Fathom vs Riverside
Side-by-side comparison of Fathom and Riverside.
AI meeting recorder that writes your notes for you
Studio-quality remote recording for serious podcasters
What they are
Fathom
Fathom records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, then delivers a structured recap with action items within seconds of the call ending. It is used by individual contributors, sales reps, consultants, and customer success teams who want to stay present in conversations rather than writing notes. A bot-free capture mode launched in 2026 for Mac lets participants see no extra attendee in the call. CRM sync to HubSpot and Salesforce is available on paid tiers, and the free plan is genuinely unlimited on recordings and storage.
Riverside
Riverside records audio and video locally on each participant's device, then uploads lossless files to the cloud, so a shaky internet connection never ruins a take. It's used by podcasters, journalists, and video creators who need broadcast-quality recordings from remote guests. The built-in AI tools handle transcription, clip creation, and basic editing. One honest note: the interface has a learning curve for guests who aren't tech-savvy.
if you need ai meetings. It has a usable free tier to start with.
- +Free plan includes unlimited recordings, storage, and transcription in 38 languages with no time limits
- +AI summaries are ready within roughly 30 seconds of a meeting ending
- +Bot-free capture mode (Mac, 2026 beta) lets you record without adding a visible bot participant
if you need video editing and hosting. It has a usable free tier to start with.
- +Local recording preserves audio and video quality regardless of guest internet speed
- +Up to 4K video recording per participant track
- +Automatic transcription with decent accuracy on clean audio
Which to choose
Fathom and Riverside solve different problems, so most people would not choose between them directly. The comparison below helps if you are weighing where to spend budget, or deciding whether you need both.
Read the full reviews for Fathom and Riverside.
Pricing checked 28 Jun 2026.