tl;dv » tl;dv vs Fathom – A Battle for the Best AI Note Taker

tl;dv vs
Fathom – A
Battle for
the Best AI
Note Taker
March 21, 2024
5:05 pm
Pedro Marzagao
tl;dv vs Fathom – a comparison eagerly anticipated by teams striving to
harness AI for optimizing their meeting processes and enhancing
productivity.

In the quest for the most efficient AI notetaking solution, both platforms
have been frequently mentioned for their innovative approaches to
meeting management, transcription services, and actionable insights
generation.

As organizations increasingly rely on AI to distill valuable information from

their daily interactions, the choice between tl;dv and Fathom becomes
significant.

In this comprehensive & no-fluff analysis of tl;dv (an EU-based) vs

Fathom (US-based), we’ll explore the unique features, strengths, and
areas where each platform shines, as well as where they may fall short.
From transcription capabilities and integration options to security
standards and user experience, we’ll cover all angles to provide a clear
picture of what sets these two contenders apart.

Table of Contents

tl;dr
tl;dv vs Fathom: 12 Factors to consider while choosing the best AI
Notetaker
Transcription capabilities
Recording capabilities
Conversation Intelligence capabilities
Automation & Integration capabilities
Note-taking capabilities
Security capabilities
Coaching capabilities
Admin Capabilities
Organizational Capabilities
Support Capabilities
Revenue Intelligence Capabilities
Who is it for?
Verdict: tl;dv vs Fathom – which one is the best?

tl;dr
tl;dv Fathom

Transcription 20 🟢 18

Recording 16 🟢 12

Conversational Intelligence 14 🟢 9

Automation & Integrations 9🟢 8

 Note-taking 12 🟢 8

Security 19 🟢 8

Coaching 8🟢 0

Admin 8🟢 2

Organizational 12 🟢 9

Support 4🟢 2

Revenue Intelligence 0 0

Other 6🟢 5

Total 128 🟢 81

The battle for the best note-taker delivers a sound win to tl;dv, highlighting
its strengths in language diversity, dialect support, and a wide array of
features complemented by robust security measures and user-centric
functionalities.

Fathom is a great solution for individual users looking for a free solution.
For teams, it doesn’t offer much control to team admins or coaching
capabilities around playbooks. Instead, its real strength lies in offering
real-time transcriptions.

While both platforms excel in meeting transcription and organization, tl;dv

provides a more rounded solution with extensive administrative controls,
and a commitment to privacy and ethical AI use, making it a highly
versatile choice for organizations seeking to maximize their meeting
efficiency and productivity.
tl;dv goes beyond what is now considered “expected” in the AI note-taking
ecosystem, letting users and managers get their feet wet on the meeting
performance universe.

With tl;dv anyone can improve their meeting skills, whether simply by
understanding where their speech technique can be improved, but mostly
by measuring their meeting performance against popular or custom-made
playbooks, or evaluating their objection-handling technique with
quantifiable results.
tl;dv vs Fathom:
12 Factors to
consider while
choosing the best
AI Notetaker
How do we rank?
 ● We give 2 points to a platform once it is the clear winner or when
the capability is equally met by the other.
● We give 1 point when the capability is present, but it’s not a winner.
● We give 0 points when the capability is not present.

Transcription capabilities
tl;dv (20) Fathom (18)

Transcriptions included 🟢 Unlimited 🟢 Unlimited

🟢 share highlights
Real-time transcriptions 🔴
during calls

Languages supported 🟢 +40 🟠6

Dialects supported 🟢 🔴

Filler word removal 🔴 soon 🔴

Speaker recognition 🟢 🟢

Speaker names 🟢 🟢

Transcribe video/audio 🟠 limited 300

🟢
uploads min/month

Export transcripts 🟢 🟢

Clips from transcript 🟢 🟢

Custom vocabulary 🔴 soon 🔴

Full-Transcript search 🟢 🟢
Edit transcription 🟢 🟢

tl;dv transcript and notes

Fathom transcription and notes

Real-time Transcriptions

Fathom offers real-time transcription capabilities, enabling users to share

highlights during calls, a feature particularly useful for live note-taking and
immediate content sharing. This real-time functionality is not available on
tl;dv, highlighting a key difference for users who prioritize instant
transcription access.

Languages Supported

tl;dv supports transcription in over 40 languages, providing a broad

linguistic range that caters to global teams and multilingual environments.
In contrast, Fathom’s transcription service is available in 6 languages,
making tl;dv the superior choice for users needing transcription services
across a wider variety of languages.

Dialects Supported

Dialect recognition is a feature where tl;dv excels, offering enhanced

transcription accuracy for users of diverse dialects. This capability
ensures that the nuances of regional accents are accurately captured, a
feature not provided by Fathom, which could lead to less precise
transcriptions for speakers of dialects.

Filler Word Removal

Neither tl;dv nor Fathom offers filler word removal at this moment.
However, this will only be the case for a short time as tl;dv is in the
process of adding it to their transcription services. This upcoming feature
will help produce cleaner, more concise transcripts by eliminating
unnecessary words and phrases, marking a future differentiator.
Transcribe video/audio uploads

Both platforms allow transcribing from uploaded audio/video files.

Fathom, however, severely limits this to 5 hours/month, which is quite a
surprise considering how much this feature is used by teams.

Custom Vocabulary

The ability to incorporate custom vocabulary into transcriptions is noted

as a forthcoming feature for tl;dv, aiming to enhance the accuracy and
relevance of transcriptions for specialized fields or terminologies.

Currently, Fathom does not offer custom vocabulary, positioning tl;dv as

the platform planning to cater more specifically to the needs of users with
technical or industry-specific language requirements.

Recording capabilities
tl;dv (16) Fathom (12)

🟢 Zoom, MS Teams, 🟢 Zoom, MS Teams,

Video platforms
Google Meet Google Meet

Storage 🟢 Unlimited 🟢 Unlimited

Records video 🟢 🟢

Concurrent meetings 🟢 Unlimited 🔴

Download recordings 🟢 🟢
Capture slides 🟢 🔴

Viewing analytics 🟢 🔴

Integrated Calendar 🔴 🔴

Recording Editing 🔴 🟢

Reels 🟢 🟢

tl;dv multi meeting report creation

 tl;dv speaker analytics

Concurrent Meetings

tl;dv supports the recording of unlimited concurrent meetings regardless

of the meeting platform, making it an ideal choice for large organizations
or teams with heavy meeting schedules that occur simultaneously.

This capability ensures that no meeting goes unrecorded, regardless of

how many are happening at once.

On the other hand, Fathom does not offer support for concurrent
meetings, which may limit its utility for users with extensive simultaneous
recording needs (e.g. virtually being present in multiple meetings at the
same time with the recorder)

Capture Slides
tl;dv provides the functionality to capture slides during a meeting,
ensuring that visual aids and presentations are included in the recording
for a comprehensive meeting capture. This feature is particularly useful
for educational and collaborative purposes where slides are a central
component of the discussion. Fathom lacks this capability, potentially
missing out on recording crucial visual components of meetings.

Viewing Analytics

Viewing analytics are available on tl;dv, offering insights into how users
engage with recordings. This feature can help teams understand the
effectiveness of their meetings and how content is consumed, allowing for
data-driven decisions to improve future meetings. Fathom does not offer
viewing analytics, limiting the ability to analyze meeting engagement and
effectiveness.

Recording Editing

Fathom distinguishes itself by offering recording editing capabilities,

allowing users to refine and edit their meeting recordings post-capture.
This feature is particularly beneficial for creating polished, shareable
content or removing unnecessary segments before distribution. tl;dv does
not currently offer recording editing, focusing instead on providing a
comprehensive suite of other recording and transcription features.

Conversation Intelligence
capabilities
tl;dv (14) Fathom (9)

Single Meeting AI Insights 🟢 🔴

Multi Meeting AI Insights 🟢 🔴

Keyword tracking 🟢 🟠 in Team edition

🔴 No, as per EU AI
Sentiment Analysis 🔴
Act

Key Topic detection 🟢 🟢

Speech Analytics 🟢 🟢

Action item detection 🟢 🟢

Question detection 🟢 🟢

tl;dv Multi-meeting AI Report on 21 meetings

Single Meeting AI Insights

tl;dv provides AI insights for single meetings across all its plans, offering
users valuable analysis and actionable insights from any individual
meeting available in the meeting library.

Conversely, Fathom AI offering at this level is restricted to a set of

templated AI summaries which can’t be customised.

Multi Meeting AI Insights

tl;dv stands out by offering AI insights across multiple meetings, enabling

organizations to track trends, gather insights over time, and make
informed decisions based on comprehensive data analysis.

This is also a valuable feature not only for individuals who may want to
compile the topics discussed, action items and takeaways, from several
meetings at the same time, but also for managers who’d like to get the
occasional glimpse of how top clients are being handled.

This feature is notably absent in Fathom, which, in all fairness, does

greatly restrict the potential of this note taker.

Teams looking to perform longitudinal analyses and derive insights from a

series of meetings will have to turn to tl;dv for this.

Keyword Tracking

Keyword tracking is available on tl;dv, allowing users to monitor specific

terms across their meetings, aiding in the focus on crucial topics or follow-
up on important items. Fathom offers keyword tracking but limits this
functionality to its Team edition, which might not be accessible to
individual users or smaller teams, potentially affecting their ability to track
and analyze specific discussion points effectively.

Automation & Integration

capabilities
tl;dv (9) Fathom (8)

CRM Integrations 🟠 in Pro plan 🟢

Email Integrations 🟢 🟢

Zapier Integrations 🟢 in Pro plan 🟢 in Premium plan

Post-Meeting summary
🟢 🟢
email

Schedule Reports 🟢 🔴
 Fathom Integrations (Premium plan)

CRM Integrations

CRM integrations are available with tl;dv for users subscribed to the Pro
plan, enabling seamless data flow between meeting insights and
customer relationship management tools. Fathom offers CRM integrations
across all its plans, providing an advantage for users seeking immediate
integration capabilities without the need for a premium subscription.

Scheduled Reports

Scheduled reports, a feature that automates the generation and delivery

of meeting insights over specified intervals, are offered by tl;dv,
enhancing the platform’s utility for ongoing project tracking as well as
team management – for instance, managers can create weekly reports
that extract valuable insights from their team members meetings, and
post that into a private Slack channel or a Notion page. Fathom does not
provide scheduled reports, marking a significant differentiation for
organizations that value automated insights distribution for keeping teams
informed and aligned.
Note-taking capabilities
tl;dv (12) Fathom (8)

AI Notes 🟢 🟢

Manual notes during calls 🟢 needs app 🟢 needs app

Tag people in notes 🟢 🔴

Assign tasks 🔴 🟢 in Premium plan

AI Tags / Bookmarks 🟢 🟢

Comments 🟢 🔴

tl;dv call out feature

 Ask tl;dv feature

AI Notes

One of tl;dv’s trump cards is that it lets their users personalise the type of
notes they get after each meeting. You can create “AI tags” and detail
every topic you want AI to segment your meeting by.

Fathom, on the other hand, has a few templates to start with once you’re
in their Premium plan, however, these are not customisable nor you can
create your own.

Tag People in Notes

tl;dv allows users to tag people in notes, a feature that enhances

collaboration by linking discussion points directly to team members. This
capability facilitates follow-up and accountability within teams.
Fathom does not offer the ability to tag people in notes, potentially limiting
the ease with which users can organize and reference specific comments
or actions related to team members.

Assign Tasks

Fathom introduces the ability to assign tasks within its platform, but this
feature is exclusive to users on the Premium plan. It allows for direct
action items to be created from meeting content, streamlining workflow
and ensuring that insights lead to actionable outcomes.

In contrast, at the moment tl;dv does not currently offer a task assignment
feature, highlighting a distinction in how each platform facilitates post-
meeting action and accountability.

Comments

The ability to add comments on notes or transcripts is available on tl;dv,

further enhancing its collaborative features by allowing team members to
discuss and clarify meeting outcomes within the platform. Fathom does
not support comments, which may affect the platform’s utility for teams
that rely on collaborative review and discussion of meeting content for
consensus-building or clarification.

Security capabilities
tl;dv (19) Fathom (8)

🟠 6 months on FREE
Data retention 🔴 not disclosed
plan Unlimited on all
 paid plans

🔴 (certification
SOC2 Compliant 🟢
underway)

SAML-based SSO 🟢 Only on Enterprise 🟢 Only on Team

GDPR Compliant 🟢 🟢

EU AI Act Compliant 🟢 🔴 not disclosed

🟢 (No, your data is 🟢 (No, your data is

Uses your data to train AI
kept private) kept private)

Private storage 🟢 Only on Enterprise 🔴 not disclosed

Anonymised sensitive data

🟢 🔴 not disclosed
sent to LLMs

Meeting data chunking and

🟢 🔴 not disclosed
randomizing

BAA with LLM providers 🟢 🔴 not disclosed

0-day data retention polity

🟢 🔴 not disclosed
with vendors

Data Retention

tl;dv provides a clear data retention policy, offering 6 months of data

retention for users on its Free plan and unlimited data retention for all paid
plans.

This transparency in data retention policies is crucial for organizations

managing sensitive information. In contrast, Fathom has not disclosed its
meeting data retention policies, which may raise concerns for users with
stringent data management requirements.

SOC2 Compliance

While tl;dv is in the process of becoming SOC2 compliant, indicating its

commitment to achieving high standards of security and data protection,
Fathom is already SOC2 compliant.

This certification reassures users of Fathom’s adherence to stringent

security practices and protocols, offering an extra layer of trust and
reliability.

SAML-based SSO

SAML-based Single Sign-On (SSO) is available on tl;dv for Enterprise

plan users, ensuring secure and streamlined access management for
large organizations.

Fathom offers SAML-based SSO for Team plan users, making advanced
security features more accessible to a broader range of its customer
base.

EU AI Act Compliance

EU-based with servers in Europe. tl;dv is compliant with the EU AI Act,

demonstrating its dedication to ethical AI practices and regulatory
adherence. The compliance status of Fathom with the EU AI Act is yet to
be disclosed, which may be a consideration for users operating within or
concerned with EU regulations.
Private Storage

Private storage, an essential feature for organizations prioritizing data

sovereignty and security, is available on tl;dv for Enterprise users.
Fathom’s stance on private storage has not been disclosed, potentially
impacting the decision-making process for users with specific storage
needs.

Anonymised Sensitive Data Sent to LLMs

tl;dv anonymizes sensitive data before sending it to large language

models (LLMs), a practice that enhances privacy and data protection.

The approach of Fathom towards the anonymization of sensitive data

sent to LLMs is not disclosed, leaving a gap in understanding its data
handling practices.

Meeting Data Chunking and Randomizing

tl;dv implements meeting data chunking and randomizing, reducing the

risk of reconstructing full conversations from the data processed by LLMs
and enhancing data security.

Fathom has not disclosed its practices regarding the chunking and
randomizing of meeting data, which could be a critical factor for
organizations focused on data privacy.

BAA with LLM Providers

tl;dv confirms having a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with LLM
providers, ensuring that data handling and processing are in compliance
with legal and regulatory standards.

Fathom’s status regarding BAAs with LLM providers is not disclosed,

which might influence the decision of users requiring documented
assurances of data protection and compliance.

0-day Data Retention Policy with Vendors

A 0-day data retention policy with vendors is maintained by tl;dv,

emphasizing its stance on minimizing data exposure and ensuring
immediate data deletion from third-party services.

The absence of disclosed information on Fathom’s data retention policy

with vendors could be a concern for users with strict data governance
policies.

Coaching capabilities
tl;dv (8) Fathom (0)

Playbooks Scorecards 🟢 🔴

Custom Playbooks 🟢 🔴

Template Playbooks 🟢 🔴

Objection Handling 🟢 🔴

tl;dv offers a comprehensive suite of coaching capabilities not available

on Fathom, including:
 ● Playbooks Scorecards: Allows for personalized performance
tracking and development. Generate a playbook scorecard against
any set of meetings.
● Custom Playbooks: Lets users create their own
playbooks/frameworks of proven meeting strategies, and then run
any meeting (or set of meetings) against it.
● Template Playbooks: Provides ready-made frameworks that teams
can adapt to their coaching strategies.
○ Product (Research Interview, User testing).
○ Project (Sprint planning, Stand-up meeting, Brainstorming,
Kick-off)
○ HR (Job Interview, Exit Interview, Entry Interview).
○ Customer Success (Retrospective meeting, Business
Review, Customer onboarding meetings, Customer check-in
meetings, Feedback call).
○ Sales (Demo call, MEDDIC, SPICED, BANT, Discovery call,
GPCT, CHAMP, ANUM, BEBEDC, SPIN).
○ Management (Performance Improvement Plan, 1:1 meeting,
Offboarding 1:1, Performance Review).
● Objection Handling: Equips Sales and CS teams with performance
scorecards on their objection-handling technique.

Admin Capabilities
tl;dv (8) Fathom (2)

Apply auto-record of all

meetings in the team 🟢 🔴
members’ calendar

Apply auto-share of
meetings recorded by team 🟢 🔴
members

Prevent Deletion 🟢 🔴

Admin rights over all 🟢 🟢

 recordings

tl;dv admin settings

Apply Auto-record of All Meetings in the

Team Members’ Calendar

tl;dv enables administrators to apply settings that automatically record all

meetings scheduled in team members’ calendars, ensuring
comprehensive capture of discussions and decisions without manual
intervention.

This feature facilitates complete documentation of team interactions,

crucial for accountability and knowledge sharing.
Fathom doesn’t give this power to admins, leaving it up to users to set it
up. This can be quite an issue for managers who want to ensure no
meetings are skipped from being recorded.

Apply Auto-share of Meetings Recorded by

Team Members

With tl;dv, administrators have the option to automatically share meetings

recorded by team members, streamlining the distribution of meeting
content and enhancing collaboration within the organization.

This automatic sharing ensures that relevant stakeholders have

immediate access to recordings, fostering transparency and efficiency.

Fathom does not offer an admin auto-share setting.

Prevent Deletion

tl;dv provides administrators with the capability to prevent the deletion of

meeting recordings, safeguarding against the accidental or intentional
removal of valuable meeting content.

This feature is crucial for maintaining a complete archive of team

interactions and decisions.

Fathom does not include an admin setting to prevent the deletion of

recordings, posing a risk to data retention and historical reference.
Organizational Capabilities
tl;dv (12) Fathom (9)

Team Workspaces 🟢 🟠

Meetings Library 🟢 🟢

Smart Filters 🟢 🔴

Global Search 🟢 🟢

Search within meetings 🟢 🟢

Folders 🟢 🟢

tl;dv meeting library

 Fathom's meeting library

Team Workspaces

tl;dv offers Team Workspaces across all its plans, enabling seamless
collaboration and content sharing within dedicated spaces for all users.
Fathom, however, restricts access to Team Workspaces to its Team plan,
potentially limiting the collaboration capabilities for users on other plans.

Smart Filters

Smart Filters are available in tl;dv, enhancing the user’s ability to

efficiently sort and access meetings based on specific criteria. This
functionality enhances the platform’s organizational capabilities, making it
easier for users to find relevant content quickly. Fathom does not offer
Smart Filters, which could impact the ease with which users organize and
retrieve meeting information.
Support Capabilities
tl;dv (4) Fathom (3)

Support in Free Plan 🟢 chat & email 🟠 email in Free plan

🟢 Only in Premium
Priority Support 🟢 in Pro plan
plan

Support in Free Plan

tl;dv provides comprehensive support for users on its Free plan through
both chat and email, ensuring that users have multiple channels to seek
assistance and resolve issues.

This approach facilitates prompt and accessible support for all users,
regardless of their subscription level.

Fathom, while offering support to its Free plan users, limits this service to
email only, potentially leading to longer response times compared to the
immediate assistance available via chat on tl;dv.

Priority Support

Priority support is available on tl;dv starting with the Pro plan, offering an
enhanced level of customer service to users on higher-tier subscriptions.

This ensures that paying users receive expedited assistance for their
queries and issues. Fathom also provides priority support but restricts this
premium service to users on its Premium plan.
This feature highlights both platforms’ commitment to delivering superior
support experiences to their most valuable users, albeit with different
access criteria.

Revenue Intelligence
Capabilities
tl;dv (0) Fathom (0)

Forecasting 🔴 🔴

Deal execution 🔴 🔴

Neither tl;dv and Fathom offer features related to Revenue Intelligence

such as Forecasting and Deal Execution.

This indicates that users looking for specialized tools to assist with sales
forecasting or deal execution processes would need to seek additional or
alternative solutions beyond what these platforms currently provide.

Cost however may become an issue as these tools are often priced in the
$1000’s/user.

If you are more concerned about improving sales skills, then tl;dv already
offers a pretty neat and innovative coaching solution.

Who is it for?
 tl;dv (6) Fathom (5)

G2 Rating 🔴 4.8 🟢5

🟢 Generous free plan 🟠 Easy, but confusing

Ease of set up
+ Clean UI pricing and plans.

Localised platform 🟢 (7 languages) 🔴

Best suited for whom 🟢 SMB Sales 🟢 SMB Sales

Both tl;dv and Fathom cater a similar audience, although tl;dv with it’s
coaching offering can provide extra value to Managers, more specifically
Sales Managers.

Fathom does seems to receive the favor of an audience purely looking for
a free meeting recorder.

Where tl;dv seems to be a winner is on the Ease of Setup. Both offer

good free plans and premium feature trials.

However, I felt Fathom’s set up to be a bit all over the place, with pricing
info scattered and a lack of a clean UI layout.

The fact that it’s localised to 7 languages also makes it a winner choice
for a non-English speaking audience.
Verdict: tl;dv vs
Fathom – which
one is the best?
tl;dv Fathom

Transcription 20 🟢 18

Recording 16 🟢 12

Conversational Intelligence 14 🟢 9

Automation & Integrations 9🟢 8

Note-taking 12 🟢 8

Security 19 🟢 8

Coaching 8🟢 0

Admin 8🟢 2

Organizational 12 🟢 9

Support 4🟢 2

Revenue Intelligence 0 0

Other 6🟢 5

Total 128 🟢 81
In this battle between tl;dv and Fathom, we’ve gone deep into the
specifics of what each platform offers, from transcription capabilities to
security measures and beyond.

The decision between tl;dv and Fathom ultimately hinges on the specific
needs of your team or organization.

This detailed analysis reveals tl;dv as the most versatile and inclusive
platform, being easy to set up and manage – suited for individual users
and teams.

tl;dv offers extensive language support, making it accessible to a global

audience too. However, what makes tl;dv shine, is its coaching, playbook,
and objection-handling features.

If you care about improving your and your team’s performance, this is the
must-have that defines the leader in this comparison.

On the other hand, Fathom muscle lies with its real-time transcription
capabilities, offering users the unique ability to share highlights during
calls. However, its language support is limited to 6 languages, and it lacks
features such as dialect support and customizable playbooks, which
might limit its appeal to users with multi-cultural usage.

As you consider tl;dv vs Fathom, reflect on your organizational needs, the

importance of performance improvement, team management, language
support, security considerations, and the value of real-time transcriptions
to guide your choice.

Whichever platform you choose, you’re taking a step towards harnessing

the power of AI for your meetings.