Acta vs Fathom: free notes are a start, follow-through is the point
Fathom is known for free, unlimited recording. Acta records Zoom, Google Meet and Teams too, then keeps working after the call: it answers across your meetings and files, fills templates from the conversation and tracks every action item and decision.
Acta vs Fathom in short
Fathom and Acta both record and summarise your calls. Fathom's free plan records unlimited meetings and limits AI features, and paid plans start at about $16 a month. Acta adds what happens after the call: OneChat answers across your meetings and the files you add, 42 templates fill themselves from the conversation, action items are tracked to done with a daily follow-up email, and a decision log keeps every decision across meetings.
Every call connected
Fathom summarises each call. Acta's OneChat answers across all your calls at once, together with the contracts and price lists you add.
Action items followed to done
Sending action items to the CRM is a start. Acta tracks each one to done, flags what's overdue and emails the owner every morning.
The right template, picked for you
Acta reads what the call was about and fills the templates that fit, from MEDDPICC to a candidate scorecard, and skips the rest.
Acta vs Fathom, feature by feature
FathomAsk across everything
After the meeting
Templates
Recording
Plans
Fathom details are from their public website and reviews, checked October 2026. Products change: if something here is out of date, tell us at contact@acta.ai and we'll fix it.
What you get with Acta beyond Fathom
OneChat
Ask across calls and files, not one call at a time
Ask Fathom answers about your past calls. OneChat answers across the meetings you choose and the PDFs, Word and Excel files and web pages you add, and links each line to the moment in the meeting or the page in the file.
- Choose meetings by date, people or type
- Contracts, price lists and playbooks in the same answer
- Click a source to play that moment
Yes. The contract allows a two-year price hold 1, and you agreed to it on the renewal call, subject to finance 2. Increases after that are capped at 5% 3.
Action item tracker
From “we should” to done
Every action item from every call lands in one tracker with its owner and due date. See what's open, overdue and due this week, and let Acta send each owner a daily follow-up.
- Group by meeting or by person
- Overdue items flagged automatically
- Daily follow-up email to owners
Overdue
3
Due this week
4
Done
12
Daily follow-up, 9:00
Priya, 1 item is overdue: Send Acme the revised proposal.
Decision log
Decisions that outlive the call
Acta keeps a log of what was decided, by whom and who owns it. When a later call changes a decision, the log shows what it was and when it changed.
- “Was 60 minutes, changed to 90 on Oct 8”
- The quote and the moment it was said
- Linked actions with progress
Recordings stop after 90 minutes
Discussed in 2 meetingsWas: 60 minutes · changed Oct 8
Oct 4 · Sprint review
“Recording should stop on its own after 60 minutes.” 14:11
Oct 8 · Recorder check-in
“Sixty is too short, let's make it 90 minutes.” 8:41
Actions
Every decision, from every meeting, in one log
Templates
42 templates, filled from what was said
Sales frameworks, hiring scorecards, engineering reviews, clinical notes and more. Acta fills the ones that fit the meeting and marks the others “Not relevant”.
- MEDDPICC, BANT, SPIN and SPICED for sales calls
- Shows what's missing and what to ask next time
- Marks a template “Not relevant” instead of making things up
From the call
“If we get each rep four hours back a week, that's the case.”
“Anything above fifty thousand goes to our CFO.”
“We need a SOC 2 report before procurement.”
Metrics
Champion
Economic buyer
Paper process
Ask next: who signs off above $50k?
Where Fathom does well
- A generous free plan with unlimited recording and transcription.
- Ask Fathom for questions about your past calls.
- Summaries and action items synced to HubSpot and Salesforce.
Best for: People who want free unlimited recording with short summaries.
Choose Acta if you want
- Answers across all your calls and your files
- Action items tracked to done, not just listed
- A decision log for the whole team
- Templates that match each meeting automatically
- Recording with or without a bot
How to switch from Fathom to Acta
- 1
Start your free trial
Sign up and connect your Google or Microsoft calendar. The trial is free for 15 days.
- 2
Choose how to record
Let the Acta notetaker join from your calendar, or record without a bot using the desktop app for Windows and Mac or the Chrome extension.
- 3
Turn on what happens after the call
Pick your templates and turn on the daily follow-up, so action items and decisions are tracked from the first meeting.
- 4
Coming from Fathom?
Run Acta next to Fathom for a week, then compare the follow-up: Acta's tracker shows every open action item from all those calls in one place.
Acta vs Fathom: questions
Is Acta a good Fathom alternative?
Yes, if you want more than notes. Acta records Zoom, Google Meet and Teams like Fathom, and adds OneChat across your meetings and files, 42 templates, an action item tracker with daily follow-ups and a decision log.
Is Fathom free?
Fathom has a free plan that records and transcribes unlimited meetings, with limits on AI features; reviews in October 2026 put paid plans from about $16 a month. Acta is free for 15 days, then priced per user.
Can Acta answer questions across meetings like Ask Fathom?
Yes. OneChat answers across all your meetings or the ones you choose by date, people or type, and also reads PDFs, Word and Excel files and web links you add. Every answer links to its source.
Does Acta work with HubSpot and Salesforce?
Yes. Acta connects to HubSpot, Salesforce and Zoho CRM, and to Jira, Asana, ClickUp, Monday.com, Notion, Confluence and Google Drive.
Can I try Acta for free?
Yes. Acta is free for 15 days with unlimited recordings and transcriptions. After that, Pro is priced per user on the pricing page.
Does Acta need a bot in my meeting?
No. Record with the Acta desktop app (Windows and Mac) or the Chrome extension without a bot, or let the Acta notetaker join from your calendar.
More comparisons
Switch from Fathom in minutes
Connect your calendar and Acta takes notes from your next meeting. Free for 15 days.
Try Acta free