# Fathom vs Grain

> Fathom vs Grain: Grain is our pick, leading for consultants & agencies and product & ux research. They split on capture method and meeting platforms supported.

Fathom (Free-first AI meeting notetaker) and Grain (AI notetaker with clips & coaching) are AI meeting notetakers platforms, priced from $16/seat/mo and $15/seat/mo respectively. Below: the bottom line, verified head-to-head facts, and real production costs.

AI meeting notetakers platforms · 33 facts compared · all sourced · pricing verified Jul 20, 2026

## Bottom line

Grain wins four of the seven use cases, against two wins for Fathom and one tie in Privacy & Compliance. Grain exports transcripts in PDF, SRT, VTT, and DOCX, versus copy and paste only for Fathom, and supports live, real-time transcription during calls, helping it win Consultants & Agencies, Product & UX Research, Recruiters, and Sales Teams. Fathom takes Engineering Teams on its Notion and Asana integrations, and Solo & Free on its unlimited recording. Privacy & Compliance ties: Fathom includes a HIPAA BAA that Grain does not publish, while Grain excludes customer data from AI training and Fathom does not. Grain is the stronger overall pick.

## Verdict summary

| Use case | Winner | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Consultants & Agencies | Grain | Grain costs $15/seat/mo on the annual plan versus $16/seat/mo for Fathom, a modest edge for agencies billing seats across many client accounts. |
| Engineering Teams | Fathom | Fathom integrates with Slack, Notion, Asana, and Zapier, giving async teams a direct route from meeting notes into the project and task tools engineering teams already use. |
| Privacy & Compliance | Tie | Fathom includes a HIPAA BAA as part of its plan, a fact not published for Grain, making Fathom the safer bet if a signed BAA is a hard requirement. |
| Product & UX Research | Grain | Fathom and Grain both offer clips and highlight reels, video recording, and an ask your meeting AI chat, so researchers get the core interview workflow either way. |
| Recruiters | Grain | Both Fathom and Grain include automatic AI meeting summaries and speaker identification, so speaker labelled notes are available either way for candidate interviews. |
| Sales Teams | Grain | Fathom and Grain both list the same CRM integrations, Salesforce and HubSpot, so CRM sync works the same way on either tool. |
| Solo & Free | Fathom | Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recording, with only advanced AI summaries capped at 5 per month. |

## Fathom vs Grain: head-to-head facts

| Fact | Fathom | Grain | Verified |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Price per seat (billed monthly) | 20 $/seat/mo ([source](https://www.fathom.ai/pricing)) | 19 $/seat/mo ([source](https://grain.com/pricing)) | Jul 20 |
| Price per seat (billed annually) | 16 $/seat/mo ([source](https://www.fathom.ai/pricing)) | 15 $/seat/mo ([source](https://grain.com/pricing)) | Jul 20 |
| What the free tier caps | 5 advanced summaries/mo; unlimited recording ([source](https://help.fathom.video/en/articles/5290881)) | 20 recorded meetings/mo (hard cap) ([source](https://grain.com/pricing)) | Jul 20 |
| Capture method | hybrid ([source](https://www.fathom.ai/pricing)) | bot_free ([source](https://support.grain.com/en/articles/10100482-how-grain-records-your-meetings)) | Jul 20 |
| Bot-free capture option | ✓  Yes ([source](https://www.fathom.ai/overview)) | ✓  Yes ([source](https://support.grain.com/en/articles/12022918-desktop-capture-ai-notes-for-every-meeting-without-a-bot)) | Jul 20 |
| Meeting platforms supported | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams ([source](https://www.fathom.ai/integrations)) | Zoom, Meet, Teams; any via desktop capture ([source](https://grain.com/pricing)) | Jul 20 |
| Languages supported | 38 ([source](https://help.fathom.video/en/articles/296192)) | n/a | Jul 20 |
| AI meeting summary | ✓  Yes ([source](https://www.fathom.ai/pricing)) | ✓  Yes ([source](https://grain.com/pricing)) | Jul 20 |
| SOC 2 Type II | ✓  Yes ([source](https://help.fathom.video/en/articles/296512)) | ✓  SOC 2 Type II certified ([source](https://grain.com/security)) | Jul 20 |

## Fathom vs Grain pricing: true cost at 3 usage tiers

Real monthly bill for a team, from published per-seat rates on annual billing. Free-only or platform-bundled tools show n/a; their free-tier cap is the story.

| Volume | Buyer | Fathom | Grain | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 seat | Solo / freelancer | $16/mo | $15/mo | A single user. Free tiers often cover this entirely. |
| 10 seats | Growing team | $160/mo | $150/mo | A whole team on paid seats; annual billing assumed. |
| 50 seats | Department | $800/mo | $750/mo | Company rollout. Most vendors negotiate at this size. |

## Fathom vs Grain: verdicts by use case

### Consultants & Agencies → Grain

Grain costs $15/seat/mo on the annual plan versus $16/seat/mo for Fathom, a modest edge for agencies billing seats across many client accounts. Both tools support in-person and mobile capture and a bot-free capture option, so client meetings can be recorded without a bot joining either way. Recording storage is unlimited on paid plans for both tools. Grain also exports transcripts in PDF, SRT, VTT, and DOCX, while Fathom offers copy and paste only, useful when sending files to clients. The slightly lower annual price plus richer exports give Grain the edge.

### Engineering Teams → Fathom

Fathom integrates with Slack, Notion, Asana, and Zapier, giving async teams a direct route from meeting notes into the project and task tools engineering teams already use. Grain's integrations list Slack, Zapier, and Aircall, which leans toward call and sales workflows rather than engineering. Both tools generate automatic action items, offer a public API, and include an AI meeting summary, so hands off capture and custom automation work either way. Grain is slightly cheaper on an annual plan at $15/seat/mo versus $16/seat/mo for Fathom, but the difference is small. The stronger fit with Notion and Asana makes Fathom the better pick here.

### Privacy & Compliance → Tie

Fathom includes a HIPAA BAA as part of its plan, a fact not published for Grain, making Fathom the safer bet if a signed BAA is a hard requirement. Grain, on the other hand, excludes customer data from AI training, while Fathom does not, which matters just as much for privacy conscious teams worried about model training. Both tools offer bot-free capture and support GDPR or EU data residency, and both give admins retention controls, Fathom through custom Enterprise settings and Grain through auto-retention policies. With the two most important compliance requirements split between them, neither tool clearly leads for this use case.

### Product & UX Research → Grain

Fathom and Grain both offer clips and highlight reels, video recording, and an ask your meeting AI chat, so researchers get the core interview workflow either way. Grain pulls ahead on transcript exports, supporting PDF, SRT, VTT, and DOCX, compared to copy and paste only for Fathom, making it easier to move interview transcripts into other research tools. Fathom supports 38 languages, while Grain does not publish a language count for comparison. With the core clip, video, and chat features tied and Grain offering stronger export options, Grain is the better fit for research teams working across sessions.

### Recruiters → Grain

Both Fathom and Grain include automatic AI meeting summaries and speaker identification, so speaker labelled notes are available either way for candidate interviews. Grain pulls ahead on exports, supporting PDF, SRT, VTT, and DOCX, while Fathom offers copy and paste only, a real limitation when pushing transcripts into an ATS. Grain is also slightly cheaper per seat annually, $15/seat/mo versus $16/seat/mo for Fathom. Fathom lists a broader integration set with Slack, Notion, Asana, and Zapier compared to Grain's Slack, Zapier, and Aircall. With the summary and diarization features tied, the stronger export options make Grain the better fit for talent teams.

### Sales Teams → Grain

Fathom and Grain both list the same CRM integrations, Salesforce and HubSpot, so CRM sync works the same way on either tool. Both also generate automatic action items and offer clips or highlight reels for pulling coaching moments out of calls. Grain supports live, real-time transcription during calls, a capability not listed for Fathom. Grain's annual per-seat price is $15/seat/mo, compared with $16/seat/mo for Fathom. With the CRM integration and call feature set tied, the real-time transcription and small price edge make Grain the better choice for sales teams.

### Solo & Free → Fathom

Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recording, with only advanced AI summaries capped at 5 per month. Grain's free plan caps out at a fixed number of recorded meetings per month, a hard limit that a solo user doing daily calls will hit quickly. Both plans include an AI meeting summary. Grain's cheapest paid seat is $19/seat/mo billed monthly. Fathom charges $20/seat/mo billed monthly, a small gap that does not offset the free tier difference. The more generous unlimited free plan makes Fathom the better starting point for individuals and tiny teams.

## Fathom vs Grain: common questions

### Is Fathom cheaper than Grain?

No, Grain is slightly cheaper than Fathom. Grain's annual per-seat price is $15/seat/mo. Fathom charges $16/seat/mo on its annual plan. Grain's monthly per-seat price is $19/seat/mo. Fathom charges $20/seat/mo billed monthly.

### Fathom vs Grain: which is better for consultants & agencies?

Grain is the better fit for consultants and agencies. Its annual per-seat price is $15/seat/mo, compared with $16/seat/mo for Fathom, and it exports transcripts in PDF, SRT, VTT, and DOCX, versus copy and paste only for Fathom.

### Does Fathom or Grain offer a HIPAA BAA?

Fathom includes a HIPAA BAA as part of its plan. Grain does not publish HIPAA BAA information, so healthcare and legal teams should confirm directly with Grain if a signed BAA is required.

### Is Fathom or Grain better for privacy and compliance?

Fathom includes a HIPAA BAA, which Grain does not publish. Grain excludes customer data from AI training, while Fathom does not. Both support bot free capture and GDPR or EU data residency.

### What transcript export formats does Grain offer compared to Fathom?

Grain exports transcripts in PDF, SRT, VTT, and DOCX. Fathom only supports copy and paste, with no file export formats listed.

### Is there an alternative to Fathom with real-time transcription during calls?

Grain is an alternative to Fathom that supports live, real-time transcription during calls, a capability not listed for Fathom.

### Does Fathom offer unlimited call storage?

Yes, Fathom's recording storage limit is unlimited, with no cap listed on how many recordings can be kept.

### Does Fathom or Grain cost less at the business tier?

Fathom's business plan is $34/seat/mo. Grain's business plan is $39/seat/mo billed monthly, or $29/seat/mo billed annually, so Fathom costs less on a straight monthly comparison while Grain is cheaper if billed annually.

Source: https://www.versusref.com/notetakers/fathom-vs-grain/