Productivity · Head-to-head
Fathom vs Shortwave
Fathom vs Shortwave: Freemium — Free core; Team $19/user/mo vs Freemium. Side-by-side features, pricing, and which to pick.
The verdict
Pick Fathom if…
- →overall capability matters more than price (AI Score 8.8 vs 8.3)
- →you want our editor's pick for this category
- →your primary use case is individuals and sales teams who want unlimited free meeting transcription without a bot visibly joining the call.
- →you need: agents
Pick Shortwave if…
- →your primary use case is gmail users who want an inbox where ai drafts replies, summarizes threads, and handles scheduling and search.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Fathom | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity | Productivity |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Headline pricing | Freemium — Free core; Team $19/user/mo | Freemium |
| Free tier | Unlimited recording, transcription, and AI summaries for individual users | Basic AI features with limited daily queries |
| AI Score | 8.8/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Best for | Individuals and sales teams who want unlimited free meeting transcription without a bot visibly joining the call. | Gmail users who want an inbox where AI drafts replies, summarizes threads, and handles scheduling and search. |
| Editor's pick | ✓ Yes | — |
| Use cases | productivity agents | productivity |
| Date added | 2026-04-30 | 2025-09-15 |
Pros and cons
Fathom
Productivity · freemium
Pros
- ✓No bot joins the meeting — records natively without awkward participant notifications
- ✓Free tier includes unlimited recording and transcription, far more generous than competitors
- ✓Clean, fast interface that stays out of your way during calls
- ✓One-click highlight clips make sharing key moments easy
Cons
- ×English-focused — transcription accuracy drops for other languages and heavy accents
- ×Team features locked behind $19/user/mo, which adds up for larger organizations
- ×Fewer third-party integrations than Fireflies.ai or Otter.ai at this stage
- ×No conversation intelligence analytics on the free plan
Shortwave
Productivity · freemium
Pros
- ✓Most AI-integrated email client available
- ✓Excellent thread summarization
- ✓Natural language search across your mailbox
- ✓Clean, modern interface
Cons
- ×Gmail-only (no Outlook or other providers)
- ×Free tier is quite limited
- ×Newer product with smaller user base
- ×Some AI features can be slow
Related comparisons
Updated 2026-04-30. Spec data sourced from official product pages and tracked in our public directory at /tools.