Otter vs Fireflies vs Fathom, compared honestly
Trippi Notes team · facts checked on 2026-10-17
The three names that come up in every “best AI note taker” thread do the same job in the same way: a bot joins your meeting from your calendar, records it, and gives you a transcript and a summary. The differences are in the details, and so is the reason you might want none of them.
Side by side
| Otter | Fireflies | Fathom | Trippi Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it gets into the call | Bot from the calendar | Bot from the calendar | Bot from the calendar | Your browser tab, after a click |
| Visible to others | Yes, as a participant | Yes, as a participant | Yes, as a participant | No |
| Keeps audio or video | Yes | Yes | Yes, video | No, text only |
| Desktop apps of Zoom and Teams | Yes (bot joins any) | Yes | Yes | No, browser only |
| Live translation line | No | No | No | Yes, 68 languages |
| Summary templates | Yes | Yes | Yes | Seven, plus your own focus |
| Tasks to Jira, Asana, Linear | Some | Yes, many | Some | Yes, all three, by hand or automatically |
| CRM | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Your meetings in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor | No | No | No | Yes, over MCP |
| Follow-up email sent from the tool | No | No | No | Yes, in your name |
Checked on their public pages on the date above. Plans and limits change; look at each pricing page before you decide.
Who each one suits
- Otter. Teams that already use it, and people who want a mobile app for in-person conversations. Otter alternative.
- Fireflies. Sales and ops teams that live in integrations: CRM, Slack, Notion, many trackers. Fireflies alternative.
- Fathom. People who want video clips of the meeting to share, and a simple free plan. Fathom alternative.
- Trippi Notes. People who do not want a bot in the call, who are often not the host, who meet in more than one language, and who want their meetings in Claude or ChatGPT.
The question the three do not answer
All three put a participant into the meeting. On a first sales call, an interview, a call with a client whose company bans bots, or any call where you are a guest, that participant is the problem. The host can keep it in the lobby; the client can ask what it is; the admin can block it. A tab-based note taker has none of that, because it is not in the call. Note taking without a bot. Tell people you take notes: what to say.
What you give up with Trippi Notes
- No recording to replay or clip. The transcript is the record.
- Browser only: Google Meet, and Zoom or Teams in the browser. Not the desktop apps, not a phone.
- No CRM connection; copy the summary into it yourself.
- It writes your meetings, not meetings you did not attend.
Trippi Notes in the comparison
A live transcript from your browser tab with speaker names and a translation line, no bot, no audio kept; summaries by template, tasks to Jira, Asana and Linear, follow-up emails sent in your name, a journal you can question, and an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor.
FAQ
Asked about this.
Which is best, Otter, Fireflies or Fathom?+
For integrations, Fireflies. For video clips, Fathom. For mobile, Otter. For no bot and other languages, none of the three.
Do all three need a bot?+
For online meetings, yes. Otter also records in person from the phone.
Can I use Trippi Notes next to one of them?+
Yes. It does not interfere; it listens to your tab.
Is Trippi Notes cheaper?+
Plans are on the pricing section of the home page; compare them with each vendor’s current page.
Read next
Or the fourth option: no bot at all.
Trippi Notes is in the Chrome Web Store. One click on the icon when the call begins, and nothing before that.