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Comparison

Fathom vs Zencastr

Side-by-side comparison of Fathom and Zencastr.

Tool
Fathom

AI meeting recorder that writes your notes for you

Zencastr

Record studio-quality podcasts remotely, no gear needed

Starting price
16/mo
24/mo
Founded
2020
2014
Pricing model
freemium
freemium
Free option
Free tier
Free tier

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.

Zencastr

Zencastr records each participant's audio and video locally on their own device, then uploads separate high-quality tracks to the cloud, eliminating the internet-connection degradation that plagues other remote recording tools. It is aimed at podcasters and interview-based creators who need clean, separated tracks without shipping microphones to guests. The built-in editing, transcription, and podcast hosting features cover the full production workflow in one place, though power editors will still reach for dedicated DAWs.

Choose
Fathom

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
Choose
Zencastr

if you need transcription and podcast hosting. It has a usable free tier to start with.

  • +Local recording delivers clean, separate audio tracks regardless of guest internet quality
  • +Free tier covers basic podcast recording for hobbyists and small shows
  • +Automatic post-production tools reduce editing time for non-technical hosts

Which to choose

Fathom and Zencastr 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 Zencastr.

Pricing checked 28 Jun 2026.