its regular bot setup. You can rewatch calls, search the transcript, or cut clips to share later. Those recordings are kept by default unless your company sets its own retention rules to delete them after a certain period.

Does Granola work on Windows or only Mac?

Granola works on both Mac and Windows. It also has apps for iPhone and Android, so you can use it away from your computer. There's a web version too, but that's for reading and editing notes you've already taken rather than recording new meetings.

Can you get bot-free recording with Fathom?

Yes, but Fathom's bot-free feature is still in beta and only works for English meetings on Mac. You can save the transcript alone or with audio, with limited video capture available for Zoom. Bot-free meetings don't support clips, playlists, or clicking the transcript to jump to a moment in the video.

What is a good alternative to both Fathom and Granola?

Fireflies is another option if you want automated note-taking with plenty of ways to connect and record. It supports 100+ languages, connects with 100+ other tools, and works across desktop and mobile. The free plan includes unlimited transcription and 800 minutes of team storage.

Fathom or Granola: Which Should You Choose?

Both Fathom and Granola can take care of your meeting notes, but they do it in very different ways. If you'd rather let the tool handle the recording, transcript, and notes for you, especially if sales features matter, go with Fathom. If you'd rather jot down a few thoughts yourself and let AI turn them into something more complete, go with Granola.

And if neither one has quite what you're looking for, there's Fireflies too.