tl;dv does a lot well but at $29/month, you're paying for sales coaching and multi-meeting intelligence you may never use. Add a visible bot in every call and no HIPAA compliance, and the cracks start to show for a lot of teams. (We covered this in detail in our tl;dv review.)
So, if you're in the market for a tl;dv alternative, I have compiled the best options in this article.
Top tl;dv Competitors for Specific Use Cases
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Bot-free? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Char | Data ownership, privacy, offline use | Free (local + BYOK). Cloud: $8/mo | Yes |
| Fathom | Free unlimited recording, small teams | Free. Premium: $19/mo | No |
| Grain | Video clips and customer highlights | Free (5 recordings). Starter: $15/mo | No |
| Fireflies | Conversation analytics at a lower price | Free (limited). Pro: $18/mo | No |
| Tactiq | Bot-free recording via Chrome | Free (10 meetings/mo). Pro: $12/mo | Yes |
| MeetGeek | Smart meeting categorization and workflows | Free (3 hours/mo). Pro: $19/mo | No |
| Supernormal | AI agents for agencies | Free. Pro: $10/mo | Yes |
7 Best tl;dv Alternatives: Detailed Reviews
1. Char
Char is an open-source AI notepad for meetings that stores everything as plain markdown files on your device. No proprietary database, no cloud dependency.
It looks like Apple Notes with AI superpowers, capturing audio from any meeting platform without joining as a bot.
How it compares to tl;dv
tl;dv sends your audio to their servers, then to Anthropic for processing. You get video clips and sales coaching in return.
Char skips the video entirely and gives you text-based meeting intelligence with complete data ownership.
tl;dv Pro is $29/month. Char is free for local transcription and BYOK, or $8/month for managed cloud. If you left tl;dv over pricing or privacy, the gap here is wide.
Top Features
- Plain markdown files stored locally that work with any tool (Obsidian, Notion, VS Code)
- Your choice of AI stack: managed cloud, bring your own keys, or run local models
- Open source with full transparency into the codebase
- Customizable templates for different meeting types (therapy, legal, interviews)
- AI Chat with source quotes from the exact transcript line
- Calendar integration with notification system
- Conversational search across all meeting history
- Works offline and with in-person meetings
Pros
- Zero vendor lock-in. You can switch AI providers anytime, export your files anywhere
- No meeting bots to disrupt conversations
- Free forever for local transcription, BYOK, and all core features
- Works with any meeting platform or in-person discussions
Cons
- Currently macOS only (Windows coming soon)
- No video recording by design for maximum privacy
- No direct CRM sync
Pricing
Free forever for local transcription, BYOK, and all core features. Managed cloud is $8/month.
2. Fathom
Fathom is built for sales and customer-facing teams who need meeting notes to automatically flow into their CRM without any manual input.
How it compares to tl;dv
The overlap with tl;dv is real: both record video, both let you clip and share moments, both generate AI summaries. Where they diverge is depth. tl;dv built toward multi-meeting intelligence, coaching playbooks, and trend tracking across calls. Fathom went deeper on CRM automation and sales workflow.
If you used tl;dv mainly for clipping moments and sharing them with your team, Fathom is a fair switch. If you relied on the cross-meeting analytics or sales coaching features, Fathom doesn't cover that.
Top Features
- Unlimited free recording and transcription with no lifetime limits
- "Ask Fathom" AI assistant for querying past meetings
- CRM sync with Salesforce and HubSpot
- Video highlights for sharing moments from calls
- Instant post-meeting processing
Pros
- Free plan that resets monthly instead of running out
- CRM integrations work smoothly and save manual data entry
- Handles multiple speakers and accents reasonably well
- Fast setup with calendar integration
Cons
- Bot joins meetings visibly, same as tl;dv
- Team features require paid plans
- Works best on Zoom; other platforms feel secondary
- Trains AI on your meetings unless you opt out manually
- No offline capability
Pricing
Free unlimited recording. Premium at $20/month to unlock advanced summaries and AI search. CRM sync available on $29 Business plan.
Also check: Fathom AI alternatives
3. Grain
If you're leaving tl;dv but actually used the video clip features, Grain does that part better and cheaper. It's built around the same idea—record meetings, create shareable video highlights—but starts at $15/month instead of $29.
How it compares to tl;dv
Grain's clip creation and highlight reels are more polished than tl;dv's. The interface for browsing and sharing moments is cleaner. What you lose is tl;dv's multi-meeting analytics and sales coaching. If you used those, Grain isn't the right move. If you mostly made clips and shared them with your team, it is.
Top Features
- Video highlight reels from meeting moments
- Shareable clips with one click
- CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot)
- Team library for organizing recordings
- Smart chapters for navigation
- 25 language transcription
Pros
- Best-in-class video clip creation and sharing
- Clean interface for browsing meeting moments
- Good CRM integrations for sales teams
- Affordable compared to tl;dv for similar video features
Cons
- Bot records meetings, same visibility issue
- Only 5 free recordings (more limited than tl;dv's free tier)
- Video-centric design is overkill if you just want text notes
- No offline or local processing
Pricing
Free with 5 recordings. Starter at $19/month. Business at $39/month.
4. Fireflies
Fireflies.ai is a conversation intelligence platform that matches most of what tl;dv does at $18/month instead of $29. Speaker analytics, sentiment analysis, topic tracking, keyword monitoring across calls.
How it compares to tl;dv
The conversation intelligence that tl;dv locks behind Pro and Business tiers, Fireflies includes at a lower price point. Where Fireflies falls short: no video clip creation, and the sales coaching playbooks aren't as developed. Where it wins: 69 languages (tl;dv has 30), unlimited free transcription, and a larger integration ecosystem.
Top Features
- AskFred AI assistant for querying across meetings
- Speaker analytics, sentiment analysis, topic tracking
- 69 languages with auto-detection
- Unlimited free transcription (tl;dv caps AI summaries at 10)
- Collections for grouping related meetings
Pros
- Broader language support than almost any competitor
- Strong conversation analytics at a lower price
- AskFred works well for searching across months of calls
- Large integration ecosystem
Cons
- Bot records meetings visibly
- Some users report confusing billing and trial cancellation
- Accuracy drops outside English despite claiming 69 languages
- AI credits add hidden cost on top of subscription
Pricing
Free unlimited transcription with limited storage. Pro at $18/month. Business at $29/month.
Also check: Fireflies AI alternatives
5. Tactiq
Tactiq runs as a Chrome extension. No bot joins your call. No one in the meeting knows you're transcribing unless you tell them. If the bot was your main problem with tl;dv, this solves it directly.
How it compares to tl;dv
Unlike tl;dv's bot-based approach, Tactiq works invisibly in your browser and shows the transcript live during the meeting. tl;dv doesn't offer that real-time view. The trade-off: Chrome only, no video recording, and limited to three meeting platforms.
Top Features
- Live transcription visible during calls
- 60 languages with auto-detection
- Custom AI workflows and reusable prompts
- Integrations with Slack, HubSpot, Jira, Linear
- No audio storage (privacy-friendly)
Pros
- No meeting bot disruption
- See transcripts while the meeting is happening
- Fast setup—works immediately after installing the extension
- Custom prompts for specific meeting outputs
Cons
- Chrome only. No Firefox, Safari, Arc, or desktop app.
- No video recording or clips
- Accuracy issues with accents
- Can't record in-person meetings
Pricing
Free with 10 meetings/month and 5 AI credits. Pro at $12/month.
6. MeetGeek
MeetGeek auto-detects whether you're in a sales call, team standup, or client review, then applies the right template and workflow.
How it compares to tl;dv
MeetGeek has analytics, but it's more about meeting health than revenue coaching. If you used tl;dv primarily for its cross-meeting AI reports or sales coaching, MeetGeek isn't a straight swap.
If you used it for solid transcription, summaries, and workflow integrations across a broader team, MeetGeek is a strong and cheaper alternative. MeetGeek also offers HIPAA compliance, which tl;dv doesn't.
Top Features
- Automatic meeting type detection with context-aware summaries
- Conversation analytics and engagement metrics
- Workflow automation to Slack, Notion, CRM
- 50 languages
- HIPAA compliance available
- Meeting KPI tracking
Pros
- Automatic categorization saves setup time
- HIPAA compliance for healthcare and legal teams
- Good multilingual support for international teams
- Strong analytics and coaching insights
Cons
- Bot records meetings visibly
- Free plan is only 3 hours/month (about 3-4 meetings)
- Auto-categorization isn't always right
- No offline or local processing
Pricing
Free with 3 hours/month. Pro at $19/month. Business at $29/month.
7. Supernormal
Supernormal is AI for agencies. It pulls context from your meetings, emails, and docs to complete actual client work, such as creating slide decks, project briefs, research reports, follow-up emails, and mood boards.
How it compares to tl;dv
Supernormal starts from meeting capture and goes further into actually completing the work that comes out of those meetings.
If you used tl;dv mainly as a notetaker with CRM sync or sales coaching, Supernormal isn't the right swap. But if you left tl;dv wishing it would just do the post-meeting work for you, especially in an agency context where every client call produces deliverables, Supernormal is worth a serious look.
Top Features
- Bot-free capture via desktop app
- AI agents that produce deliverables: decks, briefs, emails, spreadsheets
- Context memory across meetings, emails, and docs
- Real-time AI chat during live meetings
- Group meetings into projects for shared context
- Integrations with Slack, Gmail, HubSpot, Salesforce, Notion, and more
Pros
- Cheapest paid option on this list
- Pre-meeting context is a unique time-saver
- Covers daily meeting needs without extra complexity
- Clean, simple interface
Cons
- Limited language support
- Bot joins meetings by default
- No multi-meeting analytics or coaching features
- Transcript accuracy varies
- Smaller ecosystem than established competitors
Pricing
Free plan available. Pro at $10/month.
Our top recommendation
Char is worth trying if you value both functionality and control.
You get AI-powered features without giving up ownership of your data. You get enterprise-grade functionality without vendor lock-in. You get ease of use without sacrificing flexibility.
You can try the tool out for free. If it's not for you, you can walk away and your notes stay yours.
