Side-by-side comparison · Productivity & Notes
Fathom vs Otter.ai vs Todoist
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Sales and customer-facing teams who want every call recorded and summarised without paying per seat to start.
Pick it if: Journalists, students, researchers and anyone who records conversations outside of video calls.
Pick it if: Anyone who wants a dependable task list that is fast to use and stays out of the way.
Overview
| Attribute | Fathom | Otter.ai | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Records your video calls and sends you a summary, action items and transcript. | Live transcripts for meetings, lectures and in-person conversations on your phone. | A simple to-do list that works everywhere and understands plain-English due dates. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $20/mo | $16.99/mo | $7/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Fathom | Otter.ai | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.3Winner |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 3.0 | 4.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Fathom | Otter.ai | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | – | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | – | Yes |
| Browser extension | – | Yes | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | No | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | No | No | No |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | Yes | No |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | – | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 7/ 17 | 9/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Fathom | Otter.ai | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | FreeOur pick Free Anyone who wants every call recorded without paying. | Basic Free Occasional in-person recording. | Beginner Free Anyone with a simple list. |
Premium $20/mo, or $16/mo billed yearly One person who wants the fuller summaries every time. | ProOur pick $16.99/mo, or $8.33/mo billed yearly Anyone who records a few conversations a week. | ProOur pick $7/mo, or $5/mo billed yearly Anyone who wants more projects and the calendar view. | |
Team $19/user/mo, or $15/user/mo billed yearly Small teams sharing calls with each other. | Business $30/user/mo, or $19.99/user/mo billed yearly Teams who record all day. | Business $10/user/mo, or $8/user/mo billed yearly Small teams sharing a workspace. | |
Business $34/user/mo, or $25/user/mo billed yearly Sales teams living in a CRM. | Enterprise Custom Organisations needing SSO, API and compliance. | ||
Enterprise Custom Larger organisations needing SSO and rollout help. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Most people should simply use Free; it covers more than the paid tiers of its rivals. Only move to Team or Business when several people need to search each other's calls or you want notes landing in HubSpot or Salesforce without lifting a finger. | Pro on the yearly plan is the sensible choice, and the monthly price is more than double it, so commit for a year or don't bother. Business is only worth it for teams recording several hours a day. | Beginner is fine until you hit the five-project wall. Pro on the yearly plan is the obvious move after that. Business is for teams who want a shared space; it is not a substitute for a real project tool. |
Key features
| Attribute | Fathom | Otter.ai | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | Fathom | Otter.ai | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | Fathom | Otter.ai | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
Questions people ask
Which is better, Fathom, Otter.ai or Todoist?
Todoist scores highest overall in our ratings (Fathom 4.2/5, Otter.ai 3.6/5 and Todoist 4.3/5). Fathom is best for recording sales and client calls and sharing call clips with the team. Otter.ai is best for in-person meeting transcripts and interviews and research. Todoist is best for personal task management and recurring reminders.
Which is cheaper, Fathom, Otter.ai or Todoist?
Fathom: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Otter.ai: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $16.99/mo. Todoist: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $7/mo.
Which is easier to use, Fathom, Otter.ai or Todoist?
Todoist rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who wants a dependable task list that is fast to use and stays out of the way.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
Swap in another tool
More tools from Productivity & Notes in the library.
