There are two kinds of atomic vapor cell gyroscopes, one is nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) gyroscope and the other is spin-exchange-relaxation-free (SERF) gyroscope. We demonstrate that there is a common model for these two kinds of gyroscope. The output signals of NMR and SERF gyroscopes are compared directly, which provides an important guidance for the scheme choosing and optimization of atomic gyroscope. Although this expose of the equivalence cannot solve the current problems of atomic gyroscopes, such as the narrow response bandwidth of SERF gyroscope and the drift due to the different Fermi-contact interaction coefficient in NMR gyroscope, it provides a simple understanding of atomic gyroscopes and may inspire new schemes combining advantages of both NMR and SERF gyroscopes.