Deep scoring analysis · 2026 · 115 criteria
Fathom scoring analysis
US-based AI meeting assistant — best-in-class free tier, strong CRM, limited platforms.
Scoring scale
Fathom is a US-based AI meeting assistant focused on recording, transcription, and summarization for Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. Known for its generous free tier and strong CRM integrations (especially HubSpot/Salesforce), it targets sales teams, managers, and general business users. Below is a full category-by-category scoring based on the 2025 Meeting Intelligence Measurement Framework (115 criteria).
1. PLATFORMS & RECORDING — 72% (C+)
Solid coverage for the big 3 video platforms (Zoom, Meet, Teams) but major gaps: no mobile app, no VoIP/phone recording, no in-person or hybrid capture, no Webex. Bot-free audio-only mode on Mac is a nice privacy feature. Concurrent recording and manual controls are strong.
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Microsoft Teams support | 5/5 | ✅ Fully supported via bot join |
| 1.2 | Google Meet support | 5/5 | ✅ Fully supported via bot join |
| 1.3 | Zoom / Webex support | 4/5 | ✅ Zoom fully supported; Webex not confirmed |
| 1.4 | Hybrid Meeting support | 1/5 | ❌ No in-room microphone or hybrid capture |
| 1.5 | Phone Call (VoIP) recording | 1/5 | ❌ No phone/VoIP call recording |
| 1.6 | In-Person Recording | 1/5 | ❌ No face-to-face recording capability |
| 1.7 | Record non-admin meetings | 5/5 | ✅ Bot can join meetings user didn't organize |
| 1.8 | Mobile App / Mobile recording | 1/5 | ❌ No native mobile app; desktop only (Mac/Windows) |
| 1.9 | Automatic Recording | 5/5 | ✅ Auto-start recording via calendar integration |
| 1.10 | Upload Files | 5/5 | ✅ Users can upload pre-recorded audio/video |
| 1.11 | Click to Record | 5/5 | ✅ Manual one-click record button available |
| 1.12 | Auto-join via calendar integration | 5/5 | ✅ Bot auto-joins from Google Calendar / Outlook |
| 1.13 | Automatic meeting detection | 1/5 | ❌ Requires calendar event; no auto-detection |
| 1.14 | Bot controls (mute/unmute) | 3/5 | ⚠️ Basic bot controls; bot-free mode on Mac (Oct 2025) |
| 1.15 | Noise suppression | 3/5 | ⚠️ Not explicitly marketed as a feature |
| 1.16 | Concurrent recordings | 5/5 | ✅ Can record multiple meetings simultaneously |
| 1.17 | Manual start/stop | 5/5 | ✅ Users can manually start and stop recording |
| 1.18 | Configurable audio/video modes | 3/5 | ⚠️ Bot-free (audio-only) mode on Mac; limited options |
| 1.19 | Privacy-first (audio-only) mode | 5/5 | ✅ Bot-free audio-only mode introduced Oct 2025 |
| 1.20 | Calendar integration | 5/5 | ✅ Google Calendar and Outlook supported |
| 1.21 | Supported platforms | 3/5 | ⚠️ 3 platforms (Zoom, Meet, Teams); no Webex, no phone |
Category total: 76 / 105
2. TRANSCRIPTION — 81% (B+)
Strong transcription with speaker diarization, editable transcripts, custom vocabulary dictionary, and clip creation. 25+ languages is behind best-in-class (80+). No real-time transcription — post-meeting only. No confirmed filler word removal.
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Transcriptions included | 5/5 | ✅ Included in all plans, including free |
| 2.2 | Speaker recognition | 5/5 | ✅ Distinguishes between speakers |
| 2.3 | Speaker names | 5/5 | ✅ Labels speakers by name |
| 2.4 | Transcribe video/audio uploads | 5/5 | ✅ Uploaded files can be transcribed |
| 2.5 | Export transcripts | 5/5 | ✅ Export available (PDF, DOCX, etc.) |
| 2.6 | Hybrid meeting transcription | 1/5 | ❌ No hybrid meeting support |
| 2.7 | Languages supported | 3/5 | ⚠️ 25+ languages (benchmark is 40+) |
| 2.8 | Dialects supported | 3/5 | ⚠️ Not explicitly confirmed |
| 2.9 | Full-transcript search | 5/5 | ✅ Global search across all transcripts |
| 2.10 | Edit transcription | 5/5 | ✅ Users can manually edit transcripts |
| 2.11 | Share across organization | 5/5 | ✅ Team sharing with folders and comments |
| 2.12 | Filler word removal | 3/5 | ⚠️ Not explicitly confirmed as a feature |
| 2.13 | Clips from transcript | 5/5 | ✅ Highlight and share specific segments |
| 2.14 | Custom vocabulary | 5/5 | ✅ Transcription Dictionary for custom terms |
| 2.15 | Real-time transcription | 1/5 | ❌ Transcription generated post-meeting |
Category total: 61 / 75
3. REPORTS & NOTES — 78% (B+)
Fast AI summaries within 30 seconds with 14 customizable templates on Premium+. Strong export, email drafting via 'Ask Fathom', and AI Scorecards on Business. No live coaching. Auto meeting detection requires calendar integration. Task assignment is partial.
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Meeting Notes | 5/5 | ✅ AI summaries generated within 30 seconds |
| 3.2 | Export / Download | 5/5 | ✅ Notes can be exported/downloaded |
| 3.3 | Email pre-generated | 5/5 | ✅ 'Ask Fathom' can draft follow-up emails |
| 3.4 | Customize Notes | 5/5 | ✅ 14 customizable summary templates (Premium+) |
| 3.5 | Templates per Job | 5/5 | ✅ Role-specific templates available |
| 3.6 | Scorecard / Coaching | 5/5 | ✅ AI Scorecards with configurable criteria (Business plan) |
| 3.7 | Auto Meeting Detection | 1/5 | ❌ Requires calendar integration |
| 3.8 | Live Coaching | 1/5 | ❌ No real-time coaching prompts |
| 3.9 | Assign tasks | 3/5 | ⚠️ Action items extracted but assignment is limited |
Category total: 35 / 45
4. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT — 100% (A+)
Full marks. 'Ask Fathom' provides a ChatGPT-like interface for querying across all meetings. Team-wide search and shared folders create genuine organization-level knowledge. No external document ingestion, but meeting knowledge is well-structured.
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | Ask questions across all past meetings | 5/5 | ✅ 'Ask Fathom' — ChatGPT-like interface across all meetings |
| 4.2 | Organization-level knowledge | 5/5 | ✅ Team-wide search and shared folders |
Category total: 10 / 10
5. ADMIN & CONTROL — 68% (B−)
Good configurable recording settings with auto-recording rules, single-bot policy, and consent emails. Custom vocabulary dictionary at org level is a plus. But no sentiment analysis, no hybrid speaker detection, and smart participation rules are basic.
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Custom vocabulary (admin) | 5/5 | ✅ Org-wide Transcription Dictionary |
| 5.2 | Sentiment analysis toggles | 1/5 | ❌ No sentiment analysis feature to toggle |
| 5.3 | Hybrid speaker detection | 1/5 | ❌ No hybrid meeting support |
| 5.4 | Configurable recording settings | 5/5 | ✅ Auto-recording rules, single-bot policy, consent emails |
| 5.5 | Smart participation rules | 5/5 | ✅ Admins can control which meetings to auto-join |
Category total: 17 / 25
6. SUPPORT & ONBOARDING — 80% (B−)
Solid documentation and video tutorials. Chat support available across plans with priority on Business. Dedicated account manager only on Business. No personalized training program is explicitly offered.
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | Online Video Tutorials | 5/5 | ✅ Video tutorials and help center available |
| 6.2 | Dedicated Account Manager | 3/5 | ⚠️ Available on Business plan (priority support) |
| 6.3 | Training & Personalization | 3/5 | ⚠️ Not explicitly offered as personalized training |
| 6.4 | Chat & Support | 5/5 | ✅ Chat support available; priority on Business plan |
Category total: 16 / 20
7. ORGANIZATION — 91% (A)
Excellent organizational features. AI Search across all meetings, custom folders, smart filters, team workspaces, and full meeting library. Participant filtering works well. Company-level filtering is partial (relies on CRM integration for Deal pages).
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | Search within meetings | 5/5 | ✅ AI Search across all recorded meetings |
| 7.2 | Automatic folder distribution | 3/5 | ⚠️ Meeting types with default templates; limited auto-sort |
| 7.3 | Organization-level knowledge | 5/5 | ✅ Shared knowledge base via team features |
| 7.4 | Team workspaces | 5/5 | ✅ Team folders and collaborative spaces |
| 7.5 | Meetings library | 5/5 | ✅ Searchable library of all past meetings |
| 7.6 | Smart filters | 5/5 | ✅ Filter by date, type, and other criteria |
| 7.7 | Folders | 5/5 | ✅ Custom folders for organizing meetings |
| 7.8 | Filter by participants | 5/5 | ✅ Can filter meetings by attendees |
| 7.9 | Filter by company | 3/5 | ⚠️ Company/Deal pages in CRM; limited native filtering |
Category total: 41 / 45
8. INTEGRATION — 60% (D+)
Deep CRM integration (HubSpot #1 app 2025, Salesforce) is a genuine strength. Good productivity tool support (Notion, Asana, Slack) and recent additions of public API and Zapier. But major gaps: no OneNote, no OneDrive, no ATS, no VoIP/telephony, and limited Google Workspace depth.
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | OneNote | 1/5 | ❌ No OneNote integration |
| 8.2 | OneDrive | 1/5 | ❌ No OneDrive integration |
| 8.3 | CRM | 5/5 | ✅ Native HubSpot & Salesforce sync (HubSpot Most Used App 2025) |
| 8.4 | G Suite / Google Workspace | 3/5 | ⚠️ Copy to Google Docs; no deep Drive integration |
| 8.5 | ATS | 1/5 | ❌ No direct ATS integration (possible via Zapier/API) |
| 8.6 | Productivity tools | 5/5 | ✅ Notion, Asana, Slack integrations |
| 8.7 | VoIP | 1/5 | ❌ No VoIP/telephony integrations |
| 8.8 | API | 5/5 | ✅ Public API available (since Oct 2025) |
| 8.9 | Zapier | 5/5 | ✅ Zapier connector on all plans (since Sep 2025) |
Category total: 27 / 45
9. CONVERSATION INTELLIGENCE / ANALYTICS — 82% (B+)
Strong CI features for a general notetaker: AI Scorecards, keyword/topic alerts, Deal View for multi-meeting insights, and action item detection. Speech analytics and question detection are partial. No dedicated sentiment analysis feature.
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | Single Meeting AI Insights | 5/5 | ✅ AI summaries, action items, highlights per meeting |
| 9.2 | Multi-Meeting AI Insights | 5/5 | ✅ 'Ask Fathom' queries across all meetings; Deal View |
| 9.3 | Scorecard & Coaching Insights | 5/5 | ✅ AI Scorecards with configurable criteria |
| 9.4 | Keyword Tracking | 5/5 | ✅ Keyword and topic alerts across team meetings |
| 9.5 | Sentiment Analysis | 1/5 | ❌ No explicit sentiment analysis feature |
| 9.6 | Key Topic Detection | 5/5 | ✅ AI identifies main topics discussed |
| 9.7 | Speech Analytics | 3/5 | ⚠️ Coaching metrics available; limited talk-time analytics |
| 9.8 | Action Item Detection | 5/5 | ✅ Automatic action item extraction |
| 9.9 | Question Detection | 3/5 | ⚠️ Not explicitly confirmed as a standalone feature |
Category total: 37 / 45
10. SECURITY & COMPLIANCE — 63% (B−)
SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA compliance, SAML SSO/SCIM, and GDPR with DPA are all strong. AI sub-processor contracts bar training on user data. But: US-only data storage = full Patriot Act exposure, no EU hosting option, no private storage, no 0-day vendor retention, and de-identified data is used for own model training (with opt-out).
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | Data retention policy | 3/5 | ⚠️ Custom retention on Business plan; data deleted on account deletion + 7 days backup |
| 10.2 | SOC 2 Compliant | 5/5 | ✅ SOC 2 Type II certified |
| 10.3 | SAML-based SSO | 5/5 | ✅ SSO and SCIM supported (Team plan+) |
| 10.4 | GDPR Compliant | 5/5 | ✅ Fully GDPR compliant with DPA available |
| 10.5 | Uses your data to train AI? | 3/5 | ⚠️ Uses de-identified data for own models; opt-out available; no 3rd-party training |
| 10.6 | Anonymized data sent to LLMs | 5/5 | ✅ AI sub-processors contractually barred from training on user data |
| 10.7 | Patriot Act exposure | 1/5 | ❌ US-based company; data stored in US |
| 10.8 | Text-Only Recording | 3/5 | ⚠️ Bot-free mode captures audio only; no text-only option |
| 10.9 | Private storage options | 1/5 | ❌ No BYOK or private cloud options |
| 10.10 | BAA with LLM providers | 5/5 | ✅ HIPAA compliant |
| 10.11 | 0-day vendor data retention | 1/5 | ❌ Data retained during active subscription |
| 10.12 | Data stored in EU only | 1/5 | ❌ All data stored in the United States |
Category total: 38 / 60
11. PRICING & PLANS
Fathom's free-forever plan with unlimited recordings and transcriptions is genuinely best-in-class. Premium unlocks unlimited AI summaries at $15–20/user/mo. Business at $28/user/mo adds CRM field sync, Deal View, and AI Scorecards. Enterprise via Team Edition Pro adds SSO/SCIM.
| Plan Feature | Details | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier availability | ✅ Generous free-forever plan | 5/5 |
| Free tier features | ✅ Unlimited recordings & transcriptions; 5 advanced AI summaries/month | 4/5 |
| Pro / Premium price | $15–20/user/mo (annual billing) | 4/5 |
| Pro / Premium features | ✅ Unlimited AI summaries, action items, expanded integrations | 4/5 |
| Business price | $28/user/mo (minimum 2 users) | 3/5 |
| Business features | ✅ CRM field sync, Deal View, AI Scorecards, custom retention, priority support | 5/5 |
| Enterprise price | Custom via Team Edition Pro (~$39/user/mo) | 4/5 |
| Enterprise features | ✅ All features + SSO/SCIM + advanced admin controls | 5/5 |
12. QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT
Advantages
- Best-in-class free tier — unlimited recordings & transcriptions
- Exceptional CRM integration — HubSpot #1 app 2025
- Fast AI summaries — under 30 seconds post-meeting
- AI Scorecards for sales coaching with configurable criteria
- Public API + Zapier — recently added (Sep/Oct 2025)
- Bot-free recording mode — privacy-focused audio-only capture on Mac
- Strong SOC 2 + HIPAA compliance
- Custom vocabulary dictionary at org level
Disadvantages
- No mobile app — desktop only (Mac/Windows)
- No VoIP/phone call recording
- No in-person or hybrid meeting support
- US-only data storage — full Patriot Act exposure
- No ATS integration
- Limited to 3 platforms — Zoom, Meet, Teams only
- No real-time transcription — post-meeting only
- No live coaching
- No sentiment analysis
USE-CASE FIT MATRIX
How well Fathom fits different roles and team types.
| Use Case | Fit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Recruiter fit | Weak | No ATS integration, no in-person recording |
| Sales fit | Strong | AI Scorecards, CRM sync, Deal View, keyword alerts |
| Manager fit | Strong | Team folders, coaching metrics, multi-meeting insights |
| Enterprise / CISO fit | Moderate | SOC 2 + HIPAA but US-only data, no EU hosting |
| Freelance fit | Strong | Best free tier on the market |
Three-Way Comparison
| Category | Fathom | Noota | Avoma |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms & Recording | 69% (C+) | 93% (A+) | 73% (B) |
| Transcription | 77% (B+) | 87% (A) | 80% (A−) |
| Reports & Notes | 78% (B+) | 91% (A+) | 75% (B+) |
| Knowledge Management | 100% (A+) | 100% (A+) | 70% (B) |
| Admin & Control | 60% (C) | 60% (C) | 56% (C) |
| Support & Onboarding | 75% (B−) | 88% (A−) | 88% (A−) |
| Organization | 89% (A−) | 94% (A) | 65% (B−) |
| Integration | 50% (D) | 51% (D) | 90% (A) |
| Conversation Intelligence | 78% (B+) | 83% (A) | 88% (A+) |
| Security & Compliance | 54% (D) | 70% (B−) | 55% (C) |
| OVERALL | 72.0 (B) | 86.33 (A) | 71.48 (B+) |
Key Strengths
- Best-in-class free tier — Unlimited recordings and transcriptions on the free plan; 5 advanced AI summaries/month
- Exceptional CRM integration — HubSpot Most Used App 2025; deep bidirectional Salesforce sync
- Fast AI summaries — Meeting summaries generated in under 30 seconds post-meeting
- AI Scorecards — Configurable coaching criteria for sales teams on Business plan
- Recent API + Zapier — Public API (Oct 2025) and Zapier connector (Sep 2025) significantly expanded integration reach
- Bot-free recording mode — Audio-only capture without a visible bot on Mac (Oct 2025)
- Strong compliance — SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR with DPA
Areas for Improvement
- No mobile app — Desktop only (Mac/Windows); no iOS or Android support
- No VoIP/phone call recording — Cannot capture dialer or phone calls
- No in-person or hybrid support — Video calls only; no room microphone or field capture
- US-only data storage — Full Patriot Act exposure; no EU hosting option
- No ATS integration — Not suitable for recruiting workflows
- Limited to 3 platforms — Zoom, Meet, Teams only; no Webex
- No real-time transcription — All transcription is post-meeting
- 25+ languages only — Behind competitors with 50–120+ language support
Bottom Line
Fathom scores ~78/100 (Grade B) — an excellent choice for sales teams and budget-conscious users thanks to its unbeatable free tier and deep CRM integrations. Its AI summaries are fast, its HubSpot sync is market-leading, and its recent API/Zapier additions close previous gaps.
Its main structural gaps are the absence of mobile, VoIP, hybrid/in-person recording, and EU data residency — making it a weaker fit for recruiters, European enterprises, and teams needing phone call capture. If you run video meetings in Zoom/Meet/Teams and live in HubSpot or Salesforce, Fathom is hard to beat. If you need phone recording, in-person capture, or EU data sovereignty, look elsewhere.
For sales teams: Strong pick — CRM sync, Deal View, AI Scorecards, keyword alerts.
For managers: Good fit — team folders, coaching metrics, multi-meeting insights via "Ask Fathom".
For freelancers: Excellent — best free tier on the market, no credit card required.
For European enterprises: Skip — US-only data, Patriot Act exposure, no EU hosting.
For recruiters: Skip — no ATS integration, no in-person recording for interviews.