Is Checkly or Fathom better?

Neither clearly leads. Checkly starts at Free and Fathom at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Checkly or Fathom?

Checkly starts at Free and Fathom at Free.

Does Checkly or Fathom run on more platforms?

Checkly runs on Web, CLI, API. Fathom runs on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.

Can I use Checkly for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Checkly best used for?

Checkly is most often used for monitor api endpoints with custom assertions, test user journeys with browser automation, detect performance degradation across regions, verify dns and tcp connectivity. Of those, monitor api endpoints with custom assertions and test user journeys with browser automation are not what Fathom is typically brought in for.

What can Checkly do that Fathom cannot?

Checkly covers Uptime monitoring, Synthetic browser testing, API monitoring, Heartbeat monitoring. Fathom covers Auto-recording, AI summaries, Transcription, Highlight clips.

Logging · head to head

Checkly vs Fathom

Checkly

Logging

Active reliability platform combining uptime monitoring, API testing, and incident response

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Fathom

Free AI meeting assistant

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Checkly free tier has limited check allocations per month; Fathom team plan requires minimum 2 users; cannot purchase single seat at team pricing
They diverge on capability: Checkly covers Uptime monitoring, Fathom covers Auto-recording.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Checkly and Fathom actually diverge.

Attributes where Checkly and Fathom differ
Attribute	Checkly	Fathom
Pricing model	subscription	Unknown
Platforms	Web, CLI, API	Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams
Category	Logging	AI
Founded	Unknown	2020

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Checkly

Uptime monitoring
Synthetic browser testing
API monitoring
Heartbeat monitoring
Monitoring-as-Code
Status pages
Root cause analysis
Global locations

Only in Fathom

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

What people use each for

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

Checkly

Monitor API endpoints with custom assertionsnot Fathom
Test user journeys with browser automationnot Fathom
Detect performance degradation across regionsnot Fathom
Verify DNS and TCP connectivitynot Fathom
Ensure cron jobs and background tasks completenot Fathom

Fathom

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

Where each one falls short

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

Checkly

Free tier has limited check allocations per month
Overage charges can add up with high-volume workloads
Status pages require separate paid tier
Root cause analysis is separate billing component

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

Checkly

Free

HobbyFree
- 10 uptime monitors
- 1,000 browser checks monthly
- 10,000 API checks monthly
Team$64/month
- 75 uptime monitors
- 12,000 browser checks monthly
- 100,000 API checks monthly
Enterprise$undefined/custom
- Custom monitor quantities
- All 22 global locations
- 1-second check frequency

Fathom

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Fathom review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Checkly if

You need uptime monitoring.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, CLI, API.
You also want synthetic browser testing.

Checkly 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 Checkly or Fathom better?: Neither clearly leads. Checkly starts at Free and Fathom at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Checkly or Fathom?: Checkly starts at Free and Fathom at Free.
Does Checkly or Fathom run on more platforms?: Checkly runs on Web, CLI, API. Fathom runs on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.
Can I use Checkly for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Checkly best used for?: Checkly is most often used for monitor api endpoints with custom assertions, test user journeys with browser automation, detect performance degradation across regions, verify dns and tcp connectivity. Of those, monitor api endpoints with custom assertions and test user journeys with browser automation are not what Fathom is typically brought in for.
What can Checkly do that Fathom cannot?: Checkly covers Uptime monitoring, Synthetic browser testing, API monitoring, Heartbeat monitoring. Fathom covers Auto-recording, AI summaries, Transcription, Highlight clips.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Checkly: What is included in the free Checkly plan?

The free Hobby plan includes 10 uptime monitors, 1,000 monthly browser checks, 10,000 monthly API checks, 6 monitoring locations, and 2-minute minimum check frequency with email, Slack, and webhook alerts.

Source

Fathom: What is the most affordable paid plan for individuals, and what does it include?

Fathom Premium costs $20 per month (or $16 per month billed annually). It includes advanced summaries, action items, and a conversational AI assistant, in addition to the features in the free plan.

Source

Checkly: Can I write monitoring checks in my preferred language?

Yes, Checkly uses TypeScript/JavaScript for monitoring-as-code, integrated with Playwright for browser testing and supporting REST API testing.

Source

Fathom: What is included in Fathom's free plan?

The free plan includes unlimited recordings, transcriptions, AI summaries, clips, and playlists at no cost forever.

Source

Checkly: How much does status page add to my bill?

Status pages cost between $0-$30/month depending on your plan tier, billed separately from core monitoring.

Source

Fathom: How much does the Team plan cost per user, and what features does it add?

The Team plan costs $19 per month per user (minimum 2 users, or $15 per month annually). It includes everything from Premium plus global search, collaboration features, and team playlists.

Source

Checkly: What is the minimum check frequency?

The Hobby and Starter plans support 2-minute and 1-minute minimums respectively. The Team plan supports 30-second intervals, while Enterprise offers 1-second minimum frequency.

Source

Fathom: What trial or guarantee is available before committing to a paid plan?

All paid plans offer a 90-day guarantee to test features risk-free.

Source

Fathom: Does Fathom offer free or discounted plans for startups or nonprofits?

Yes, qualified portfolio companies get up to 2 years free, and nonprofits can apply for 10 free seats.

Source

Checkly vs Fathom

Checkly

Fathom

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Checkly

Only in Fathom

What people use each for

Checkly

Fathom

Where each one falls short

Checkly

Fathom

Pricing, plan by plan

Checkly

Fathom

Which should you pick?

Choose Checkly if

Choose Fathom if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Checkly

More on Fathom

Keep looking

Other head to heads