Fathom vs Fireflies vs Otter in 2026: The Free-Tier Sales Meeting AI Showdown

Three free-tier meeting AI tools, three very different ceiling-and-floor structures, three very different fits for a sales team's workflow.

Last verified April 2026

§Free Tier Comparison

Feature	Fathom	Fireflies	Otter.ai
Transcription	Unlimited	800 min/month	300 min/month
Storage	Unlimited	3-month limit	Limited
AI summaries	5 calls/month	Limited	Limited
Per-call length limit	None	None	30 min/call
CRM push	No (paid only)	Limited (paid)	No
Meeting bot	Yes	Yes	Yes
Speaker ID	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search across calls	Yes	Yes	Strong
Highlights/clips	Unlimited	Limited	Limited

Fathom free tier verdict: The most generous free tier in the category by a wide margin. Unlimited transcription and storage with 5 AI-summary calls per month is enough for most individual sales reps with light call volume. The 5 AI-summary limit is the ceiling to understand - high-volume callers (10+ demos/week) will hit it quickly.

§Paid Tier Comparison

Platform + Plan	Price	Key features unlocked	CRM push	Best for
Fathom Team	$19/user/mo	Unlimited AI summaries, team call library, shared highlights	Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion, Slack	Small teams (2-20) with coaching goals
Fathom Premium	$29/user/mo	Custom AI topics, CRM auto-fill, advanced analytics	Full CRM auto-fill	Teams wanting Gong-lite at low cost
Fireflies Pro	~$18/user/mo	Unlimited storage, conversation analytics, CRM push	Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier	Teams prioritising CRM automation
Fireflies Business	~$29/user/mo	Advanced analytics, API access, custom vocabulary	Full CRM automation	Teams wanting automation breadth
Otter Pro	~$8/user/mo	2 hrs/month import, advanced search	Limited	Archive-heavy use cases, budget teams
Otter Business	~$20/user/mo	Admin controls, SSO, usage insights	Salesforce (limited)	Security-conscious orgs

§Avoma: The Mid-Market Step Up

Avoma ($40-$100/user/month) sits between the free-tier tools and Gong/Chorus in the market. It is more accurately categorised as conversation intelligence than meeting AI - it has a coaching library, deal risk notifications, and deeper CRM integration that the free-tier tools lack.

Avoma advantages vs Fathom/Fireflies

- Coaching library (manager-accessible call review)
- Deal risk notifications
- Deeper CRM automation (auto-fill, meeting follow-up)
- Topic trackers (competitor mentions, pricing signals)
- Approximately 1/3 of Gong's price for core functionality

Avoma pricing range (April 2026)

Starter: ~$40/user/mo

Business: ~$60/user/mo

Enterprise: ~$80-$100/user/mo

Public pricing available at avoma.com. April 2026.

§Grain: Bot-Free Recording

Grain ($12-$25/user/month) occupies a unique niche: it records calls without a visible meeting bot joining the call. For sales teams who find that meeting bots create awkwardness with prospects or trigger "bot opt-out" requests, Grain's bot-free recording is a genuine differentiator.

Grain has the standard transcription, AI summary, and highlight-clipping features. Its CRM push is adequate but not as automated as Fireflies at the equivalent price point. Best for 5-100-rep sales teams where bot-free recording is a hard requirement, or for teams doing high-volume video content where clip-sharing externally is important.

§Decision Framework: Which Tool Wins

Individual rep, zero budget

Fathom free

Unlimited transcription; 5 AI summaries/month is enough for light demo volume

Small team (2-10), CRM push important

Fireflies paid ($18-29/user/mo)

Best CRM automation breadth of the free-tier tools at paid tier

Team wanting Gong-lite features

Avoma ($40-100/user/mo)

Coaching library, deal risk, deeper CRM integration at ~1/3 of Gong price

Bot-free recording is a hard requirement

Grain ($12-25/user/mo)

Only major option that records without a bot joining the call

Best searchable meeting archive

Otter.ai

Strongest full-text search across meeting history

Enterprise coaching programme

Step up to Gong or Chorus

Free-tier tools and Avoma lack coaching library depth for 50+ rep teams with manager accountability

§FAQ

What is the best free AI note-taker for sales calls?

Fathom has the most generous free tier: unlimited transcription, unlimited storage, and 5 AI summaries per month. Fireflies' free tier offers 800 minutes/month. Otter's free tier is 300 minutes/month with a 30-minute per-call cap. For most individual sales reps, Fathom free is the clear choice.

Does Fireflies push to Salesforce?

Yes. Fireflies' paid tiers (Pro at ~$18/user/mo and Business at ~$29/user/mo) include Salesforce integration with automated CRM field updates. The free tier has limited integration capability. Fireflies is generally considered to have the best CRM automation of the three free-tier tools.

What is the difference between Avoma and Gong?

Avoma ($40-$100/user/month) covers 70-80% of Gong's core conversation intelligence features at approximately 1/3 of Gong's price. The gaps are coaching library depth, deal intelligence complexity, and ecosystem breadth. For a mid-market team (10-50 reps) without a structured enterprise coaching programme, Avoma is frequently the better ROI decision.

Is Grain bot-free?

Yes. Grain records calls without a bot joining the meeting - it works via browser extension or direct CRM integration. This is its primary differentiator: for sales teams that find meeting bots create prospect friction, or where bot-joining is blocked by the customer's IT policy, Grain is often the only viable option.

Should I use Fathom or Fireflies for my sales team?

For CRM automation (auto-push to Salesforce/HubSpot), Fireflies paid has a slight edge. For simplicity and the most generous free tier, Fathom wins. Both lack the coaching-library depth of Avoma or Gong for manager-driven coaching programmes. At paid tiers they are broadly equivalent; the choice often comes down to which CRM integrations you need.

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