MeetKeep
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MeetKeep vs Fathom

Credit first: Fathom has the most generous free tier here — unlimited recording and transcription, with bot-free capture available even on the free plan (beta, Mac only). The difference from MeetKeep is not price. It is where the audio goes. Fathom transcribes in the cloud and trains on de-identified data unless you opt out. MeetKeep does everything on your Mac, and adds Chinese transcription and voiceprints.

Facts verified on 2026-08-28

Audio never leaves your MacFree or paid, Fathom sends audio to the cloud, and its policy says de-identified data trains its own models by default (you can opt out in settings). MeetKeep transcribes on-device: there is nothing to upload.
Chinese transcription and voiceprintsMeetKeep transcribes Chinese, English and 25 European languages on-device, and recognises people by voiceprint across meetings. Chinese is absent from Fathom’s 38 supported languages, and cross-meeting voiceprints appear nowhere in its docs.
Works with no networkOn a plane, inside a client’s locked-down office, in a room with no Wi-Fi: MeetKeep still records and transcribes. Fathom’s transcription runs on its servers — there is no on-device path.
01

Head to head

FeatureMeetKeepFathom
Local meeting notetaker for MacCloud notetaker with a free tier
Privacy & data
No bot joins the call
YesCaptures system audio, never joins
PartialBot-free option on free tier (beta, Mac only)
Where audio is transcribed
On-device (never uploaded)
Cloud
Works offline
Yes
No
Audio/transcripts used for training?
NoData never leaves your Mac
PartialDe-identified training; opt-out
Pricing
Pricing model
$59 one-time
Free tier + Premium $16/mo annual
First-year cost (individual paid tier)
$59
$0, or $192 for Premium
Every year after
$0 — free updates forever
$0, or $192 again
Free tier
7-day full trial
Unlimited recording & transcription
Transcription & notes
Speaker separation
Yes
YesKept in bot-free mode; not per-person in one room
Voiceprint recognition across meetings
YesLocal voiceprints; any platform, and in person
Not verified
Notes traceable back to the audio
Yes
Not verified
Transcription languages
Chinese, English + 25 European languages
Not verified
Platform
Native Mac app
YesApple Silicon, macOS 15+
Yes
Mobile app
No
NoiOS still “coming soon” (waitlist) on its site; no Android
Bring your own AI key (BYOK)
YesAny provider; only text is sent
No
Individuals can buy directly
Yes
Yes

Prices and features belong to their vendors, all checked against their own sites on the date shown at the top. Spot something stale? Tell us.

02

Which one is for you

Choose MeetKeep if…
Your meetings cannot go to the cloud: client calls, comp reviews, legal discussions.
You need Chinese transcription, or you meet on Tencent Meeting, Lark or DingTalk.
You need people in the same room told apart, not merged into one speaker.
You often meet where there is no network.
Try MeetKeep free for 7 days
Fathom is the better fit if…
You want a permanently free plan with unlimited recording and transcription. Fathom is the most generous here.
You want the bot: a notetaker that attends the calls you cannot make.
Your team is on Windows, or needs shared cloud recordings.
Where they win, we say so. An all-green table is worth nothing.
03

What three years cost

MeetKeep$59
One purchase. Updates free forever.
Fathom$0 or $576
Free tier is $0; Premium is $192/year × 3 = $576.

The bar shows Premium. Fathom’s free tier really can cost nothing indefinitely, and it wins that one.

04

Common questions

Fathom offers bot-free capture for free — why pay $59?

If free and bot-free are all you need, Fathom covers it — we are not going to argue otherwise. The $59 buys three other things: audio that never leaves your Mac (Fathom still uploads, and trains on de-identified data by default), on-device Chinese plus 25 European languages, and voiceprint recognition across meetings.

Can it tell apart people sharing one room?

Yes. MeetKeep separates speakers acoustically and can map them to real people by voiceprint. Fathom’s known limitation is that several people in one physical room are not distinguished — they are attributed to the Fathom user.

Is the $59 really the whole price?

$59 once, two Macs, free updates forever, a 7-day trial and a 14-day refund. AI notes use your own API key — only text is sent to the provider you choose, never audio.

Your next meeting, just show up

7-day full-featured trial. No credit card, no subscription.

Download for MacSee all 12 tools comparedSwitching from Fathom? Read the guide
macOS 15+ · Apple Silicon · $59 once