Work Insiders directory

Grain alternatives

3 tools our write-ups put next to Grain, with starting price, free tier, MCP and API side by side.

Grain from $15/seat/mo Free tier 14 day free trial

The short answer

  • Fathom : Unlimited recordings and summaries on the free plan, with published team pricing from $15/user/mo billed annually. From $15/user/mo
  • tl;dv : Unlimited free recordings in 30+ languages with EU hosting, if data location matters. From $18/seat/mo
  • Gong : Full revenue intelligence across calls and emails, if you need deal analytics more than meeting notes. From Sales-quoted

Why people look past Grain

There is no ATS writeback. Custom AI prompts start on Starter, and AI coaching and custom follow up emails need Business.

What we noted

  • No ATS writeback
  • Coaching only on Business and above
  • Custom prompts not on the free plan

Not the right fit for

  • Teams that need interview notes filed in an ATS
  • Buyers who want coaching features on the entry paid plan

Worth keeping in mind: Grain splits paid seats from free viewer seats, so hiring managers and the rest of the team can read and comment on shared calls without a licence.

Grain alternatives compared

ToolFree tierFromMCPAPIHead to head
Grain (the one you are on) ✓Yes$15/seat/mo–No–No
Fathom Unlimited recordings and summaries on the free plan, with published team pricing from $15/user/mo billed annually. ✓Yes$15/user/mo–No✓YesHead to head
tl;dv Unlimited free recordings in 30+ languages with EU hosting, if data location matters. ✓Yes$18/seat/mo–No✓YesHead to head
Gong Full revenue intelligence across calls and emails, if you need deal analytics more than meeting notes. –NoSales-quoted✓Yes✓YesHead to head

What each one does differently

Fathom

$15/user/mo Free tier Free trial API

Why it comes up: Unlimited recordings and summaries on the free plan, with published team pricing from $15/user/mo billed annually.

Stands out: Fathom's free plan has no cap on recordings, transcripts or instant summaries, and paid plans come with a 90 day money back guarantee.

Watch out: There is no ATS writeback, only CRM sync. Team and Business need at least two users, and Team works out cheaper than the individual Premium plan.

Best for

  • Solo recruiters who want an uncapped free note taker
  • Agency desks that live in a CRM for client work
  • Teams that share call highlights through playlists

Read the Fathom write-up Grain vs Fathom

tl;dv

$18/seat/mo Free tier API

Why it comes up: Unlimited free recordings in 30+ languages with EU hosting, if data location matters.

Stands out: tl;dv never caps recordings or transcription, even on Free, and it is hosted and stored in the EU with GDPR and SOC 2 compliance.

Watch out: The free plan writes AI notes for only 10 meetings and keeps data up to 3 months. There is no ATS writeback, and cross-meeting AI insights need Business.

Best for

  • Recruiters who interview in several languages
  • European teams that want EU data hosting
  • Teams that want an API, webhooks and MCP server on Pro

Read the tl;dv write-up Grain vs tl;dv

Gong

Sales-quoted MCP API

Why it comes up: Full revenue intelligence across calls and emails, if you need deal analytics more than meeting notes.

Stands out: Captures calls from web meetings, dialers and phones into one deal timeline, with a hosted MCP server for AI assistants.

Watch out: No public seat price. The platform fee scales with how many users you support. Built for GTM teams, not recruiting ops.

Best for

  • Sales teams that want call recording, coaching and deal warnings
  • Revenue leaders who already live in a major CRM
  • Enablement teams building call libraries and scorecards

4.8 on Capterra from 561 reviews

Read the Gong write-up Grain vs Gong

Common questions

What is the best Grain alternative?
It depends on what sent you looking. Our write-ups put Fathom closest to Grain. Why it comes up: Unlimited recordings and summaries on the free plan, with published team pricing from $15/user/mo billed annually. The table above shows all 3 on price, free tier, MCP and API.
Is there a free alternative to Grain?
Yes. Fathom and tl;dv carry a free tier on our listing, so you can try the product without a card. Free tiers are capped, so check the limits against your volume before you move a team across.
What is the cheapest Grain alternative?
Of the published starting prices here, Fathom is lowest at $15/user/mo. Starting price is the entry plan, not the seat count you will end up on, so read the plan table on each listing.
Which Grain alternatives have an MCP server?
Gong ships a first party MCP server, so you can drive it from Claude or ChatGPT without building against the API yourself.
Does Grain have a free trial?
Grain offers a 14 day free trial on our listing. Trial terms move, so confirm on the vendor site before you plan around it.

Keep looking

Back to the Grain write-up Every AI note takers tool we list Search the whole directory

Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 23 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?