At a glance
| Steno | Fathom | |
|---|---|---|
| Audio processing | On your Mac, always | Fathom’s cloud (AWS, US) |
| Transcription | On-device (Parakeet / Whisper) | Cloud |
| Summarization | On-device (local model) or optional cloud | Cloud (OpenAI, Anthropic) |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Works offline | Yes | No |
| Meeting bot | No | Optional (bot or bot-free capture) |
| Price | Free (personal & team) | Free tier / 19-$34 per user/mo (team) |
| Open source | Yes (MIT) | No |
| CRM sync | No | Yes (Salesforce, HubSpot) |
| Platform | macOS only | macOS, Windows, web |
The core difference: on-device vs cloud
Fathom offers both a traditional meeting bot and a newer bot-free desktop capture. Either way, it is a cloud service: your meeting audio is uploaded to Fathom’s servers and processed with cloud AI providers, and your recordings live in your Fathom account. Steno keeps everything on your Mac. Audio is transcribed and summarized locally, and no meeting content is uploaded unless you opt into a cloud summarization model. (Anonymous usage analytics — no meeting content — are sent by default and can be turned off in Settings.) If your requirement is that meeting content never leaves your device, that is the deciding factor.Cost
Fathom’s free tier is genuinely useful — unlimited recording and transcription — but its AI value (advanced summaries, action items, the meeting assistant) sits behind Premium (19-$34/user/month) as of 2026. Steno is free for personal and team use and open source across all features; the only cost is disk space for the local models (roughly 7GB for the default setup).Where Fathom is stronger
- CRM and sales workflows — Fathom syncs to Salesforce and HubSpot and offers deal views, coaching metrics, and scorecards.
- Cross-platform and team features — shared search, playlists, comments, SSO, and a web app.
- Zero setup for cloud users — recordings and summaries are delivered to your inbox and searchable in the cloud.
When to choose Steno
- You want transcription and summarization to happen entirely on your Mac
- You prefer no account and fully offline operation
- You want free, open-source software with no per-seat cost
- Your meetings are confidential and cannot be uploaded to a cloud service
When to choose Fathom
- You need CRM sync and sales-coaching features
- Your team needs shared, searchable cloud recordings
- You work across Mac, Windows, and the web
- Cloud processing of meeting content is acceptable for your work
Fathom has a bot-free mode — is that the same as Steno being local?
Fathom has a bot-free mode — is that the same as Steno being local?
No. Fathom’s bot-free capture removes the visible bot from the call, but the audio is still uploaded to Fathom’s cloud for transcription and summarization. Steno processes everything on your Mac.
Is Steno cheaper than Fathom?
Is Steno cheaper than Fathom?
Steno is free for personal and team use and open source with no per-seat cost. Fathom has a usable free tier, but its AI features require a paid plan. Both avoid a meeting bot if you want one.