Fathom vs Granola is a choice between an AI meeting assistant that summarizes every call and an AI notepad that builds notes around what you type. Fathom Free costs $0 with unlimited recording and transcription and no end date, and Fathom Premium costs $16 a month billed yearly. Granola Basic costs $0 with 30 days of meeting history, and Granola Business costs $14 a month. Both can capture meetings without a bot: Granola on your computer, Fathom in a beta for Mac. Prices and plan details were checked on Nov 5, 2026.
If you want prices first, jump to what you pay for each or the free plans. If you record in person or on the phone and want to compare costs, skip to Fathom vs Granola vs Comu AI.
Fathom vs Granola at a glance
Fathom has a free plan with no recording cap, and Granola has the lower paid price. They also capture differently. Fathom sends a bot or captures bot-free on Mac in beta, while Granola uses your computer's audio.
| Fathom | Granola | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | An AI meeting assistant: instant summaries of every call | An AI notepad: your notes plus the transcript |
| Where it works | Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams on Mac and Windows, Slack Huddles on Mac, and an iPhone app for in-person meetings | macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, with every meeting app |
| Bot-free capture | Beta for Mac | macOS and Windows |
| Phone calls | Not supported | Outbound calls in the iPhone app |
| Free plan | Free, unlimited recording and transcription | Basic, 30 days of meeting history |
| Paid plan, billed monthly | Premium $20, Team $19, Business $34 | Business $14, Enterprise $35 |
| Paid plan, billed yearly | Premium $16, Team $15, Business $25 | Business $14 a month, $168 a year |
| Best for | Every call summarized with no typing | Notes in your own structure with no bot |
Prices are per user per month in US dollars. Fathom Team and Business have a two-user minimum. Fathom here is the AI meeting assistant at fathom.ai, not Fathom Analytics or Fathom's financial software.
Fathom vs Granola: what you pay for each
Granola Business at $14 a month costs less than Fathom Premium at $16 a month billed yearly, Team at $15 and Business at $25. Fathom has five plans and Granola has three.
Fathom Free costs $0. Premium costs $20 a month, or $16 billed yearly, for one person. Team costs $19 a month, or $15 billed yearly, and Business costs $34 a month, or $25 billed yearly. Team and Business have a two-user minimum, and Enterprise is priced through sales. Our Fathom AI pricing guide covers what each plan adds, row by row.
Granola Basic costs $0. Business costs $14 per user per month ($168 a year), and Enterprise costs $35 ($420 a year). Students at accredited universities in the US, UK and Canada get Business free for 12 months. Our Granola pricing guide covers what each plan adds, row by row.
| Per user per year | Fathom | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 |
| Entry paid plan, billed monthly | Premium, $240 | Business, $168 |
| Entry paid plan, billed yearly | Premium, $192 | Business, $168 |
| Team plan, billed monthly | Team, $228 (two-user minimum) | Business, $168 |
| Team plan, billed yearly | Team, $180 (two-user minimum) | Business, $168 |
Granola Business is $24 a year cheaper than Fathom Premium on yearly billing, $72 cheaper on monthly billing, and $12 cheaper than Fathom Team per user on yearly billing.
Granola vs Fathom: free plans compared
Fathom Free has no cap on recording or transcription and Granola Basic keeps 30 days of meeting history, and both cost $0.
Fathom Free includes unlimited recordings, call storage and transcription, bot capture or bot-free capture (in beta for Mac), instant AI call summaries, clips, playlists and search across your calls. It connects to Claude, ChatGPT and Slack and includes the public API and MCP. Advanced summaries, Ask Fathom and Zapier and Make automations are limited use. CRM sync is capped at three users per domain, and AI action items start on Premium.
Granola Basic includes AI meeting notes, bot-free capture from your device's audio, the desktop, iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps, speaker tagging, customized note templates, AI chat in Auto mode, multi-language support, voice typing, shared folders and Slack. You can take as many notes as you like, and notes older than 30 days need an upgrade. Pre-meeting briefs, follow-up emails and the Notion, Zapier and HubSpot integrations start on Business.
Fathom vs Granola free plans: what each includes
Fathom Free has no history window and limits advanced summaries and Ask Fathom. Granola Basic limits history to 30 days and leaves out briefs, follow-up emails and most integrations.
| Free plan | Fathom Free | Granola Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $0 |
| Recording and transcription | Unlimited | Unlimited notes |
| History | Kept until you delete it | 30 days |
| Bot-free capture | Beta for Mac | macOS and Windows |
| AI assistant | Ask Fathom, limited use | AI chat in Auto mode |
| Mobile apps | iPhone | iPhone, Android and Apple Watch |
For a few meetings a month, either free plan works. Fathom's free plan fits someone who wants every call recorded and summarized with no cap. Granola's free plan fits someone who writes notes in many meetings and does not need to look back past a month.
Fathom vs Granola: features row by row
Fathom writes an instant summary of every call on every plan and adds action items on Premium, while Granola builds notes around what you type and adds pre-meeting briefs on Business.
- Capture. Fathom joins with a bot or captures bot-free on Mac in beta. Granola captures your computer's audio on every plan, so no bot joins.
- Notes. Granola combines the notes you type with the transcript into enhanced notes. Fathom writes an instant summary of every call, and its newer Mac app updates the summary during the call and adds a Scratchpad for private notes.
- Summaries and action items. Fathom Premium adds advanced summaries on 15+ expert templates such as BANT and Sandler, AI action items and AI follow-up emails. Granola has customized note templates on every plan, and Business adds follow-up emails.
- Briefs. Granola's pre-meeting briefs start on Business and cover who is attending, what you discussed last time and what matters now.
- AI chat. Granola's chat uses Auto mode on Basic, with model selection on Business and Enterprise. Ask Fathom is limited use on Free and unlimited inside a call from Premium.
- Integrations. Fathom includes Claude, ChatGPT, Slack, the public API and MCP on every plan, and unlimited Zapier and Make from Team. Granola has Slack and MCP on every plan, and Notion, Zapier, HubSpot, Attio, Affinity and API access from Business.
- Team features. Fathom Team adds team search, playlists, comments, folders and Trackers, and Business adds Deal View, CRM field sync, coaching metrics and AI scorecards. Granola Business adds centralized billing and user management, and Enterprise adds SSO and SCIM.
Fathom vs Granola: bot-free capture, devices and phone calls
Granola captures without a bot on macOS and Windows, Fathom does it in a beta for Mac, and only Granola takes notes on phone calls, limited to outbound calls on iPhone.
Fathom's bot-free capture works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Slack Huddles. Transcript Only mode keeps no recording and produces a transcript and summary. Audio Only mode records audio on your computer with no video. Audio & Video mode uses the bot. Fathom's desktop app also runs on Windows. Granola's desktop apps capture your computer's audio, so they work with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and every other meeting app.
On iPhone, Fathom's free app records in-person meetings, one-on-one conversations and ad hoc chats, with a summary, a transcript and speaker identification. Granola's iPhone and Android apps take notes in person, and Granola also has an Apple Watch app. Neither phone app captures a Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call running on the same phone, so those meetings stay on the desktop apps.
Fathom does not record phone calls, including Zoom Phone calls. Granola's iPhone app takes notes on outbound calls you place through its built-in dialer in supported countries. Granola cannot transcribe inbound calls, and the Android app does not support phone call notes.
Fathom vs Granola: limits and requirements
Fathom needs a connected Google or Outlook calendar, and Granola's mobile apps are for in-person meetings and outbound iPhone calls rather than video calls.
Fathom's bot records only when you are in the call and leaves when the meeting ends. Fathom does not support Zoom for Government, Teams for Government or webinars, and in breakout rooms it captures the main room's audio.
Fathom vs Granola: which one fits you
Choose Fathom to have every call summarized without typing, and choose Granola for the lowest paid price and for notes built around what you type.
| If you | Choose |
|---|---|
| Want no bot in your calls | Granola on macOS and Windows, or Fathom's bot-free capture in beta on Mac |
| Want to write your own notes and have AI fill in the rest | Granola |
| Want every call summarized without typing anything | Fathom |
| Want AI action items written after every call with no typing | Fathom Premium at $16 billed yearly |
| Want the lowest paid price | Granola Business at $14 |
| Want unlimited recording and no history window on a free plan | Fathom Free |
| Take notes on outbound calls from your iPhone | Granola |
| Run sales calls and want CRM field sync, Deal View and scorecards | Fathom Business |
| Record in person or on the phone with a device you carry | A recorder, such as Comu |
Start on a free plan and note the limit you reach first. For Granola it is the 30-day window. For Fathom it is AI action items and the limited use of Ask Fathom. For Granola's features by plan and its privacy terms in full, read our Granola AI review.
Fathom vs Granola: privacy and data handling
Both companies state that third-party AI providers may not train on your data, and each states that it uses de-identified or anonymized data to train its own models unless you opt out.
Fathom states that it is SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and GDPR compliant, stores all data in the United States and encrypts data in transit and at rest. Fathom states that it may use de-identified data from meeting content to train, improve and customize its own AI models, and you can opt out in your account settings. Admins on a team account can opt out for every user in Organization Settings. Fathom states that it does not sell your data and does not authorize OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or other third parties to train on it.
Granola is SOC 2 Type II certified on every plan, deletes audio after transcription and offers a DPA. Granola states that third parties such as OpenAI and Anthropic may not train on your data. Granola trains on anonymized data itself, each user can opt out in Settings with one click, and Enterprise has model training turned off by default.
Fathom's bot is visible to participants, and Zoom notifies them. With bot-free capture, a Recording Notice posts a message in the meeting chat when you turn it on. Granola can send an automated message at the start of each meeting to tell others it is in use, and Enterprise admins can enforce it. Fathom became part of Superhuman on Sept 14, 2026, and Fathom states that the app, login and product experience stay the same.
Tell the other person you are recording. Laws on recording calls differ by country, and you are responsible for following them.
Fathom vs Granola for a small team
Both charge per user, so five people pay $840 a year on Granola Business, $900 on Fathom Team billed yearly and $1,500 on Fathom Business billed yearly.
Both free plans cover light use, so a team can keep its light users on a free plan and give paid seats to the people who run the most meetings. To compare more tools at team prices, read our Fathom alternatives compared by price.
Fathom vs Granola: setting up in your first week
Run both free plans side by side on real meetings for one week.
- Sign up for both free plans. Connect your calendar in each.
- Run three real meetings and keep both tools on for each one.
- Compare the notes. Granola's notes follow what you typed. Fathom's summary arrives after each call without any typing.
- Check the limits. Note which Fathom features show limited use, and which Granola meetings the 30-day window will drop first.
- Try an in-person conversation with the iPhone app of each tool, and place one outbound call through Granola's built-in dialer.
- Decide on seats. Give a paid seat to the people who run the most meetings.
Fathom vs Granola: cost over three years
Over three years, one person pays $504 on Granola Business, $576 on Fathom Premium billed yearly and $720 on Fathom Premium billed monthly. The free plans cost $0.
| One person | Year 1 | Year 2 (total) | Year 3 (total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granola Business, $14 a month | $168.00 | $336.00 | $504.00 |
| Granola Enterprise, $35 a month | $420.00 | $840.00 | $1,260.00 |
| Fathom Premium, $16 a month billed yearly | $192.00 | $384.00 | $576.00 |
| Fathom Premium, $20 a month | $240.00 | $480.00 | $720.00 |
| Fathom Team, $15 a month billed yearly, per user, two-user minimum | $180.00 | $360.00 | $540.00 |
| Fathom Business, $25 a month billed yearly, per user, two-user minimum | $300.00 | $600.00 | $900.00 |
Fathom vs Granola vs Comu AI: usage cost compared
Comu Note Pro is €139.99 and Comu Action Pro is €179.99. Over three years, Granola Business costs $504 and Fathom Premium billed yearly costs $576. Comu prices are euro prices from the EU store (Nov 6, 2026); competitor prices are US dollar prices from each company's own site. Comu is a recorder with an app. The free plan that comes with a Comu device includes unlimited transcription, unlimited real-time transcription, speaker identification, summaries, action items, 30+ built-in templates with unlimited custom templates, and Comu AI for questions across your recordings. Comu records phone calls, supports 113 languages, imports external audio files, and is GDPR, HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant.
The Comu rows use only that free plan. Fathom Free has no AI action items and limits advanced summaries and Ask Fathom. Granola Basic keeps 30 days of meeting history and leaves out pre-meeting briefs and follow-up emails. The table therefore compares Comu with Fathom Premium, Team and Business and with Granola Business and Enterprise, and lists the two free plans at $0 for reference.
| One person | Year 1 | Year 2 (total) | Year 3 (total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comu Note Pro, free plan | €139.99 | €139.99 | €139.99 |
| Comu Action Pro, free plan | €179.99 | €179.99 | €179.99 |
| Fathom Free, unlimited recording | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Granola Basic, 30 days of history | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Granola Business, $14 a month | $168.00 | $336.00 | $504.00 |
| Fathom Team, $15 a month billed yearly, per user, two-user minimum | $180.00 | $360.00 | $540.00 |
| Fathom Premium, $16 a month billed yearly | $192.00 | $384.00 | $576.00 |
| Fathom Business, $25 a month billed yearly, per user, two-user minimum | $300.00 | $600.00 | $900.00 |
| Granola Enterprise, $35 a month | $420.00 | $840.00 | $1,260.00 |
For a team of five over three years, Granola Business seats cost $2,520, Fathom Team seats billed yearly cost $2,700 and five Comu Note Pro devices cost €699.95.
| Feature | Comu (included with the device) | Fathom Free | Granola Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Note Pro €139.99, Action Pro €179.99 | $0 | $0 |
| Where it records | A recorder you carry, in person and on the phone | Online meetings, plus in-person meetings in the iPhone app | Your computer's audio, plus in-person meetings in the phone apps |
| Phone calls | Yes | No | Outbound calls in the iPhone app |
| Questions across recordings | Comu AI across all your recordings | Ask Fathom, limited use | AI chat in Auto mode |
Fathom Free costs $0 and covers online meetings with unlimited recording, transcription and instant summaries. Comu's included plan adds AI action items, phone call recording through a bone-conduction microphone attached to the phone, and import of external audio files, which Fathom does not support. Comu exports text as TXT, Markdown, Word and PDF and audio as MP3 and WAV, while Fathom downloads a recording as an MP4 and copies a transcript to the clipboard.
Granola Basic costs $0 and takes notes from your computer's audio and its phone apps, with 30 days of meeting history. Comu's included plan records phone calls and in-person conversations from a device you carry.
Comu records the room and the phone from a device you carry, so it works for an in-person interview, a client visit, a lecture or a call without a laptop or a meeting link. Every feature that comes with a Comu device is in our guide to the features that come with Comu, and the devices are Comu Note Pro and Comu Action Pro.
Common questions about Fathom vs Granola
Is Fathom better than Granola?
Fathom is the better fit if you want every call recorded and summarized automatically, with action items from Premium, and Granola is the better fit if you want no bot in the call and notes built around what you type.
Which is cheaper, Fathom or Granola?
Granola. Business at $14 a month costs less than Fathom Premium at $16 a month billed yearly, Premium at $20 a month and Team at $15 billed yearly. Both have free plans at $0.
Does Fathom or Granola join the call as a bot?
Fathom can join as a bot, and it also offers bot-free capture that is in beta for Mac. Granola uses your computer's audio and does not invite a bot.
Do Fathom and Granola have free plans?
Yes. Fathom Free costs $0 with unlimited recording and transcription and has no end date. Granola Basic costs $0 with 30 days of meeting history.
Does Granola work on Windows and Android?
Yes. Granola is available for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. Fathom's desktop app runs on Mac and Windows, and its iPhone app records in-person meetings.
Can Fathom or Granola record phone calls?
Granola can on iPhone, for outbound calls placed through its built-in dialer. Fathom cannot record phone calls. A recorder such as Comu records phone calls with a bone-conduction microphone attached to the phone.
Do Fathom and Granola train AI on my meetings?
Yes, each company states that it uses de-identified or anonymized data to train its own models unless you opt out, and each states that third-party AI providers may not train on your data. Fathom's opt-out is in account settings. Granola's opt-out is one click in Settings, and Enterprise has training off by default.
Which is better for in-person meetings?
Both have iPhone apps for in-person meetings, and Granola also has an Android app. A recorder you carry captures the room without a phone app. Comu Note Pro is €139.99 and its free plan includes unlimited transcription, speaker identification and AI summaries.
Is there a recorder alternative to both?
Yes. Comu Note Pro is €139.99 and Comu Action Pro is €179.99. Both record phone calls and in-person conversations.
Related reading
- Fathom AI Pricing (2026): Free Plan, Premium at $16, Team at $15 and Business at $25
- Granola Pricing (2026): Free Plan, Business at $14 and Enterprise at $35
- Granola AI Review (2026): Features, Pricing, Privacy and Who It Fits
- Granola Alternatives (2026): 7 AI Note Takers Compared by Price and Use Case
- Fathom AI Alternatives (2026): 8 Tools Compared by Price and Use Case
- Granola vs Otter (2026): Pricing, Free Plans and Features Compared
Sources
Pages were checked on Nov 5, 2026.
- Fathom, Pricing, home page, overview, iPhone app, Superhuman announcement, Privacy Policy, Trust Center, supported devices and platforms, Fathom 3.0 upgrade, Is Fathom secure? and uploading external recordings
- Granola, Pricing, home page, student program, Phone calls on iOS and Getting started with Granola for mobile
- Comu, Comu Action Pro, Comu Note Pro, and app downloads
