Fathom excels as a straightforward meeting notetaker with an extremely generous free plan and fast, accurate transcription across 25+ languages. Its clean, intuitive interface makes it easy to capture different summary formats without overwhelming users during calls. The tool works best for sales teams and professionals who want to stay present in meetings while trusting the AI to handle note-taking, though it's limited to scheduled online meetings on major platforms.

Read.ai positions itself as a comprehensive meeting copilot that goes beyond transcription to analyze engagement, sentiment, and speaking patterns. It offers real-time translation and can handle both virtual and in-person meetings through its mobile app. However, the extensive feature set creates a steeper learning curve, and the restrictive free tier (only 5 meetings monthly) may deter individual users compared to Fathom's more generous offering.

Fathom suits teams and individuals seeking simple, reliable meeting documentation without complexity, particularly those heavily using Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams. Read.ai appeals more to data-driven organizations that want meeting analytics and insights beyond basic transcription, especially global teams that benefit from real-time translation features. Both tools serve different philosophies: Fathom prioritizes simplicity and presence, while Read.ai emphasizes comprehensive meeting intelligence.

Despite their strengths, both platforms offer limited integration depth and lack robust automation capabilities that would truly transform meeting outcomes into actionable workflows. While they excel at capturing and summarizing conversations, neither provides the sophisticated task management or follow-up automation that busy professionals need to turn meeting insights into completed work. Users often find themselves manually transferring information and action items to other productivity tools to actually get things done.

Comparison table

What users say about Fathom and Read.ai

Users have generally positive feedback about Fathom, praising its speed, accuracy, and value-added features. According to reviews on Capterra, users find that Fathom is quick and accurate and adds tons of value, with easy integration capabilities and innovative features like hyper-text links to videos being particularly appreciated. A detailed review from The Business Dive notes that Fathom's transcriptions are pretty accurate, achieving between 85% and 90% accuracy rates, with the added benefit of manual editing capabilities.

Read.ai receives more mixed reviews from users, with some appreciating its functionality while others express concerns about its practices and overall experience. A comprehensive review from tl;dv describes Read.ai as a strong tool that feels a bit vague, noting that while it's quick, efficient, and generally accurate, there seems to be an unnecessary amount of complexity. User sentiment appears more negative overall, as evidenced by Trustpilot reviews showing that read.ai has a 1.8 rating, with some users finding it useful while others report intrusive practices like forced account creation and calendar access requirements.

Users switch away from Fathom primarily due to limitations in platform compatibility and mobile accessibility. Fathom is restricted to live meetings on specific platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, and cannot transcribe external audio files or uploaded recordings. This makes it unsuitable for users who need to process pre-recorded content or work with audio from other sources. Additionally, Fathom lacks a mobile app entirely, forcing users to rely on desktop applications, which can be inconvenient for professionals who need meeting support on mobile devices.

Feature limitations on the free plan drive users to seek alternatives to Fathom that offer more comprehensive free tiers. While Fathom provides unlimited meeting recordings on its free plan, AI summaries are limited to just 5 meetings per month, after which users only receive basic transcripts. Advanced features like meeting templates and structured note sections are gated behind paid Team edition plans. Users who need consistent AI-powered summaries and advanced organizational features may find these restrictions too limiting for their workflow needs.

Technical and user experience issues also contribute to user churn. Some users find the on-screen widgets, live transcripts, and notification bars distracting during calls, even though these elements can typically be hidden. The lack of support for in-person meetings is particularly problematic for users who need a solution that works across both virtual and face-to-face interactions. Users seeking more comprehensive analytics, sentiment analysis, or engagement metrics may also find Fathom's feature set insufficient compared to competitors that offer meeting quality insights and participation analytics.

Users frequently switch away from Read.ai due to the highly restrictive free plan that only provides 5 meeting transcripts per month with basic summaries and analytics. This limitation is particularly frustrating when compared to competitors like Fathom that offer more generous free tiers with unlimited meeting recordings and full AI summaries for 5 meetings monthly, plus continued access to transcripts beyond that limit. For individuals and small teams who want to test the platform extensively or have moderate meeting volumes, this restriction becomes a significant barrier to continued use.

The platform's complex and cluttered user interface creates a steep learning curve that many users find overwhelming and counterproductive. With numerous features including notes, analytics, search capabilities, and live coaching metrics all packed into one interface, users report finding the system "confusing" and not as time-saving as expected. This complexity stands in stark contrast to competitors that prioritize simplicity and intuitive design, making Read.ai feel cumbersome for users who simply want straightforward meeting transcription and summarization without the additional analytical overhead.

Privacy concerns and high pricing for full functionality also drive users to seek alternatives to Read.ai. Some users have raised boundary issues about Read.ai joining others' meetings without explicit consent, creating workplace tension and compliance concerns. Additionally, the pricing structure becomes expensive for teams wanting access to complete features, with the Enterprise plan at $29.75 per user monthly for video playback and other advanced capabilities. Small teams and individual users often find better value propositions with competitors that offer similar core functionality at lower price points or with more accessible feature distributions across their pricing tiers.

Using Fathom

Does Fathom work for in-person meetings?

No, Fathom does not work for in-person meetings. It can only be used for scheduled online meetings on platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, and cannot import external audio files.

What do users say about the quality of Fathom transcriptions?

Users praise Fathom's transcriptions as quick and accurate. The AI-generated summaries appear just seconds after meetings, and users appreciate the reliability of the transcription quality.

How does Fathom help users follow up on action items?

Fathom automatically generates action items after meetings and can even create draft follow-up emails. It also has automation features that can push action items to CRM deals, helping users stay on top of their follow-up tasks.

Does Fathom integrate with software like Hubspot, Salesforce, or Linear?

Yes, Fathom integrates with CRM systems like HubSpot and Salesforce to sync call notes. It also connects with Slack and Notion through Zapier integrations.

Using Read.ai

Does Read.ai work for in-person meetings?

Yes. Read.ai has an iOS app that captures in-person/offline meetings with one tap.

Does Read.ai require a meeting bot to join the meeting?

No. Read.ai records virtual meetings via cloud or extension, and offline audio via mobile app without requiring meeting bots.

What do users say about the quality of Read.ai transcriptions?

Users find the summaries to be "smart," effectively capturing questions asked and topics discussed. The transcription supports 16+ languages and even includes real-time translation, which appeals to global teams.

How does Read.ai help users follow up on action items?

Read.ai generates reports after meetings that include action items along with key points. It also has an AI meeting assistant that provides summaries and can auto-sync notes to CRM systems.

Does Read.ai integrate with software like Hubspot, Salesforce, or Linear?

Yes. Read.ai has robust integrations including HubSpot, Salesforce, Confluence, Jira, Notion, and Slack.

Another alternative: Circleback

Circleback provides best-in-class AI-powered meeting notes and automations. We support over 100 languages and automatic participant identification in both in-person and online meetings.

• Automatically-identified and assigned action items

• AI-enabled search across all meetings

• Automations with 100+ app integrations

• Industry-leading security with SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and HIPAA compliance

• Ability to capture both online and in-person meetings with desktop and mobile apps