Otter vs Fathom vs Fireflies: Best Meeting Notes for SMBs

*I’ve tested all three with Central Florida business owners. Here’s how they stack up for saving time, cutting costs, and keeping your team focused on what matters.*

You’ve got a stack of meetings every week—client calls, team stand-ups, vendor check-ins. And afterward, someone has to piece together what was said. Maybe that someone is you. Or maybe notes fall through the cracks, and decisions get lost.

I work with SMBs in Orlando, from a boutique real estate firm in Winter Park to a logistics company in Lake Mary. One thing I hear over and over: “I spend 10 hours a week on meeting notes and follow-ups.” That’s a quarter of a workweek. So when I see tools like Otter, Fathom, and Fireflies promising to handle that for you, I want to know which one actually delivers—no hype, just results.

I’ve put each through its paces with real Central Florida businesses. Here’s the head-to-head breakdown.

What These Tools Do (and Why You Should Care)

All three record, transcribe, and summarize meetings. They integrate with Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. They give you searchable transcripts and AI-generated action items. But the details matter—especially for a small business where every dollar counts.

Think about it: if your team of five has 15 meetings a week, and each meeting requires 30 minutes of note-taking afterward, that’s 7.5 hours of lost productivity. At $50/hour loaded cost, that’s $1,500 a week—$78,000 a year. A $20/month tool that saves even half that time pays for itself many times over.

Otter.ai: Best for Real-Time Collaboration

Otter is the most popular option. It’s known for its live transcription—you can see words appear as someone speaks. It also lets you add comments and highlight key moments during the call.

I helped a marketing agency in Maitland test Otter. They had 20 weekly client calls. Before Otter, one junior employee spent 15 hours per week writing notes. With Otter, that dropped to 3 hours—saving 12 hours a week. At $25/hour, that’s $300/week saved, or $15,600/year. Their Otter Business plan cost $40/month per user (three users). Net savings: about $14,400/year.

Where Otter shines: if you need to collaborate on notes during the meeting. Multiple people can highlight and comment in real time. It also has a “meeting assistant” that joins your calendar automatically.

Downsides: Otter’s summaries can be verbose. I’ve seen 3,000-word summaries for a 30-minute call. You still need to skim. Also, Otter’s speaker identification isn’t perfect—if people talk over eachother, it gets confused.

Pricing: Free tier (30 min transcription per meeting). Pro: $16.99/month per user (billed yearly). Business: $40/month per user.

Fathom: Best for Action-Oriented Teams

Fathom focuses on getting you out of the meeting faster. It records, transcribes, and—here’s the key—generates a concise summary with action items, next steps, and decisions. No fluff.

A property management company in Lake Nona with 12 employees tried Fathom. They had weekly maintenance meetings that often ran 90 minutes. The owner told me, “Before, I’d spend an hour after each meeting writing down what we decided. With Fathom, I get a bullet-point list of tasks assigned to people. It’s cut my follow-up time by 80%.”

Fathom also integrates with CRM tools like HubSpot and Salesforce. For a small sales team, that’s gold. One rep can automatically log call notes and next steps without manual entry.

Where Fathom stands out: the free tier is generous—unlimited transcription for up to 10 meetings per month. For many SMBs, that’s enough. The paid plan ($29/month per user) gives you unlimited meetings and advanced features like custom summary templates.

Downsides: Fathom doesn’t have a mobile app yet. And its real-time collaboration features are weaker than Otter’s. If you need to annotate during the call, stick with Otter.

Fireflies.ai: Best for Search and Organization

Fireflies is the Swiss Army knife. It records from 50+ apps (Zoom, Teams, Webex, etc.) and organizes everything in a searchable database. You can ask natural language questions like “Show me all action items from last week’s client calls.”

I worked with a financial advisory firm in Heathrow that had 30 weekly calls. They used Fireflies to build a knowledge base. Over 6 months, they accumulated 700 transcripts. When a new advisor joined, they could search “retirement planning” and pull up every relevant conversation. That saved 40 hours of ramp-up time.

Fireflies also has a “soundbite” feature—you can clip key moments and share them. Great for compliance or training.

Downsides: Fireflies can be noisy. It sometimes records background sounds as “action items.” And its AI summaries are less structured than Fathom’s. You may need to tweak the output.

Pricing: Free tier (limited, 800 minutes of storage). Pro: $19/month per user (billed yearly). Business: $39/month per user.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Let’s put them side by side for a typical Central Florida SMB with 10 employees, 15 meetings per week.

Feature	Otter	Fathom	Fireflies
Real-time transcription	Excellent	Good	Good
AI summary quality	Verbose	Concise, action-oriented	Decent, but noisy
Integrations	Zoom, Meet, Teams, +	Zoom, Meet, Teams, CRM	50+ apps, CRM, Slack
Search	Basic	Basic	Advanced (NLP)
Free tier	30 min/meeting	10 meetings/month	Limited storage
Price (paid, per user/mo)	$16.99–$40	$29	$19–$39
Best for	Collaborative note-taking	Quick action items	Knowledge management

For most SMBs, I recommend starting with Fathom’s free tier. If you need more collaboration, upgrade to Otter. If you’re drowning in information and need a searchable archive, go Fireflies.

Real-World Test: A Week in a Winter Park Design Firm

I ran a week-long test with a 6-person design firm in Winter Park. They had 12 meetings: 4 client calls, 3 internal stand-ups, 2 vendor meetings, and 3 project reviews.

With Otter: The team liked seeing live captions. But the summaries were long—one client call generated a 4-page transcript. The project manager spent 10 minutes trimming it. Overall, they saved 8 hours of note-taking that week.

With Fathom: Summaries were tight—action items in bold. The team saved 10 hours, but they missed the live collaboration. One designer said, “I want to highlight what the client said about colors, but Fathom doesn’t let me do that during the call.”

With Fireflies: They set up a searchable repository. After a week, they had 12 transcripts. The owner searched “budget” and found a key client request they’d forgotten. But the AI summaries missed some nuances—like client tone.

Verdict from the firm: They chose Fathom for daily use, with Fireflies for long-term storage.

Which One Should You Choose?

Here’s my rule of thumb:

• Choose Otter if your team needs to collaborate on notes in real time—like a marketing team brainstorming with a client.
• Choose Fathom if you just want to get out of the meeting faster and have clear action items—great for sales teams or project managers.
• Choose Fireflies if you need to build a searchable knowledge base—perfect for consultancies or firms with high turnover.

And remember: none of these tools replace good meeting hygiene. You still need an agenda and a clear objective. But they can cut your note-taking time by 70% or more.

If you’re not sure which fits your business, I help Central Florida SMBs run a two-week pilot. We pick one tool, set it up, and measure the time saved. Then we decide. No long-term commitment needed.

Ready to stop taking notes and start focusing on your business? Contact me to set up a free 30-minute consultation. Or take our AI Readiness Assessment to see where else you can save time.

For more on AI tools, check out our AI Glossary or learn about Fractional AI Officer services.

"Before Fathom, I spent an hour after each meeting writing down what we decided. Now I get bullet-point tasks assigned to people. Cut follow-up time by 80%."

Frequently asked questions

Can I use these tools with Google Meet or Zoom?

Yes, all three integrate with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. They join as a participant and record the meeting.

Do these tools work for in-person meetings?

Otter has a mobile app that can record in-person conversations. Fathom and Fireflies are primarily for virtual meetings, though Fireflies can upload audio files.

How accurate are the transcriptions?

Generally 85-95% accurate for clear audio. Accents or background noise can reduce accuracy. You can edit transcripts afterward.

Are these tools secure for confidential client meetings?

All three offer encryption and SOC 2 compliance. For highly sensitive info, check their data retention policies. Fireflies allows you to delete recordings automatically.

Can I try them for free before committing?

Yes, each has a free tier. Otter gives 30 minutes per meeting, Fathom gives 10 meetings per month, and Fireflies offers limited storage. Start with Fathom's free plan.

Which tool is best for a small team of 5?

Fathom is usually the best fit for small teams because of its generous free tier and concise summaries. Otter is better if you need real-time collaboration.