Is Fastly or Fathom better?

Neither clearly leads. Fastly 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, Fastly or Fathom?

Fastly starts at Free and Fathom at Free.

Does Fastly or Fathom run on more platforms?

Fastly runs on Web, Api. Fathom runs on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.

Can I use Fastly for free?

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

What is Fastly best used for?

Fastly is most often used for serving static and dynamic content through a global cdn, running edge logic and caching in front of an origin application. Of those, serving static and dynamic content through a global cdn and running edge logic and caching in front of an origin application are not what Fathom is typically brought in for.

What can Fastly do that Fathom cannot?

Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics. Fathom covers Auto-recording, AI summaries, Transcription, Highlight clips. Both handle Web support.

Cloud · head to head

Fastly vs Fathom

Fastly

Cloud

High performance edge computing platform

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Fathom

Free AI meeting assistant

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Fastly bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe; Fathom team plan requires minimum 2 users; cannot purchase single seat at team pricing
They diverge on capability: Fastly covers Edge Compute, Fathom covers Auto-recording.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fastly and Fathom actually diverge.

Attributes where Fastly and Fathom differ
Attribute	Fastly	Fathom
Pricing model	usage-based	Unknown
Platforms	Web, Api	Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams
Category	Cloud	AI
Founded	2011	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 Fastly

Edge Compute
CDN
DDoS Protection
Real-time Analytics
Image Optimization
Video Streaming
API
Instant Purge

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.

Fastly

Serving static and dynamic content through a global CDNnot Fathom
Running edge logic and caching in front of an origin applicationnot Fathom

Fathom

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

Where each one falls short

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

Fastly

Bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe
The same traffic therefore costs more than twice as much depending on where the audience is, which is invisible until the bill arrives
The free allowance is 100 GB of bandwidth and 1M requests a month
Requests are billed separately from bandwidth, at $0.01 per 10,000 above the first million
High volume rates past 50 TB are not published and require contacting sales

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

Fastly

Free

Free TrialFree
- CDN
- DDoS protection
- Real-time analytics
Pay-As-You-GoFree
- Usage-based pricing
- Advanced features
- Priority support

Fathom

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Fathom review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Fastly if

You need edge compute.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Api.
You also want cdn.

Fastly 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 Fastly or Fathom better?: Neither clearly leads. Fastly 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, Fastly or Fathom?: Fastly starts at Free and Fathom at Free.
Does Fastly or Fathom run on more platforms?: Fastly runs on Web, Api. Fathom runs on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.
Can I use Fastly for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Fastly best used for?: Fastly is most often used for serving static and dynamic content through a global cdn, running edge logic and caching in front of an origin application. Of those, serving static and dynamic content through a global cdn and running edge logic and caching in front of an origin application are not what Fathom is typically brought in for.
What can Fastly do that Fathom cannot?: Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics. Fathom covers Auto-recording, AI summaries, Transcription, Highlight clips. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fastly: Does Fastly charge based on usage or a flat monthly fee?

Fastly operates on a usage-based model with volume discounts. They offer a free tier with 100 GB bandwidth and 1M requests for experimentation, then customers pay per unit consumed with tiered discounts as consumption increases.

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

Fastly: What are Fastly's main service packages and their costs?

Fastly offers Network Services Packages ($1,500-$6,000/month baseline), Security Packages (custom pricing), Compute Packages ($500/month entry level), and Observability Packages ($1,500/month entry level). Enterprise solutions include custom quotes for high-volume deployments.

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

Fastly: Can I start using Fastly for free?

Yes, Fastly offers a free tier with generous allowances for experimentation including 100 GB bandwidth and 1M requests. You can start building free and only pay when you use additional resources.

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

Fastly: Are there surprise overage charges with Fastly?

Fastly advertises predictable pricing with no surprise overages. The pricing structure is designed to be transparent as consumption grows.

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

Fastly vs Fathom

Fastly

Fathom

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Fastly

Only in Fathom

Both cover

What people use each for

Fastly

Fathom

Where each one falls short

Fastly

Fathom

Pricing, plan by plan

Fastly

Fathom

Which should you pick?

Choose Fastly if

Choose Fathom if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Fastly

More on Fathom

Keep looking

Other head to heads