Retext

Best Fathom Alternatives in 2026

Looking for Fathom alternatives? Compare all the best AI note takers for Mac including pricing, features, and use cases.

TL;DR

The best Fathom alternatives are Retext (for bot-free notes that stay on your devices and become snippets), Granola, and Otter.ai. Your best choice depends on whether you need calendar-driven meeting capture with speaker labels and CRM sync, or private notes that stay on your devices.

Why People Look for Fathom Alternatives

  • •Bot-free capture is still a beta, on Mac only
  • •Several free features are marked limited use

All Fathom Alternatives

Recommended

Retext

Native Mac app that records a note, transcribes it on your Mac, writes a summary and action items, and turns the useful parts into snippets. No bot joins your call.

Why choose Retext:

  • ✓No meeting bot, ever: nobody else on the call sees a recorder join
  • ✓Transcription and summaries run on your Mac, not a server
  • ✓Save as Snippet: a note's summary or action items become a ;trigger
  • ✓Audio is deleted once the transcript is ready, unless you keep it

Pricing:

Recording, on-device transcription and summaries come with every plan. See the pricing page.

Notes on your Mac, plus 5 snippets

Compare Retext vs Fathom →

Granola

The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings

AI notepad for meetings that listens to your computer's audio, with no bot, and turns your rough notes into full meeting notes

Business $14/user/month; Enterprise $35/user/monthFree tier

Otter.ai

AI meeting notes and transcription

AI meeting assistant whose notetaker joins Zoom, Teams and Google Meet calls to transcribe, summarize and share notes

Pro $16.99/user/month or $8.33 billed annually; Business $30/user/month (shown discounted to $24 on 2026-10-28) or $19.99 billed annually; Enterprise by quoteFree tier

Fireflies.ai

AI teammate for your meetings

AI notetaker that joins your calls as a bot, or records bot-free from its desktop app, then transcribes, summarizes and syncs notes to your tools

Free, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans per seat; prices aren't shown on their pricing pageFree tier

tl;dv

AI notetaker for Zoom, Google Meet and Teams

Meeting recorder for Zoom, Google Meet and Teams that joins as a bot, or records bot-free from its desktop app, with AI notes and CRM sync

Pro €29/seat/month or €18 billed annually; Business €39/seat/month or €29 billed annually (listed in euros)Free tier

Jamie

Bot-free AI note taker

Bot-free AI notetaker for Mac, Windows and iPhone that captures online and in-person meetings, with EU data hosting

Plus $24 (as listed); Pro $46/month billed annually; Team $37/seat/month billed annually; Enterprise customFree tier

Monologue Notes

Dictation, voice notes, and bot-free meeting notes

Voice and meeting notes in Every's Monologue app, recording your Mac's microphone and system audio without a bot

Monologue Pro $15/month or $144/year; included with EveryFree tier

Wispr Flow Notetaker

Meeting notes from the makers of Wispr Flow

Meeting notes inside Wispr Flow on Mac and Windows, recording your microphone and system audio with speaker-attributed transcripts

Pro $15/user/month or $12 billed annually; Growth $23 or $18 billed annually, $33 or $26 with unlimited Notetaker; Enterprise customFree tier

Apple Notes & Voice Memos

Record and transcribe audio in Notes

Recording and transcription built into Apple Notes and Voice Memos, with Apple Intelligence summaries and phone call recording

Free, built into macOS and iOSFree tier

Feature Comparison

FeatureRetextFathomGranolaOtter.aiFireflies.ai
Transcripts & Summaries
Bot-Free Recording
Both Sides of a Call
Calendar & Auto-StartNot available
Speaker LabelsNot available
CRM & App Integrations
Privacy & Local Storage
Snippet Expansion
Not availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Cross-Platform

Pricing Comparison

ProductPricing ModelPriceFree Tier
RetextFreemiumRecording, on-device transcription and summaries come with every plan. See the pricing page.
Notes on your Mac, plus 5 snippets
FathomFreemiumPremium $20/user/month or $16 billed annually; Team $19 or $15 (2 users minimum); Business $34 or $25; Enterprise by quote
Unlimited recordings and transcriptions with instant AI summaries; some features have limited use
GranolaFreemiumBusiness $14/user/month; Enterprise $35/user/month
Basic plan with 30 days of meeting history, Slack integration and shared folders
Otter.aiFreemiumPro $16.99/user/month or $8.33 billed annually; Business $30/user/month (shown discounted to $24 on 2026-10-28) or $19.99 billed annually; Enterprise by quote
300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 file imports, your 25 most recent conversations
Fireflies.aiFreemiumFree, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans per seat; prices aren't shown on their pricing page
Free plan with fewer transcription credits than Pro; limits aren't shown on their pricing page
tl;dvFreemiumPro €29/seat/month or €18 billed annually; Business €39/seat/month or €29 billed annually (listed in euros)
Unlimited recordings and transcriptions, AI notes for 10 meetings a month
JamieFreemiumPlus $24 (as listed); Pro $46/month billed annually; Team $37/seat/month billed annually; Enterprise custom
10 AI notes a month, meetings up to 30 minutes, 1 custom template
Monologue NotesFlat RateMonologue Pro $15/month or $144/year; included with Every
Trial with 10 recorded notes
Wispr Flow NotetakerPer SeatPro $15/user/month or $12 billed annually; Growth $23 or $18 billed annually, $33 or $26 with unlimited Notetaker; Enterprise custom
Notetaker with weekly meeting limits, 50 recordings a week by default
Apple Notes & Voice MemosFreeFree, built into macOS and iOS
Included with your Mac and iPhone; transcription needs Apple silicon on Mac

How It Works in Retext

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best Fathom alternatives?

Retext, Granola, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai and tl;dv. The right one depends on whether you need calendar-driven meeting capture with speaker labels and CRM sync, or private notes that stay on your devices.

Which Fathom alternatives are free to start?

Retext, Granola, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, tl;dv, Jamie, Monologue Notes, Wispr Flow Notetaker and Apple Notes & Voice Memos have a free plan or trial. Check each one's limits in the pricing table above.

Why do people look for Fathom alternatives?

Bot-free capture is still a beta, on Mac only; Several free features are marked limited use.

Is Fathom free?

Yes. Fathom's free option: unlimited recordings and transcriptions with instant AI summaries; some features have limited use. Paid: Premium $20/user/month or $16 billed annually; Team $19 or $15 (2 users minimum); Business $34 or $25; Enterprise by quote.

Ready to switch from Fathom?

Download Retext, turn on Notes in Settings, and click Record Note. Your transcript and summary are written on your Mac.

Related Comparisons

Sources

Fathom, checked October 28, 2026: Fathom pricing · Fathom: compatible devices · Fathom quick start

Granola, checked October 28, 2026: Granola pricing · Granola security · Granola: exporting notes · Granola: syncing your calendars

Otter.ai, checked October 28, 2026: Otter pricing · Otter privacy policy · Otter: connect your calendar · Otter: speaker identification

Fireflies.ai, checked October 28, 2026: Fireflies pricing · Fireflies pricing explained · Fireflies: record without a bot

tl;dv, checked October 28, 2026: tl;dv pricing · tl;dv home · tl;dv desktop app

Jamie, checked October 28, 2026: Jamie pricing · Jamie home · Jamie: identify speakers · Jamie: Outlook calendar

Monologue Notes, checked October 28, 2026: Monologue Notes · Monologue pricing · Monologue data privacy

Wispr Flow Notetaker, checked October 28, 2026: Wispr Flow Notetaker · Wispr Flow pricing · Getting started with Notetaker · Sharing meeting notes from Notetaker

Apple Notes & Voice Memos, checked October 28, 2026: Record and transcribe audio in Notes on Mac · Voice Memos transcriptions on Mac · Record and transcribe a call on iPhone · Apple Intelligence

Prices and features change. Check each vendor's site before you buy.