Earkeep
The Fathom alternative that captures more than calls
Last updated: · Reviewed quarterly
Fathom is a good bot: it joins your Zoom, Teams or Meet call and hands you a summary minutes later. Earkeep captures everything else too, with no bot, no upload and no subscription.
14-day full trial, no account required.
- Captures in-person meetings, not just video calls
- No bot joins as a participant
- €39 once, not $15-20 per seat each month
The honest answer
For scheduled video calls, with a bot and cloud audio, Fathom is stronger today: 4.9 stars on G2 and a free tier with unlimited recordings. Earkeep is for the meetings that never reach a bot, transcribed locally.
Why people look for a Fathom alternative
Everything you hear, not just the scheduled calls
Fathom exists only inside a Zoom, Teams or Meet call, as a named participant, and reviewers say joining visibly "can feel awkward". Nothing records until it joins.
Earkeep joins nothing. It records continuously, and you or your calendar mark the meeting afterwards: in person, ad hoc, or on any platform.
Transcribed on your device, never uploaded
Fathom is cloud-only, with no offline mode. As one Reddit user put it, "your confidential call… is now on Fathom servers." Earkeep transcribes in memory on your device, accelerated on Apple Silicon, with no account and no upload.
A record in plain files, that your agents can read
Fathom's record lives in Fathom, and its roadmap is cloud CRM sync for sales teams, with no local API or MCP server. Earkeep writes one plain file per day that you own. Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI or any ACP agent runs against it in the app, and a built-in MCP server lets Claude Desktop or Cursor read it.
Side by side
| Capability | Earkeep | Fathom |
|---|---|---|
| Always-on capture | Continuous, no start/stop | Invited, or joins a scheduled call |
| Bot-free | No participant joins | "Fathom Notetaker" joins as a bot |
| Records a meeting you can't attend | Only what your device hears | The bot goes without you |
| Audio processed on your device | Transcribed on-device, never uploaded | Fully cloud-processed |
| Captures in-person meetings | Any audio on the device | Only inside Zoom, Teams or Meet |
| Retroactive spans | Mark the meeting after it happened | One recording per scheduled meeting |
| AI summary when it ends | Via an agent you connect | Structured, with action items |
| Your own agents can read it | ACP agents plus an MCP server | No local API or MCP server |
| Share with people who weren't there | Via your agent, where your team reads | AI-detected highlight clips, comments, @mentions |
| Mobile app | Desktop only | iOS |
| Free tier that doesn't expire | 14 days free, then €39 once | Its most-praised feature in reviews |
| Pricing | €39 once, one device | Free tier, then $15-20/user/month |
| Platform | macOS 13+, Windows 10+ | Web, Mac, Windows; iOS for viewing past recordings |
Built inNo, but an agent you connect canPartlyNot available
What each one costs by year five
Switching takes an afternoon
- Install it, then forget about it for a day. It captures from the start. There is no import: your Fathom recordings stay in Fathom.
- Mark yesterday, or connect a calendar. Drag a span across the timeline, or connect Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook or any ICS URL.
- Stop paying for seats once you trust it. The 14-day trial needs no account or card. Fathom's free tier stays free for any calls that still want the bot.
Which one fits you
Choose Earkeep if
Your meetings don't all happen inside a video call, and the record should stay yours.
- Much of what matters is said in person or in unscheduled syncs
- The audio must not leave the device
- You want to decide afterwards which stretch was the meeting
- Your own agents should read your meeting history
- You'd rather pay €39 once than per seat forever
Choose Fathom if
Fathom is well-liked for real reasons, and several of them are things Earkeep does not attempt.
- Your meetings are all Zoom, Teams or Meet, and you want AI summaries with zero setup
- You need deep HubSpot or Salesforce sync and deal intelligence
- You want a shared team workspace with comments, mentions and clip playlists
- You want an iOS app and a free tier you can stay on indefinitely
Earkeep suits product managers, product owners and engineering leads whose meetings happen everywhere and who want them to feed their own agents.
Other tools people weigh this against
Frequently asked questions
Is Earkeep a good Fathom alternative?
Yes, for what Fathom's bot can't reach: in-person talks, unscheduled syncs and other platforms, with audio kept on the device. It won't write the summary itself, sync a CRM or attend a meeting for you.
Does Earkeep have a free tier like Fathom's?
No. Earkeep has a 14-day full trial with no account, then €39 once for that device, with a 14-day money-back guarantee and all 1.x updates.
Fathom's free tier is generous. Action items, CRM sync and custom templates need Premium at $16/user/month ($15 annually); Team is $15/user/month, annual only; Business is $20/user/month.
Does Fathom's bot see everything Earkeep sees?
No. Fathom hears only the Zoom, Teams or Google Meet call it has joined. Earkeep captures mic and system audio continuously, whatever the platform.
Is my audio ever uploaded with Earkeep, the way it is with Fathom?
No. Earkeep transcribes in memory with Whisper or Parakeet models; audio is never written to disk or sent to any server.
Does Earkeep support the same languages as Fathom?
Earkeep transcribes with Whisper (99+ languages) or Parakeet-TDT v3 (25 European languages). See languages and models.
Can I use Earkeep alongside Fathom?
Yes. Some keep Fathom for CRM-synced sales calls and Earkeep for everything else.
Try it on your own meetings
14-day full trial, no account required.