Fathom vs Grain vs Gong

Grain and Fathom both serve as AI notetakers, but their feature sets cater to different workflows. Grain offers bot-less desktop transcription plus video recording via its bot, covering meetings from Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex, Aircall, and more. Its standout feature is the MCP Server (May 2026 update) that lets AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT) query the entire meeting library, plus one-click export of enriched Markdown transcripts to those agents. Bulk AI actions and clip creation via MCP further extend automation. Fathom, on the other hand, provides instant AI summaries, searchable transcripts, and automatic action items after every call. Its bot-free capture via Mac desktop app is simpler. Unique to Fathom are AI Scorecards for coaching (tracking talk ratio, sentiment) and Deal View for CRM pipelines. Fathom integrates with Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion, Asana, Gmail, ChatGPT, and Claude, but lacks direct Webex or Aircall support. Grain's Zapier integration was rebuilt in March 2026 for workspace-level connections, while Fathom uses standard Zapier. For compliance, Fathom leads with SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and SSO/SCIM, whereas Grain does not highlight similar certifications. Grain's recent updates (May 2026) include opt-in meeting notifications and improved HubSpot sync with exclusion lists, reflecting ongoing innovation. Fathom's feature set is more mature and stable, focusing on ease of use rather than cutting-edge AI agent integration.

Fathom offers a generous free-forever plan that includes unlimited recording, summaries, and action items for individuals, making it highly accessible. Its Business plan is $19/user/month (billed annually) and adds CRM sync, AI Scorecards, Deal View, and priority support. Enterprise pricing is custom with SSO/SCIM. Grain's free tier is more limited (e.g., 5 recordings/month), pushing users to paid plans: Pro at $24/month (unlimited recording, 2x transcription speed, priority support) and Business at $99/month (adds Salesforce/HubSpot sync, team management, advanced sharing controls). Grain's pricing is per user/month but doesn't offer a true per-user model like Fathom; Pro is flat per user, Business is per user but with a minimum of 5 seats. For a small team, Fathom's Business plan at $19/user is cheaper than Grain's $99/user Business plan for equivalent CRM features. However, Grain includes Webex and Aircall support which Fathom lacks. Grain's latest updates (MCP Server, bulk AI actions) add value for power users, but the cost may be prohibitive for budget-conscious teams. Overall, Fathom wins on affordability and a robust free tier, while Grain demands a higher price for advanced AI agent integration and broader platform support.