Cue vs Fathom: Voice Agent or AI Notetaker?
Cue and Fathom both turn a meeting into notes you can act on, and both can capture a conversation without a bot in the call. The difference is what the notes are for. Fathom's official pages position it as meeting intelligence that captures meetings, surfaces insights, and connects to a team's tools, while Cue is a desktop voice agent where meeting notes are one entry point into the next task on your screen.
One desktop voice workflow covers voice typing in supported apps, a meeting recorder you start yourself, and follow-up work prepared in a supported app with the current screen as context.
Fathom's official pages describe AI notetaking that summarizes meetings, a choice of bot or bot-free capture, and meeting notes, insights, and action items that sync automatically with a team's connected tools.
Pick the job you need now
These are entry points into the same Cue product, account, download, and pricing.
Start from the task on screen
Speak a request and use the current desktop context to prepare work you can review.
Explore Voice Agent workflows →Turn speech into text
Choose your desktop and start with the field where you are already typing.
Capture notes without a bot
Start the desktop capture when you choose, see a progressive transcript, then review structured notes.
Explore meeting notes →Side-by-side workflow comparison
Swipe the table to compare Cue and Fathom →
| Workflow | Cue | Fathom |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Desktop voice agent for voice typing, meeting capture, and follow-up tasks in supported apps | Its official overview page positions Fathom as meeting intelligence that captures meetings, surfaces insights, and connects to a team's tools, and its homepage describes AI notetaking that summarizes meetings. |
| Meeting capture | A desktop recorder you start yourself, with nothing joining the participant list. Cue can recognize meeting context and offer the recorder, but recording begins only after you choose Start. | Its official overview page states there are three ways to capture conversations, bot or bot-free, all with speaker attribution and action items, and that its Notetaker bot joins the call and can join automatically once a calendar is connected. |
| Meeting result | A progressive transcript during longer meetings, then structured notes and action items after you stop | Its official overview page states a full recap including action items arrives the moment a meeting ends, and that the bot-free transcript-only mode produces a transcript, AI summary, and action items. |
| After the meeting | Continue from the notes into a supported desktop app, where the current screen can serve as context for follow-up work you review | Its official pages state that transcripts, summaries, and action items are delivered to the user's inbox, that meeting notes and action items sync automatically with named third-party tools, and that a public API is offered. |
| Current platforms | macOS 13 and later on Apple Silicon and Intel, and Windows 10 and later on x64 | Its official overview page currently states bot-free capture is available on Mac and that Windows support is not yet available, and that a dedicated desktop app is offered. Which operating systems the desktop app itself runs on is not stated on the pages checked; verify current terms. |
| Starting plan | Cue is free to start. Cue Plus is $19.99/month. | Its official pricing page currently lists a Free plan at $0 with unlimited recordings and transcriptions and a choice of bot-free capture, labelled beta, or bot capture, plus a Premium plan showing $20 and $16 per month per user across the page's monthly and annual toggle; verify current terms. |
| Best fit | You want meeting capture to connect with a broader desktop voice workflow on Mac or Windows | You want a dedicated meeting record that reaches your inbox and your team's connected tools. |
What Fathom does well
Fathom is built for teams that want the meeting itself on the record, and its official pages are clear about that job. The homepage describes AI notetaking that summarizes meetings and states that a bot-free option is now available, while the overview page positions the product as meeting intelligence that captures meetings, surfaces insights, and connects to a team's tools. It states three ways to capture a conversation, bot or bot-free, all with speaker attribution and action items, and says a full recap including action items arrives the moment a meeting ends.
That is a coherent product for people whose meeting workflow ends in a shared record. Fathom states that transcripts, summaries, and action items are delivered to the inbox and sync automatically with connected tools, and its pricing page lists a Free plan at $0 with no per-seat cost. Cue takes a different path rather than a better one. Meeting capture in Cue is a desktop recorder you start yourself, and the notes it produces are meant to be picked up right away by the same voice agent you use for voice typing, so the next draft, reply, or update happens in the supported app already open in front of you.
Official Fathom sources
Competitor details above were checked on September 15, 2026. Plans and platform availability can change, so verify the current source before deciding.
- Fathom homepage — Product positioning as AI notetaking that summarizes meetings, the statement that a bot-free option is now available, the user's choice of whether a bot is used, and delivery of transcripts, summaries, and action items to the inbox with automatic syncing to named tools.
- Fathom overview — Meeting intelligence positioning, the three capture modes described as bot or bot-free, the Notetaker bot joining calls automatically once a calendar is connected, bot-free capture on Mac with Windows support not yet available, the dedicated desktop app, and the recap that arrives the moment a meeting ends.
- Fathom pricing — Current plan names and listed prices, including the Free plan at $0 with unlimited recordings and transcriptions, the Premium figures across the monthly and annual toggle, and the beta label on bot-free capture.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for bot-free meeting notes, Cue or Fathom?
Both can capture a meeting without a bot in the call, so the answer depends on fit. Fathom's official overview page describes bot-free capture as available on Mac, with Windows support not yet available, alongside a Notetaker bot that joins the call and can join automatically once a calendar is connected. Cue's meeting capture is a desktop recorder you start yourself, and nothing joins the participant list. Pick Fathom if you want a shared meeting record that reaches your inbox and your team's connected tools. Pick Cue if you want the notes to continue into the next task on your desktop.
Can Cue record and transcribe meetings?
Yes. You start Cue's desktop recorder when you choose, and nothing joins the participant list. Cue can recognize meeting context and offer the recorder, but recording begins only after you choose Start. During longer meetings Cue shows a progressive transcript, and after you stop it prepares structured notes and action items. Cue runs on macOS 13 and later, on Apple Silicon and Intel, and on Windows 10 and later on x64.
What happens after the meeting in Cue compared with Fathom?
Fathom's official pages state that a full recap including action items arrives the moment a meeting ends, that transcripts, summaries, and action items are delivered to the user's inbox, and that meeting notes, insights, and action items sync automatically with named third-party tools, with a public API offered. Cue keeps the next step on the desktop: you can continue from the meeting notes into a supported app, where the current screen can serve as context for follow-up work you review before you send it.
Is Cue free?
Cue is free to start. Cue Plus is $19.99/month. Fathom's official pricing page currently lists a Free plan at $0 that includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions and a choice of bot-free capture, labelled beta, or bot capture, plus a Premium plan showing $20 and $16 per month per user across the page's monthly and annual toggle. Competitor plans change, so check Fathom's own pricing page for current terms.
Start with the workflow you need
Use the meeting notes as the record, or continue into the desktop task that comes next.
Download free ← Back to alternativesTry a workflow you can check
For Cue, use a reviewed excerpt to build an action table from meeting notes. Then follow the after-meeting learning path to prepare an update and a follow-up draft. This is a Cue exercise, not a head-to-head benchmark or evidence that one product is better.