A Fathom alternative for people who can't use a meeting bot

Notey only works the second way: it records your microphone and your Mac's audio as two tracks, transcribes them on the Mac, and keeps the recording on your disk.

If your organisation blocks meeting bots, both can work. The difference is in what happens next: Fathom stores meetings in its cloud, with video, search, CRM sync and team features; Notey keeps audio on the Mac and sends only transcript text, only when you ask for AI notes.

This comparison describes Fathom from its own website and help centre as of September 2026. Check Fathom's overview for the current state before deciding.

At a glance

How each one captures a meeting

Fathom's notetaker "joins your Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams call and captures full video, audio, and a searchable transcript." Its overview adds that on Mac, "Fathom captures meetings without a bot in the call, including full video, along with audio-plus-transcript and transcript-only options", and that Windows support for this is on the way. Its pricing page describes the bot-free option as in beta. Fathom lists Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Slack huddles, and says it does not capture phone calls. (Fathom overview, Fathom pricing)

Notey records your microphone and whatever your Mac plays, as two separate tracks, so it works with any app, including ones it does not recognise and a phone on speaker. It notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack, FaceTime and in Chrome, Safari, Arc and Edge when the browser uses the microphone, and asks before saving anything. It records audio only.

Why this matters to many people: a bot is a visible participant that the host must admit and that some companies refuse outright. Why companies block AI meeting bots sets out the reasons security teams give. Bot-free meeting notes covers the two approaches in general.

Where your data goes

Fathom

• Location: "All Fathom data is stored in the United States." (Fathom: security and privacy)
• Training: Fathom says it uses de-identified customer data to improve its own AI models, and that you can opt out in your account settings. It says its AI sub-processors (Anthropic, OpenAI and Google) are not contractually permitted to train on users' data.
• Recordings, including video, are stored in your Fathom account and searchable there.

Notey

• Audio is written to your Mac and never uploaded, including for transcription.
• Transcription is done on the Mac with Apple's speech recognition.
• AI notes send transcript text only, to Notey's service and on to OpenAI as a processor, when you ask or when a meeting ends if write-ups are on. Not used for training and not retained by Notey. (Notey's privacy policy)
• With no account, nothing leaves the Mac.

Where Fathom is stronger

• Video. Fathom records the picture, including screen shares. Notey records sound only.
• CRM and sales workflow. Fathom lists Salesforce and HubSpot sync, Slack, Asana, Notion, Zapier, a public API and more, plus sales-oriented features such as deal views and keyword alerts. Notey has no integrations.
• Teams. Fathom documents global search across a team's calls, playlists, comments and folders. Notey has no shared workspace.
• Languages for notes. Fathom lists seven languages for transcription and summaries. Notey's live transcription covers ten; its after-meeting improvement is English only.
• Windows, once its bot-free mode arrives there, and the bot mode on any platform. Notey is Mac only.

Where Notey is different

• No bot in any mode. Nothing to admit and nothing for a policy to block.
• Nothing is uploaded to record or transcribe. The audio stays on your disk.
• Two tracks. You and the other side are kept apart by how the audio arrived, on any app.
• No account needed to record, transcribe, search and read back.
• AI output is labelled as AI-generated, and your edits are marked.

Pricing

Fathom has a free plan and paid plans; see its pricing page. Notey's free plan records 2 hours a month, with transcription and search, and no account; AI notes are paid by the hour. See Notey's pricing.

Which one fits

Fathom is likely the better fit if:

• you want video of the meeting, not only audio;
• you are in sales and want calls synced to your CRM;
• your team wants a shared library of calls;
• a bot in the call is acceptable in most of your meetings.

Notey is likely the better fit if:

• bots are blocked where you work, or your clients object to them;
• you need meetings kept off a third party's servers;
• you want to record calls in apps Fathom does not list;
• you want recording and transcription to work with no account and no network.

For the wider field, see the best AI notetakers for Mac.

Frequently asked questions

Can Fathom record without a bot?

Yes, on Mac. Fathom's overview says it captures meetings on Mac without a bot in the call, with full video, audio with transcript, or transcript-only options. Its pricing page describes bot-free capture as in beta, and says Windows support is on the way.

Where does Fathom store data?

Fathom's help centre says all Fathom data is stored in the United States. Notey stores recordings and transcripts on your Mac.

Does Fathom record video?

Yes. Its notetaker captures full video, audio and a transcript, and its bot-free mode on Mac can also capture video. Notey records audio only.

Does Fathom train AI on my meetings?

Fathom's help centre says it uses de-identified customer data to improve its own models, with an opt-out in account settings, and that its AI sub-processors may not train on users' data.