Fathom vs Sembly.ai
Both scored against the same 13 criteria, from the same hands-on testing. Here is where each one actually wins.
Last updated October 2026 · 28 tools ranked
Fathom rates higher overall, 3.7 out of 5 against Sembly.ai's 3.3, across our 13 weighted criteria. Fathom leads on transcription accuracy, recording consent & compliance, recording method. Sembly.ai still wins on data retention & training transparency.
Fathom
#9 of 28Free AI meeting assistant with instant summaries
- Pricing
- Free tier available; paid from $16/mo
- Platforms
- Web, macOS, Windows
Sembly.ai
#26 of 28Agentic AI meeting platform for client-ready deliverables
- Pricing
- No free tier; from $17/mo
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension
All 13 Criteria, Side by Side
| Criterion | Weight | Fathom | Sembly.ai | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy & Data Security | High | 3 | 3 | Tie |
| Transcription Accuracy | High | 5 | 4 | Fathom |
| AI Analysis Quality | High | 4 | 4 | Tie |
| Recording Consent & Compliance | Med | 4 | 3 | Fathom |
| Data Retention & Training Transparency | Med | 2 | 3 | Sembly.ai |
| Real-Time / Live Capability | Med | 3 | 3 | Tie |
| Recording Method | Med | 4 | 3 | Fathom |
| Ease of Use | Med | 5 | 4 | Fathom |
| Platform Support | Med | 4 | 3 | Fathom |
| Offline Capability | Med | 1 | 1 | Tie |
| Integration Ecosystem | Med | 5 | 4 | Fathom |
| Knowledge Connection | Low | 5 | 4 | Fathom |
| Pricing & Value | Low | 4 | 3 | Fathom |
| Overall (weighted) | 3.7 | 3.3 | Fathom |
Overall is a weighted average, not a mean: high-weight criteria count triple and low-weight criteria count once. See the formula.
Choose Fathom if…
- → Transcription Accuracy matters to you. Fathom scores 5/5 here against 4/5.
- → Recording Consent & Compliance matters to you. Fathom scores 4/5 here against 3/5.
- → Recording Method matters to you. Fathom scores 4/5 here against 3/5.
- → Ease of Use matters to you. Fathom scores 5/5 here against 4/5.
The best free option for individuals who want simple, no-fuss meeting notes, now backed by a transparent paid ladder and a real-time desktop app.
Choose Sembly.ai if…
- → Data Retention & Training Transparency matters to you. Sembly.ai scores 3/5 here against 2/5.
Sembly 3.0 makes it a credible agentic platform for professional-services teams that need client-ready deliverables, not just meeting notes.
Fathom at a glance
Strengths
- +Genuinely generous free tier
- +Very easy to use
- +Clean summaries
- +Bot-free capture and real-time summaries
Limitations
- −Cloud processing required
- −Only a limited number of advanced AI summaries on the free plan
- −Trains its own AI models on de-identified customer data by default (opt-out available)
- −No mobile app yet (iOS announced, not shipped)
Sembly.ai at a glance
Strengths
- +Agentic document generation (proposals, project plans, status reports)
- +Cross-meeting AI chat across your entire history
- +40+ integrations including Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, and Asana
- +Mobile apps that record in-person conversations
Limitations
- −Cloud processing only
- −Bot-based recording
- −Speaker recognition wobbles on large calls
- −Trains on customer data by default outside Enterprise (opt-out available)