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Fathom vs tl;dv

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Free plan
Both have one
Public API
Both have one
Higher Trust score
Fathom — 94 vs 82 for tl;dv
Best fit
Fathom: Individuals who want unlimited recording and summaries without paying anything · tl;dv: Sales teams that need call outcomes landing in the CRM without manual entry
Platforms
Fathom: Web, macOS · tl;dv: Web, Chrome extension, macOS, Windows

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

FathomMeeting recorder with instant summaries and CRM write-backtl;dvMeeting recorder that clips moments and syncs to CRM

Side by side

FactFathomtl;dv
CategoryMeeting AssistantsMeeting Assistants
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$20/mo—
Public APIYesYes
Trust score94 / 10082 / 100
PlatformsWeb, macOS, APIWeb, Chrome extension, macOS, Windows, API
CompanyFathom (part of Superhuman)tldx Solutions GmbH
Launched20202020
Last verifiedOct 15, 2026Oct 16, 2026

What our research says

Fathom

Still one of the most generous free notetakers we have looked at: unlimited recordings and transcripts with no paywall on the basics, and the paid tiers stay cheap for small sales teams. Since September 2026 Fathom belongs to Superhuman (the former Grammarly), so buyers signing annual contracts should expect the product to be pulled toward that suite. Teams that need deep revenue analytics are still better served by Gong-class platforms.

Pros

  • Free tier includes unlimited recordings, transcripts and clips, which competitors gate
  • Bot-free capture avoids the awkward third participant in the call
  • Public API and MCP server on paid plans, plus native Claude and ChatGPT integrations
  • Aggressive switching offers: free Business for Gong contract holders, 10 free nonprofit seats

Cons

  • CRM sync is capped at three users per domain on lower tiers
  • Team and Business both require two seats, so a solo user pays the $20 Premium rate
  • Business costs $34 per user on monthly billing, $25 only when paid annually
  • Account-wide Ask Fathom search is still marked beta and has lookback limits by tier

tl;dv

tl;dv earns its place when the recording has to end up somewhere else, in a CRM field or a shared clip, rather than sitting in an archive nobody reads. As a pure note-taker it is unremarkable.

Pros

  • Clip-and-share is faster in practice than pointing colleagues at a timestamp
  • CRM sync is a first-class feature rather than a Zapier afterthought
  • Free tier is a real plan, not a trial
  • Desktop apps and an extension cover the three major conferencing platforms

Cons

  • Billing is euro-only, which creates FX exposure for non-EU buyers
  • The API is v1alpha1 and explicitly unstable
  • Free plan cannot retrieve meeting content through the API at all
  • The 40% annual discount is permanent marketing, so the monthly rate is the real price

Which one fits

Choose Fathom if you need

  • Individuals who want unlimited recording and summaries without paying anything
  • Small sales teams that need CRM notes written automatically after every call
  • Anyone who wants meeting context piped into ChatGPT or Claude via API/MCP

Choose tl;dv if you need

  • Sales teams that need call outcomes landing in the CRM without manual entry
  • Distributed teams sharing a 90-second clip instead of a 45-minute recording
  • Researchers and PMs tagging moments across many user interviews

Fathom vs tl;dv: the questions people ask

Is Fathom cheaper than tl;dv?

Fathom starts at $20/mo. tl;dv has a free tier; what its paid plans cost is not confirmed by us yet.

Does Fathom or tl;dv have a free tier?

Both: Fathom has a free tier, and tl;dv has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Fathom or tl;dv?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.

More comparisons

All Fathom alternatives →All tl;dv alternatives →Browse all Meeting Assistants →

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