Where Both Fall Short
Neither Topmate nor Talkspresso is a full client management system. If you need proposal software, contract signing, invoicing, or a CRM, you will still need a separate tool (HoneyBook, Dubsado, or a lightweight CRM like HubSpot's free tier).
Topmate's marketplace is strong in tech and startup niches but has limited reach in wellness, creative, or general coaching audiences. If your audience is not tech-adjacent, marketplace discovery on Topmate may produce fewer organic bookings than expected.
Talkspresso's marketplace is newer and less developed than Topmate's. Experts who rely primarily on platform discovery rather than bringing their own audience may find fewer organic inbound bookings in the near term.
For a broader landscape of platforms in this space, the topmate alternatives for 2026 roundup covers additional options including Clarity.fm and Intro.co. The best platforms for paid 1:1 expert calls in 2026 covers the full competitive landscape with fee comparisons.
The Live-Video Third Option: Talkspresso in Detail
For experts evaluating Topmate who want to see the full feature set on the other side:
Automatic recording: Every session on Talkspresso records automatically without any action from the expert. Recordings are stored in the client's session history. Experts can share the recording link or use it to create a digital product. On Topmate, recording is not a standard feature.
AI session summaries: After each session, Talkspresso generates an AI summary of key discussion points and action items. For coaches and consultants who do a lot of sessions, this is significant time savings on notes.
Group sessions: Talkspresso supports workshops and group coaching sessions up to 500 attendees. This allows experts to run a group program, a monthly workshop series, or a masterclass from the same profile they use for 1:1 sessions. Topmate's webinar feature exists but check current capacity limits.
Digital products: Experts on Talkspresso can sell PDFs, templates, or recorded sessions alongside their live services. This adds a passive revenue stream without a separate storefront.
Client management: Talkspresso maintains a session history per client, including past intake responses and recordings. When a client rebooking three months later, the expert can review all previous sessions in one place.
Which Should You Pick?
Here is the decision framework by reader type:
You are in tech, career, startup, or finance niches and want marketplace discovery: Topmate's marketplace in those verticals is real and generates organic bookings for well-built profiles. The 15% fee may be worth paying for the discovery value, especially early on.
You bring your own audience (YouTube, Instagram, newsletter, LinkedIn): Talkspresso's lower fee and broader features make more sense when you are the primary source of client acquisition. You do not need marketplace discovery if you have an existing audience.
You run group sessions or workshops alongside 1:1 calls: Talkspresso handles both in one profile. Topmate's webinar feature is separate and may have different fee structures.
You want to sell digital products (templates, recorded sessions, guides): Talkspresso only. Topmate does not currently support digital product sales.
You are starting with zero audience and uncertain about niche: Both platforms are free to start. Try both for 30 days and see which generates more booking activity in your niche before committing to Pro on either.
For a look at how Topmate compares to Clarity.fm, another popular platform in the expert advisory space, see the clarity fm alternatives overview for 2026. The topmate alternative for coaches post covers the specific feature gaps that matter most for coaching practices.
For the context on how these platforms stack up against doing it yourself with Calendly, Zoom, and Stripe, see the Cameo vs Talkspresso comparison for background on the all-in-one versus stack-of-tools tradeoff.
Bottom Line
Pick Topmate if: You are in a tech or career niche, want platform discovery to help build your first client base, and do not need recording or digital products.
Pick Talkspresso if: You bring your own audience, want recording and AI summaries, plan to run group sessions or sell digital products, or want the lower 10% fee (or 0% on Pro).
Try both free first: Neither has a setup fee. Build a profile on both, share both links in different promotion channels for a month, and see which generates more bookings in your specific niche. Then pay for Pro on whichever is working.
Revenue Impact: Fee Difference at Scale
The fee difference between Topmate and Talkspresso is 5 percentage points (15% vs 10% on the free plan). That sounds small, but at scale it compounds significantly.
At 10 sessions per month at $150:
- Topmate: you keep roughly $1,228 per month after fees and processing
- Talkspresso (free): you keep roughly $1,303 per month
- Difference: $75 per month, or $900 per year
At 20 sessions per month at $150:
- Topmate: you keep roughly $2,456 per month
- Talkspresso (free): you keep roughly $2,606 per month
- Difference: $150 per month, or $1,800 per year
On Talkspresso Pro ($29.95 per month, 0% platform fee), the effective cost per session drops to just payment processing. At 20 sessions per month at $150, you keep approximately $2,907 per month, a difference of $451 per month or $5,412 per year compared to Topmate.
Those are real dollars that compound over time. The caveat, again, is that Topmate's marketplace may generate organic bookings that partially offset the fee difference. If Topmate drives two or three additional bookings per month that you would not have gotten otherwise, the fee math shifts. If you bring all your own clients, the fee difference is pure cost.
