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Dolby Media Meter 2, the only one they sell these days, is compliant with BS.1770-1, That is much different than leqA, which it also does. Many people use DMM2 now and trust it but I agree with Tom that I would not purchase it unless/until Dolby updates it to include the option of gated measurement. Since gated measurements do not seem to be on spec sheets yet, this is not an immediate concern but will probably become one on some sheets.
DMM2 and Vmeters are fully compliant with ATSC recommendations, which are based on BS.1770 measurements. BTW, ATSC updated their recommendations last month, June 2011, partially because America's CALM Act cites ATSC documents as the law's guidelines. Gating is only mentioned by ATSC as an optional process. It is acknowledged but not included in their recommended practices.
What is "ATSC loudness mode"? Is that a preset on VisLM? "EBU Mode" is well defined as instantaneous, short term, and integrated (program or segment length) simultaneous measurements. Gating is only used for the integrated measurement, the longest, and all three are based on BS.1770-2, which is practically the same as BS.1770-1 with terminology updates and definition of a gating function (when used). BS.1770-1 or BS.1770-2 is the foundation used by most if not all current loudness meters.
DK Meters, Nugen, TC Electronic, Pyramix, Media Valid, are some manufacturers who offer loudness meters with "EBU Mode" compliance.
To go back to the original question, you can save some money if you know exactly what a cheaper meter is NOT telling you but at this moment in history, loudness specs are a moving target and regular meter software updates are important. I'd write to Vmeters and ask when/if they are going to update for EBU Mode. I feel sure they will. Vmeters can do everything now except gating.