two free tiers,
very different tradeoffs
Fathom is a popular free AI notetaker with a bot that joins your calls. Migas is also free, but runs entirely on your Mac with no bot, no cloud audio, and no account required.
Fathom and Migas both offer generous free tiers with unlimited transcription, which sets them apart from most competitors. Fathom is a polished cloud product with strong AI summaries, team collaboration, CRM integrations, and coaching features. Migas processes everything locally on your Mac: no bot joins your call, no audio leaves your device, and no signup is needed. Choose Fathom for team workflows and integrations. Choose Migas for privacy and invisible meeting capture.
feature comparison
| Migas | Fathom | |
|---|---|---|
| no bot joins your call | ✓ | ✗ |
| audio stays on your device | ✓ | ✗ |
| works offline | ✓ | ✗ |
| unlimited free transcription | ✓ | ✓ |
| real-time transcription | ✓ | ✓ |
| live speaker identification | ✓ | post-meeting |
| AI chat with transcript | ✓ | ✓ |
| no signup required | ✓ | ✗ |
| AI-generated action items | ✗ | ✓ |
| meeting summary templates | ✗ | 15+ templates |
| clips and playlists | ✗ | ✓ |
| CRM integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
| coaching metrics & scorecards | ✗ | Business plan |
| team workspaces | ✗ | ✓ |
Migas AI chat sends transcript text (not audio) to the cloud when you ask for summaries. Transcription, speaker identification, and all audio processing happen entirely on your Mac.
privacy and architecture
Both tools offer unlimited free transcription, but the way they handle your audio is completely different.
how Fathom works
Fathom joins your meeting as a bot participant. It records audio and video in the cloud, processes transcription on Fathom's servers, and stores recordings and summaries on their infrastructure. The bot is visible to other meeting participants, and Fathom requires a calendar connection to automatically join calls.
how Migas works
Migas captures system audio directly on your Mac using macOS APIs. No bot joins your call, no calendar access is needed, and no audio ever leaves your device. Transcription and speaker identification run locally using on-device models. The only time data touches the cloud is when you explicitly use AI chat, and even then, only transcript text is sent.
why this matters
- Nobody on the call knows Migas is running. There is no bot to approve and no recording notification.
- Your audio never leaves your Mac, so there is no server to breach and no data retention to manage.
- Migas works offline and in restricted network environments where cloud tools cannot.
- Fathom's free tier is genuinely generous, but it comes with cloud audio processing as the default.
pricing
Both Migas and Fathom offer strong free tiers, which is unusual in this space.
| Migas | Fathom | |
|---|---|---|
| free tier | unlimited transcription, 50 AI requests | unlimited transcription + basic AI summaries |
| individual paid plan | $14/mo | $16/mo (annual) |
| team plan | n/a | from $15/user/mo (annual) |
| meeting length limit | none | none |
Fathom Premium monthly pricing is $20/mo. Team plans start at $15/user/mo (annual) with a 2-user minimum. Fathom also offers a Business plan at $25/user/mo with CRM field sync and coaching features.
where Fathom is the better choice
Fathom has invested heavily in post-meeting intelligence and team features:
- 15+ AI summary templates (BANT, Sandler, and other sales frameworks)
- AI-generated action items and follow-up emails
- Clips and playlists for sharing key meeting moments
- Team workspaces with folders, comments, keyword alerts, and global search
- CRM integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot, including field sync on Business plans
- Coaching metrics and AI scorecards for sales teams
- A conversational AI ("Ask Fathom") that can answer questions across all your meetings
- SSO and custom data retention on team plans
Fathom is particularly strong for sales teams. The combination of free unlimited transcription, CRM sync, and coaching tools makes it a popular choice in that workflow.
where Migas is the better choice
Migas is built for a different set of priorities:
- Privacy-first: audio never leaves your device, no third-party processing
- Invisible on calls: no bot in the attendee list, nobody knows you're transcribing
- No account or signup required: download, open, start transcribing
- Works offline: transcription runs without an internet connection
- Real-time speaker identification: see who is speaking live, not after the meeting
- No meeting platform restrictions: works with any app that plays audio on your Mac
the bottom line
Fathom and Migas are the two most generous free options in the meeting assistant space, but they make opposite architectural choices. Fathom is a cloud product with rich post-meeting features, team collaboration, and sales-oriented tooling. Migas is a local-first tool where privacy and simplicity come first. If you're choosing between them, the deciding factor is whether you want team intelligence or device-level privacy.
choose Migas if
You want meeting audio to stay on your Mac. You don't want a bot joining your calls. You want a private, no-signup, no-account experience that works offline.
choose Fathom if
You want rich AI summaries, sales coaching, CRM integrations, or team collaboration. You're comfortable with cloud-based audio processing and a bot joining your meetings.
try Migas in your
next meeting
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