# Fathom vs Granola: Recordings and Playback or Bot-Free Notes

> Fathom vs Granola: video playback and a bot versus bot-free notes with no audio, free plans side by side, monthly prices per user, CRM, HIPAA and SSO.

_Source: https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/fathom-vs-granola — The Professional's Toolkit · updated November 2026_

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Pick Fathom if you need the meeting itself back: video or audio you can replay, clip and share, plus CRM field sync for a sales team. Pick Granola if you want nothing joining the call and can live with text notes, because Granola never stores audio and so offers no playback. On price, compare like with like: Granola Business costs $14 per user per month billed monthly, while Fathom Premium costs $20 per user per month billed monthly. By our arithmetic, billed monthly, that is a $6 gap per user each month, or $72 per user a year. **Recording or no recording decides most buyers.** Free-plan limits, team tools and compliance settle the rest.


**$6** — Monthly gap per user: Fathom Premium $20 vs Granola Business $14, both billed monthly.



- **No audio** — Granola stores no recording, so it has no playback
- **30 days** — Note history shown on Granola's free Basic plan
- **5 calls** — Advanced AI summaries a month on Fathom Free


## Footage you can replay, or notes with no audio behind them

Fathom's default capture is the Fathom Notetaker bot, which joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls and saves full video, audio and a searchable transcript. The newer desktop app adds bot-free capture on Mac, chosen meeting by meeting from four modes: Capture Off, Transcript Only, Audio Only, and Audio and Video, which is the bot.[1] Transcript Only saves no recording at all, just the transcript and the AI summary. The catch is reach. Bot-free capture is a phased beta for Mac that needs macOS 14.2 or newer and works in 20 languages; Windows users get only a limited Teams alpha, and Teams calls are recorded by the bot.

Fathom does not record phone calls, has no Android app and does not accept uploaded files. Slack Huddles run bot-free through its desktop app, and the iPhone app records in-person conversations. Granola works the other way round. There is no bot. Its Mac and Windows apps transcribe the computer's microphone and system audio for whatever is running: Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex, Slack huddles, browser calls or a meeting in the room. It never records or stores that audio, so there is nothing to replay or clip, and transcription does not start on its own for every meeting.

Granola's iPhone, Android and Apple Watch apps handle in-person meetings and outbound phone calls through its dialer in about 40 countries, but they cannot capture Zoom or Meet. *That one difference shapes everything else.* If a manager reviews calls or a colleague who missed the meeting wants to watch it, only Fathom keeps the footage, and its clips and playlists come with every plan. Fathom itself concedes on its comparison page that Granola suits Windows users who want bot-free capture now and teams that meet on Webex or Discord.[2] Neither tool takes uploads.

| Capability | Fathom | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting bot | Yes on Zoom, Meet, Teams | None |
| Stored video or audio | Yes, with playback, clips and MP4 download | None, no playback |
| Mobile apps | iPhone, in-person meetings | iPhone, Android, Apple Watch |
| Phone calls | Not supported | Outbound, through its dialer |
| File uploads | Not supported | Not supported |



> ⚠ **Granola SSO needs 50 seats:** Granola puts SSO and SCIM on Enterprise only for workspaces of 50 or more users or a 50-seat commitment.

## What each free plan keeps, and what it holds back

Fathom Free costs $0 with no time limit. Recordings, transcription, storage, downloads and clips are unlimited, and old calls stay until you delete them.[3] The rationing sits in the AI layer: advanced AI summaries cover your first 5 calls each month, after which calls are still recorded, transcribed and summarized with the General/Enhanced template. Ask Fathom is available on Free in limited form, with no published quota. AI action items, AI follow-up emails, a custom bot name and hiding the in-meeting banner all need Premium.

Granola's Basic plan is free as well, needs no card and has no time limit. It takes notes on unlimited meetings but shows only the last 30 days of history in the app; older notes are kept and return on upgrade. Chat and the MCP connection see only that 30-day window, and MCP on Basic leaves out transcripts. Slack is the only integration, and there is no API or follow-up email. **Fathom Free keeps every call but thins the AI after five a month; Granola Basic writes notes for every meeting but hides anything older than 30 days.** Heavy meeting schedules hit Fathom's limit first.


> 💡 **Decide on playback first:** If anyone will need to rewatch or clip a call, only Fathom keeps video or audio. Granola saves transcripts and notes but never the audio.


## Paying for it: line up the monthly bills

Granola sells Business at $14 per user per month, billed monthly only, since annual billing exists only on Enterprise contracts.[4] Every active workspace member, admins included, counts as a paid seat. Fathom's monthly prices are $20 per user per month for Premium, its plan for one person, $19 per user per month for Team and $34 per user per month for Business, both of those with a 2-user minimum. Fathom's annual rates are lower, but Granola has no annual Business price to set against them. Monthly is the fair basis.

By our arithmetic, billed monthly, Fathom Team costs $5 more per user per month than Granola Business ($60 a year per user), and Fathom Business costs $20 more per user per month ($240 a year per user). For a 10-person team billed monthly, Fathom Team comes to $2,280 a year against $1,680 for Granola Business, a $600 difference by our arithmetic. These plans are not mirror images. Fathom Business is a sales and coaching tier, so its higher price pays for CRM field sync, Deal view and AI Scorecards rather than for more note-taking.

At the top, Fathom lists Enterprise at $35 per user per month, billed annually only and sold through its sales team. Granola's pricing page shows the same $35 per user per month for Enterprise, and its help center treats that as the entry rate, with annual billing on Enterprise contracts; Granola Enterprise can be bought in the app with no seat minimum, while teams of 50 or more seats go to sales. For 10 users billed annually, Fathom Enterprise comes to $4,200 a year and Granola Enterprise from $4,200 a year, by our arithmetic. Same listed rate, different paths.

Fathom gives new users a 30-day Premium preview and does not publish its Team trial length; Granola offers trials without publishing their length. Fathom advertises a 90-day money-back guarantee on paid plans but does not publish its conditions; its Terms of Service say fees are non-refundable. Granola does not publish a refund policy for subscription fees. Granola gives registered nonprofits 50% off Business and accepted startups 12 months of Business free, while Fathom lets nonprofits apply for 10 free seats. Every Fathom tier and billing rule is in our [Fathom pricing guide](/articles/fathom-pricing).


> ⚠ **Fathom bot-free is a Mac beta:** Fathom's bot-free capture runs on Mac only, in a phased beta needing macOS 14.2 or newer; Windows users get a limited Teams alpha, and Teams calls use the bot.


## Team workspaces, sales tools and integrations

Fathom's team features stack by plan. Team adds the shared workspace with folders, comments and mentions, team playlists, Trackers that tag calls by meaning, Customer view and AI Search. Business adds CRM field sync, Deal view, coaching metrics and AI Scorecards. Basic CRM sync to HubSpot, Salesforce and Close runs on every plan, Free included, but is capped at 3 users per email domain below Business. Zapier and Make (the automation platform) are limited on Free and Premium and full from Team, while Slack, the public API, webhooks and MCP come with every plan.

Granola keeps most of its connections for Business: Notion, Zapier, HubSpot, Attio and Affinity, plus the API, full history and a choice of AI model. Enterprise adds advanced integrations such as Salesforce and an Audit API. Granola transcripts cannot be edited, only deleted chunk by chunk, whereas Fathom lets users trim a transcript and Team admins add a custom dictionary of up to 50 terms. *For sales teams, the gap is real.* Mapping summaries into CRM deal fields or grading reps with AI Scorecards points to Fathom Business; notes landing in Notion or Attio point to Granola Business.


> 💡 **Compare on monthly billing:** Granola Business is billed monthly only, so set it against Fathom's monthly prices: $20 per user per month for Premium or $19 per user per month for Team, which has a 2-user minimum.


## Security, HIPAA and who holds the controls

Fathom says it complies with HIPAA; its pricing lists a standard BAA on Team and Business and eligibility for a custom BAA on Enterprise. Granola offers HIPAA workspaces with a BAA on Enterprise only, covering its desktop and laptop apps. Both vendors state SOC 2 Type II, and both keep data in the United States with no regional hosting. On training, Fathom may use de-identified meeting data to improve its own models unless you opt out, and bars its AI providers from training on your content; Granola trains on de-identified data unless the user opts out, with training off by default on Enterprise.

Single sign-on separates them more sharply. Fathom puts SSO (SAML, with Okta or Microsoft Entra ID) and SCIM on Enterprise, alongside custom data retention and admin controls such as blocking downloads or deletion. Granola also reserves SSO and SCIM for Enterprise, but only for 50 or more users or a 50-seat commitment. A 20-person company that needs SSO on Granola must commit to 50 seats. Either way, going bot-free never removes the duty to tell people they are being transcribed.

## Matching each tool to the buyer


**What users rate it, by platform**

| Platform | Rating | Reviews | As of |
|---|---|---|---|


_Rendered from our current record; these are other platforms' user scores, separate from our own Toolkit Score._


Reviewer scores will not settle this choice. Read them for the size of the review base behind each score and for what unhappy reviewers describe, rather than for a fraction of a star. On Fathom's Trustpilot page, the complaints that do appear cluster around data, support, login and account access, price and cancellation. Those are the themes worth checking in a trial. The deciding facts here are structural.

Choose Fathom if recordings are the point: coaching from playback, clipping customer moments, or sending a full call to someone outside the account, since share-link viewers need no Fathom account. It also fits sales teams that want summaries mapped into CRM fields, and Mac users who want the bot on some calls and Transcript Only on others. Choose Granola if no bot should ever appear, if you work on Windows or Webex, if you make outbound calls from an Android phone, or if text notes are enough at the lower monthly seat price. Our [Granola review](/articles/granola-review) covers its notes and Chat in depth.


## FAQ

**Can I move my Granola notes into Fathom?**

As of November 2026, Fathom offers to move Granola notes and transcripts at no cost and to cover Fathom Business seats until your Granola contract ends. That is Fathom's own offer, made on its comparison page.

**What happens to Fathom recordings if I cancel a paid plan?**

An individual account drops back to Free, which keeps unlimited storage, so recordings stay. Free still records, so turn off auto-record if you want recording to stop.

**How many languages does Fathom transcribe?**

Fathom transcribes 38 languages on every plan, Free included. Its bot-free desktop capture supports 20 languages as of October 2026.

**Does Granola offer discounts for nonprofits or startups?**

Granola gives registered nonprofits 50% off Business, and accepted startups get 12 months of Business free.


## The bottom line

Fathom and Granola answer different needs, and the split is easy to test. If anyone on your team will ever want to rewatch, clip or forward a call, Fathom is the only one of the two that keeps the footage, and its Business tier adds the CRM and coaching depth sales teams pay for. If the priority is a quiet meeting with no visible notetaker, wider platform coverage and the cheaper monthly seat, Granola fits better, as long as text notes without audio are enough. Decide on playback first. Price comes second.



## Sources

[1] Fathom help: How to Upgrade to Fathom 3.0+ — https://help.fathom.video/en/articles/11577345 (2026-11)
[2] Fathom vs. Granola: Features, Pricing & Security (2026) Switching your team from Granola? — https://www.fathom.ai/vs/granola (2026-11)
[3] Fathom pricing page — https://www.fathom.ai/pricing (2026-11)
[4] Granola pricing plans — https://www.granola.ai/pricing (2026-11)
[5] Fathom help center — https://help.fathom.video/en/articles/6220097
[6] Fathom Terms of Service — https://www.fathom.ai/terms
[7] Fathom Privacy Policy — https://www.fathom.ai/privacy