Our verdict
Fathom and Circleback are both general-notetaker tools for restaurants. On our independent rubric, Fathom scores 4.5/5 versus 4.1/5 for Circleback. Fathom is the cheaper entry point (Free; Premium $16/mo annual ($20 monthly)). Choose Fathom if you're Individuals who want unlimited free recording and transcription or Sales teams wanting CRM sync, Deal View, and AI scorecards; choose Circleback if you're Teams that want accurate notes plus auto-assigned action items or Users with technical vocabulary needing precise transcription.
Side-by-side comparison
| Metric | Fathom | Circleback |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score | 4.5/5 | 4.1/5 |
| G2 rating | — | — |
| Capterra rating | — | — |
| Starting price | Free; Premium $16/mo annual ($20 monthly) | Individual $20.83/user/mo; Team $25/user/mo |
| Free tier | ||
| Free trial | ||
| Integrations | 8 · Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams… | 7 · Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams… |
| Best for | Individuals who want unlimited free recording and transcription, Sales teams wanting CRM sync, Deal View, and AI scorecards, Users who want a choice of bot-free or bot capture | Teams that want accurate notes plus auto-assigned action items, Users with technical vocabulary needing precise transcription, Buyers who want heavy meeting automation across 1,000+ apps |
| Category | general-notetaker | general-notetaker |
| Founded | 2020 | 2023 |
| HQ | San Francisco, California, USA | New Castle, Delaware, USA |
A teal check marks the stronger option on each measurable row. Ratings are sourced from G2/Capterra with attribution on each listing.
Fathom
- Unlimited free recording, transcription, and storage
- Choice of bot-free or bot capture
- Strong sales tooling (Deal View, AI scorecards, CRM sync)
- Affordable Premium tier (~$16/mo annual)
- Free plan limited to 5 AI summaries per month
- Team tiers require a 2-user minimum
- Multilingual coverage trails the broadest competitors
Circleback
- Highly accurate transcription, including technical terms
- Reliable auto-assigned action items
- 1,000+ app integrations and automations
- Strong founding team (ex-Stripe, ex-Tableau)
- No free subscription tier (trial only)
- Young company (founded 2023)
- Limited deal/revenue intelligence
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