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Software · head to head

ADP vs Fathom

ADP logo

ADP

Software

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fathom logo

Fathom

Software

Free AI meeting assistant

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Fathom has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ADP no pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken; Fathom team plan requires minimum 2 users; cannot purchase single seat at team pricing
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Fathom covers Auto-recording.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Fathom actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Fathom differ
AttributeADPFathom
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams
Founded19492020

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ADP

  • Payroll
  • Tax services
  • HR management
  • Time & attendance
  • Benefits administration
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Oracle

Only in Fathom

  • Auto-recording
  • AI summaries
  • Transcription
  • Highlight clips
  • Zoom
  • Google Meet
  • HubSpot
  • Salesforce

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ADP

  • Payroll processing and tax filingnot Fathom
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Fathom
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Fathom
  • Benefits administrationnot Fathom
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Fathom

Fathom

  • AI-powered meeting transcription and automatic note-taking for sales teams and professionalsnot ADP
  • Meeting analysis with AI scorecards and action item generation that syncs to CRMsnot ADP

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ADP

  • No pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken
  • Split into three separate products by company size, RUN for 1 to 49 employees, Workforce Now for 50 and above, and Lyric HCM for enterprise, so growing across a threshold means changing product rather than plan

Fathom

  • Team plan requires minimum 2 users; cannot purchase single seat at team pricing
  • CRM field sync and deal view summaries available only on Business plan ($34/user/month) and above

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

$29/month
  • Essential$79/month
    • Payroll
    • Tax filing
    • Direct deposit
  • Enhanced$139/month
    • HR tools
    • Background checks
    • Job posting

Fathom

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Fathom review.

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

  • You need payroll.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tax services.
ADP review

Choose Fathom if

  • You need auto-recording.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.
  • You also want ai summaries.
Fathom review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Fathom better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Fathom at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Fathom?
Fathom has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for ADP and Free for Fathom.
Does ADP or Fathom run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Fathom runs on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.
Can I use Fathom for free?
Yes. Fathom has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ADP starts at $29/month.
What is ADP best used for?
ADP is most often used for payroll processing and tax filing, hr administration and employee records, time and attendance tracking, benefits administration. Of those, payroll processing and tax filing and hr administration and employee records are not what Fathom is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Fathom cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Fathom covers Auto-recording, AI summaries, Transcription, Highlight clips. Both handle Web support.
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