Dot and Fathom: recording the call, or taking part in it
Fathom records the call. By default its notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet or Teams as a participant and keeps the video, the audio and a transcript, and its free plan records without limit. Dot listens from your own computer, keeps no recording, and answers in the call when somebody says “Hi Dot”.
Every row below was checked against Fathom’s own website, help centre and trust centre, and links to the page it came from.
Every row below was checked against Fathom’s own documentation on 29 September 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it and say when.
The comparison
| Dot | Fathom | |
|---|---|---|
| How it hears the meeting | Through the Dot app on your computer. Nothing joins the call, unless your organisation has Dot’s meeting bot switched on, so telling the people in it is up to you | By default its notetaker joins the call and records video, audio and a transcript. On a Mac, a bot-free mode is in betaFathom, how it works → |
| In a Microsoft Teams meeting | The same app, listening from your computer | The notetaker joins as an external participant. Teams is not yet part of the bot-free modeFathom help, Microsoft Teams → |
| Computers it runs on | Mac, Windows and Ubuntu | Mac and Windows. Its help centre lists Linux computers as not supportedFathom help, supported devices → |
| Answers a question during the call | Yes. Anybody Dot can hear may say “Hi Dot” and ask. The answer appears on the screen of the person running Dot, and the whole call sees it when they present Dot’s window | Ask Fathom answers questions on the recording’s page, once the call has been recordedFathom help, Ask Fathom → |
| Answers from earlier meetings | Yes. It reads the notes of your last five meetings when it answers; presented to the call, only earlier meetings of the same series | Yes. Ask Fathom can search across your meetings, and your team’s. On the free plan it reaches back two weeksFathom help, Ask Fathom limits → |
| Keeps a recording | No. Dot keeps the transcript and the notes, not the audio | Yes. Recordings are kept until you delete themFathom help, how long recordings are kept → |
| Where data is kept | In the region your organisation picks at sign-up: the UK (London), the EU (Frankfurt) or the US (Virginia) | In the United StatesFathom trust centre, questions → |
| Free plan | No. A free trial, then a paid seat | Yes, with unlimited recordings and transcription, and AI summariesFathom, pricing → |
A recording of the call, or a participant in it
Fathom’s free plan records and transcribes without limit, with clips and search across calls, and its Business plan adds CRM field sync, deal views and scorecards for sales teams. For anybody who wants to watch a call back or send a clip, that is hard to beat.
Dot keeps no recording. It is there for the meeting while it is happening: somebody says “Hi Dot” and asks, and the answer appears on its screen, which the call reads when you present it. Afterwards it writes the notes, and reads them again when a later meeting asks about this one.
Where Fathom is the better choice
Be honest with yourself about this, because it is often the right answer.
Fathom’s free plan records and transcribes without limit. Dot has a free trial and keeps no recording.Fathom, pricing →
Fathom keeps recordings until you delete them. Dot keeps the transcript and the notes only.Fathom help, how long recordings are kept →
Fathom syncs to HubSpot, Salesforce and Close, for up to three users per email domain on its free and Premium plans. Dot does not connect to a CRM.Fathom help, free and paid plans →
Fathom’s trust centre lists SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA. Dot does not have a SOC 2 report yet.Fathom trust centre →
Questions
Does Fathom join the call as a bot?
By default, yes: the Fathom Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet or Teams as a participant. On a Mac, Fathom also offers a bot-free mode in beta, for meetings in English. Dot listens from your computer, and joins a call itself only where your organisation has its meeting bot switched on.Fathom, how it works →Fathom help, the bot-free app →
Does either run on Linux?
Dot does, with an app for Ubuntu. Fathom’s help centre says it records meetings on Mac and Windows computers, and lists Linux computers among what it does not support.Fathom help, supported devices →
Where does Fathom keep meeting data?
Fathom says all data is stored in the United States. Dot keeps each organisation’s meetings in the region it picks at sign-up: the UK, the EU or the US.Fathom trust centre, questions →