GILD verdict
Choose ZoomMate when meetings run on Zoom Workplace Pro or Business seats, which include unlimited meeting summaries, and choose Fathom when calls span several meeting apps and summaries must reach a CRM.
- The workflow
- A team of customer-facing and internal staff that wants every call summarized, choosing between the AI built into its meeting app and a separate notetaker.117
- The decisive evidence
- DocumentedWorkplace Pro at US$14.16 per user per month billed annually includes unlimited meeting summaries and My Notes, while Fathom's team plans start at US$15 per user per month billed annually on top of the meeting app.117
- DocumentedFathom records Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams calls and syncs summaries to HubSpot and Salesforce on every plan for up to 3 users per domain. Zoom's own summaries and speaker labels work inside Zoom Meetings.1217
- DocumentedZoom's terms exclude meeting content from model training. Fathom's privacy policy lets it train in-house models on de-identified meeting data until a user or admin opts out.5621
- GILD analysisFor a 25-person team for a year, Fathom Team costs US$4,500 on top of the meeting app, against US$0 extra for summaries on Workplace Pro seats the team already has. No published test compares the two products' summary quality on the same meetings, so run both on the same week of calls before you buy.
- The tradeoff
- Zoom's built-in AI costs nothing extra on paid Workplace seats and keeps meeting content out of training, but its summaries and speaker labels are strongest inside Zoom. Fathom covers every major meeting app and CRM, and an Enterprise contract is needed for SSO, SCIM, and custom retention.11721
ZoomMate, formerly Zoom AI Companion, wins when meetings already run on paid Zoom Workplace seats, because Workplace Pro and Business include unlimited meeting summaries and My Notes. Fathom wins when calls span Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams and summaries must land in a CRM, and its free plan records without a cap. Zoom's terms bar training on meeting content, while Fathom trains its own models on de-identified data unless users opt out.
Choosing between Fathom and ZoomMate
Choose Fathom if
- Calls run on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, and one recorder should cover all of them.
- Summaries and action items should sync to HubSpot or Salesforce, with field mapping on Business.
- People want a free recorder with unlimited recordings and transcription before anyone buys seats.
Choose ZoomMate if
- Meetings run on Zoom Workplace Pro or Business, which include unlimited meeting summaries.
- Meeting content must stay out of model training by contract, as Zoom's terms state.
- Admins want AI features switched on, off, or locked for the whole account or a group from the Zoom admin portal.
Side by side
| Dimension | Fathom | ZoomMate |
|---|---|---|
| Where it captures | Mac and Windows desktop apps record Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams calls with a bot. Bot-free capture, transcript only or audio only, is a Mac beta. An iOS app records in-person conversations23 | Meeting summaries and in-meeting questions run in Zoom Meetings. My Notes takes notes across Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, in-person, and other meetings, and speaker identification works in Zoom Meetings1718 |
| Free plan | Free: unlimited recordings and transcription in 38 languages, advanced summaries for the first 5 calls a month, and limited Ask Fathom14 | Workplace Basic: meeting summaries for 3 hosted meetings a month, 20 AI queries a month, My Notes 3 times a month, and meetings up to 40 minutes1617 |
| Paid seats, billed annuallyList prices in US dollars, checked Oct 28, 2026. Zoom bills these plans annually as one upfront charge. | Premium US$16, Team US$15, and Business US$25 per user per month, with a 2-user minimum on Team and Business. Billed monthly: US$20, US$19, and US$34. Enterprise by quote1 | Workplace Pro US$14.16 and Business US$18.33 per user per month, each with unlimited meeting summaries and My Notes. The ZoomMate license is US$16.67 per user per month with 2,200 AI credits a month, and AI Credit Packs run from US$25 for 2,750 credits to US$100 for 11,5001617 |
| Cost at a stated workloadGILD's calculation from list prices checked Oct 28, 2026: seats times monthly price times 12, all from stated inputs. Taxes and discounts are left out. | GILD's calculation for a 25-person team for one year on annual billing: Team at US$15 per user per month is US$4,500, and Business at US$25 is US$7,500. Fathom adds this to whatever the team pays for its meeting app1 | GILD's calculation for the same 25-person team for one year: Workplace Pro at US$14.16 per user per month is US$4,248, and that price covers the meetings plus unlimited summaries and My Notes. ZoomMate licenses for all 25 at US$16.67 add US$5,0011617 |
| Model training | The privacy policy, updated Aug 16, 2026, lets Fathom train its in-house models on de-identified meeting data unless a user opts out, and an organization admin can opt out every user. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google may not train on it56 | Zoom's terms say it does not use audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments, or similar customer content to train Zoom or third-party AI models. Third-party model makers in its federated approach work under zero data retention1921 |
| Notice to participants | The bot is visible and Zoom shows its recording notice. Bot-free capture posts a chat message that recording has started, or asks the user to confirm consent. Optional consent emails go to external guests 24 hours before scheduled meetings378 | Participants see in-product indicators for the AI features running in the meeting, and the host can turn off meeting summary and meeting questions on supported app versions20 |
| Admin and identity | SAML single sign-on and SCIM through Okta or Microsoft Entra ID on Enterprise only. Admins set auto-capture and visibility defaults by organization, team, and meeting type191011 | Single sign-on through SAML 2.0 on Business, Education, or Enterprise accounts. Admins enable, disable, and lock AI features for the account or a group in the admin portal1720 |
| Certifications and data location | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and HIPAA, with a signed BAA on Enterprise. No ISO 27001. All data is stored in the United States16 | SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP Moderate, and HIPAA support listed in Zoom's trust center. Admins can generate summaries without keeping a transcript1922 |
| Where notes go | HubSpot and Salesforce sync on every plan for up to 3 users per domain, unlimited on Business. Slack, Asana, Zapier, Make, a public API, and an MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT11213 | ZoomMate connects to Salesforce, Jira, Google Drive, and OneDrive, and its paid license adds custom agents and workflows that reach third-party apps1618 |
22 sources
- Fathom pricing (plans, seats, and features by plan)
- Fathom Help Center: What devices is Fathom compatible with?
- Fathom Help Center: How to Upgrade to Fathom 3.0+ (capture modes and Recording Notice)
- Fathom Help Center: Free vs. Premium for Individuals
- Fathom Privacy Policy (last updated Aug 16, 2026)
- Fathom Help Center: Is Fathom secure?
- Fathom Help Center: Can I record calls without asking for permission?
- Fathom Help Center: Automatically Requesting Recording Consent
- Fathom Help Center: Configuring SAML 2.0 with Okta
- Fathom Help Center: Setting Up SCIM Provisioning with Microsoft Entra ID
- Fathom Help Center: Manage Auto-capture and Team Visibility Settings
- Fathom Help Center: Fathom MCP, Connect Claude & ChatGPT
- Fathom Help Center: Public API
- Fathom Help Center: HubSpot Integration
- Fathom Help Center: Salesforce Integration
- Zoom: ZoomMate pricing (Basic, the paid license, and AI Credit Packs)
- Zoom Workplace pricing (Basic, Pro, Business, and the AI features in each)
- Zoom: ZoomMate product page
- Zoom AI Whitepaper: Data governance and privacy
- Zoom AI Whitepaper: Administrative controls
- Zoom Terms of Service (Section 10 on Customer Content)
- Zoom Trust Center: Legal and compliance (certifications)