Compare/Alternatives

tl;dv alternatives

3 tools our write-ups put next to tl;dv, with starting price, free tier, MCP and API side by side.

tl;dv from $18/seat/moFree tierAPI

Closest alternatives

The short answer

Fireflies : Transcription in 100+ languages and cheaper Pro seats at $10/seat/mo billed annually. From $10/seat/mo
Grain : Free viewer seats for everyone and bot free AI notes, if most of your team only reads the notes. From $15/seat/mo
HireScribe : Local interview notes with no bot in the call and nothing leaving the laptop, if candidate privacy is the concern. From $79

Why people look past tl;dv

The free plan writes AI notes for only 10 meetings and keeps data up to 3 months. There is no ATS writeback, and cross-meeting AI insights need Business.

What we noted

AI notes limited to 10 meetings on Free
3 month data retention on Free
No ATS writeback

Not the right fit for

Teams that need notes filed in an ATS
Free plan users who want to keep recordings past 3 months

Worth keeping in mind: tl;dv never caps recordings or transcription, even on Free, and it is hosted and stored in the EU with GDPR and SOC 2 compliance.

tl;dv alternatives compared

Tool	Free tier	From	MCP	API	Head to head
tl;dv (the one you are on)	✓Yes	$18/seat/mo	–No	✓Yes
Fireflies Transcription in 100+ languages and cheaper Pro seats at $10/seat/mo billed annually.	✓Yes	$10/seat/mo	–No	✓Yes	Head to head
Grain Free viewer seats for everyone and bot free AI notes, if most of your team only reads the notes.	✓Yes	$15/seat/mo	–No	–No	Head to head
HireScribe Local interview notes with no bot in the call and nothing leaving the laptop, if candidate privacy is the concern.	✓Yes	$79	–No	–No	Head to head

What each one does differently

Fireflies

$10/seat/mo Free tier API

Why it comes up: Transcription in 100+ languages and cheaper Pro seats at $10/seat/mo billed annually.

Stands out: Fireflies transcribes in more than 100 languages and includes API access even on the free plan, which suits multilingual desks and teams that want to pipe transcripts elsewhere.

Watch out: The free plan limits AI summaries and stores only 400 minutes per team. There is no ATS writeback, and conversation intelligence and multi-language mode sit on Business.

Best for

Recruiters who interview in more than one language
Teams that want transcripts pushed to other tools through the API
Agencies that also record client and sales calls

Read the Fireflies write-up tl;dv vs Fireflies

Grain

$15/seat/mo Free tier 14 day free trial

Why it comes up: Free viewer seats for everyone and bot free AI notes, if most of your team only reads the notes.

Stands out: Grain splits paid seats from free viewer seats, so hiring managers and the rest of the team can read and comment on shared calls without a licence.

Watch out: There is no ATS writeback. Custom AI prompts start on Starter, and AI coaching and custom follow up emails need Business.

Best for

Teams where a few people record and many people read
Recruiters sharing screening calls with hiring managers
Teams on Webex or Slack huddles as well as Zoom, Meet and Teams

Read the Grain write-up tl;dv vs Grain

HireScribe

$79 Free tier

Why it comes up: Local interview notes with no bot in the call and nothing leaving the laptop, if candidate privacy is the concern.

Stands out: No bot joins the call and nothing is uploaded. Models run on-device (Whisper, pyannote, llama.cpp). Exports are built for Bullhorn, Greenhouse, and Lever as JSON, CSV, Markdown, or PDF.

Watch out: It is a laptop app, not a team workspace. New installs only include a few free AI summaries. Windows installers are unsigned, so SmartScreen will prompt. Intel Macs are not officially tested.

Best for

Recruiters who cannot put a meeting bot on a candidate invite
EU and UK desks that want interview audio to stay on disk
Bullhorn, Greenhouse, or Lever users who want ATS-shaped exports

Read the HireScribe write-up tl;dv vs HireScribe

Common questions

What is the best tl;dv alternative?

It depends on what sent you looking. We compare 3 alternatives to tl;dv: Fireflies, Grain and HireScribe. Each one's "Why it comes up" line says what it does differently, and the table above shows all 3 on price, free tier, MCP and API.

Is there a free alternative to tl;dv?

Yes. Fireflies, Grain and HireScribe carry a free tier on our listing, so you can try the product without a card. Free tiers are capped, so check the limits against your volume before you move a team across.

What is the cheapest tl;dv alternative?

Of the published starting prices here, Fireflies is lowest at $10/seat/mo. Starting price is the entry plan, not the seat count you will end up on, so read the plan table on each listing.

Keep looking

Back to the tl;dv write-up Every AI note takers tool we list Search the whole directory

Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 4 Nov 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?