5 Best tl;dv Alternatives for AI Meeting Notes [2026]

If you’re here, chances are you are not fully convinced by tl;dv. And I agree with you. Although it's a great AI meeting note taker, tl;dv is not without its faults.

It’s not a great fit if you want near-perfect transcription accuracy, or work in a language not supported by tl;dv.

I was tired of being nickel-and-dimed for simple features, which pushed me to look for tl;dv alternatives for note taking.

To build this list, I tested the free versions of tools to see how they perform in real meetings. I also spoke to current users and analyzed feedback on G2, Reddit, and TrustPilot to ensure these recommendations hold up in practice.

Why users are looking for tl;dv alternatives

While finalizing the best tl;dv alternatives, I considered the general grievances users raised against the platform. These are the most popular reasons people consider switching from tl;dv:

1. tl;dv meeting bot is intrusive

The recording bot has a habit of joining calls you did not invite it to. This forces you to kick it out manually or apologize to clients who were not expecting to be recorded. For consultants like Christopher, this was a deal breaker.

2. Transcription accuracy is inconsistent

tl;dv’s core offering is note taking, and it often falls short on that front. Transcription quality is a real issue, and I found many users being unhappy with the output, just like me.

3. Basic features are paywalled

This one bugged me the most, and I wasn't the only one. tl;dv cuts corners to maintain the free plan, but it ends up putting standard features behind premium plans. Many paid features in tl;dv are offered for free in better alternatives.

4. Buggy platform

Even founders can't browse around tl;dv without running into problems. Overall, the platform decides on quirks that break existing workflows or make simple tasks more difficult to achieve.

5. Slow customer support team

tl;dv customer support lacks the fast and transparent services you expect from a meeting note taker. When you run into issues with your meetings or files, it's frustrating to turn to tl;dv support for any solution.

Top 5 tl;dv alternatives at a glance

1. HappyScribe

Best for: Accurate meeting notes and file transcriptions for daily meetings without restrictions

HappyScribe AI note taker is one of the best tl;dv alternatives because it addresses the shortcomings of tl;dv and improves on the services already offered by tl;dv. It’s easy to use and supports file transcriptions without relying on complex integrations.

HappyScribe vs tl;dv

HappyScribe’s key features

1. Take meeting notes in 140+ languages and accents with 95% accuracy

HappyScribe shines where tl;dv falls short: language coverage and accuracy. Compared to tl;dv’s modest 30-language support, HappyScribe helps global teams by transcribing in 140+ languages and accents.

Since it supports broader use cases, the AI engine is tuned to pick up unique accents and noisy audio. While tl;dv struggles with 85-90% accuracy, HappyScribe’s AI gives you around 95% accurate notes, which is ideal for daily meetings.

2. Consistent and customizable meeting bot

Another thing that stands out for HappyScribe is how customizable and transparent the AI note taker is. Unlike tl;dv, the note taker announces itself to the participants and explains how to use it. If you’re in Europe or generally prefer privacy and transparency, you’ll like HappyScribe.

You can customize the look of the HappyScribe note taker as well, including the name and color scheme to match your company branding.

3. Translate notes and create video subtitles

HappyScribe lets you create, edit, and burn in subtitles in videos, which tl;dv can’t do. If you plan to edit video and mix audio before posting on company Slack channels or LinkedIn, HappyScribe is the way to go.

And that’s not it. You can also translate the transcripts in the same dashboard and share with stakeholders in other countries. Given the wide language and accent coverage (140+), HappyScribe is more effective in translating content across markets than tl;dv.

4. Work with popular video conferencing tools

tl;dv has native support for Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom, but HappyScribe goes beyond that and effectively supports any source of audio for note taking.

Be it a Webex or a RingCentral call, you can use the HappyScribe audio recorder to transcribe and sum up meeting notes without a bot. Even for pre-recorded Zoom, Meet, or Teams meeting files, tl;dv forces you to integrate Zapier, whereas HappyScribe does the transcription directly.

5. Ask AI for video chapters, quotes, and post drafts

Once you have meeting transcripts, you can ask HappyScribe AI to create objective summaries, extract quotes for tracking decisions, and even find timestamped video clips. Ready to share the meeting decision with an announcement? Simply ask AI to write a post draft that you can edit and copy easily.

HappyScribe’s pros

• Consistent transcripts and AI meeting notes with 95% accuracy
• HappyScribe supports 140+ languages and accents for transcription and translation
• Ask AI for video chapters, quotes, follow-up emails, and post drafts
• Upload and transcribe video files and pre-recorded meetings from your device, YouTube, Vimeo, and Dropbox
• GDPR and SOC 2 Type II compliance, along with EU data residency for security and privacy
• Generous base plan for individuals and scalable plans for enterprise customers

HappyScribe’s cons

• HappyScribe is not ideal for live call transcriptions

HappyScribe’s pricing

• Free: Unlimited meeting recordings (45 mins/recording)
• Basic: $8.50/month (billed annually) or $17/month (billed monthly)
• Pro: $19/month (billed annually) or $29/month (billed monthly)
• Business: $59/month (billed annually) or $89/month (billed monthly)
• Enterprise:Contact sales to get tailored solutions directly

What are real users saying about HappyScribe?

2. Fireflies

Best for: Best for teams that need a central intelligence hub across platforms

Fireflies is built for teams that live in meetings across different platforms and languages. Instead of optimizing for one workflow, it acts as a central meeting hub that turns discussions into a knowledge base. If your calendar includes Zoom for one hour, Webex for the next, and a client dial-in after that, Fireflies is designed to keep everything in one place.

Where Fireflies earns its spot as a tl;dv alternative is scale and flexibility. As an AI note taking tool, it supports far more meeting platforms and covers a much wider range of languages. For growing teams, agencies, and customer-facing roles, the analytics is more contextual once you move beyond solo use.

Fireflies vs tl;dv

Fireflies’ key features

• Fireflies automatically records meetings and generates searchable transcripts with speaker labels
• You can use a shared workspace with comments, soundbites, playlists, and smart filters
• Ask Fred AI assistant with conversation intelligence answers questions across all recorded meetings, including talk time ratios and sentiment indicators

Fireflies’ pricing

• Free: $0/month
• Pro: $18/month
• Business: $29/month
• Enterprise: $39/month/seat (billed annually)

Fireflies’ pros

• Unlike tl;dv, Fireflies works across a wide range of meeting platforms beyond Zoom and Meet
• Thanks to a wide language support, Fireflies is ideal for international and multilingual teams
• Feature-packed collaboration and knowledge management tools, which tl;dv lacks
• Well-developed desktop and mobile apps, along with a strong AI app ecosystem

Fireflies’ cons

• Fireflies’ transcription quality struggles with weak audio or heavily accented speeches
• It’s being actively developed, so the UI changes can disrupt existing workflows
• Support and billing issues are common with Fireflies

3. Krisp

Best for: Privacy-conscious users who want transcripts without inviting a bot

If you’re not fond of meeting bots, Krisp is your best alternative. Unlike tl;dv, which relies on a bot joining your call, Krisp can transcribe and summarize meetings from Zoom, Slack Huddles, WhatsApp, or even a phone call bridged to your computer, without anyone else knowing. Krisp might run into consent issues depending on regions, so communicate that with attendees.

Regardless, Krisp is the simpler choice if you handle sensitive client calls where a visible recording bot feels intrusive. While you won't get a video replay, you get a clean, noise-cancelled transcript that works even when you have a bad connection.

Krisp vs tl;dv

Krisp’s key features

• Bot-free transcription captures meeting notes without an intrusive participant joining the call
• Bi-directional noise cancellation removes background noise from your mic and other participants' voices for cleaner transcripts
• Krisp’s AI meeting assistant generates summaries, action items, and discussion points automatically after the call
• Thanks to the AI accent conversion, you can neutralize heavy accents in real-time for transcription accuracy

Krisp’s pricing

• Free trial: 7 days
• Pro: $16/month
• Business: $30/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Krisp’s pros

• Works on absolutely any platform that uses a microphone, unlike tl;dv’s limited integrations
• Industry-leading noise cancellation to make sure transcripts aren't ruined by coffee shop noise
• Lightweight app that doesn't require cloud integrations for basic tasks

Krisp’s cons

• It is an audio-only tool, so you lose the ability to rewatch video context or screen shares
• Since many Krisp feature runs locally on your device, it can consume system resources during long calls
• The free plan is for a 7-day trial only

Also read:Best AI note takers for journalists

4. Otter

Best for: Teams who want a dedicated chat assistant for their meeting notes

Otter was one of the first big names in AI transcription, and it remains a reliable tl;dv alternative if you prefer to skim notes instead of rewatching clips.

While tl;dv focuses heavily on the video experience, Otter treats your meetings more like a collaborative document. Its standout feature is OtterPilot, which doesn't just record the meeting but allows you to chat with the AI in real-time and refer to slides and screenshots from meetings.

If you’re a content manager who documents meeting notes and highlights key notes, Otter is more intuitive than tl;dv's timeline-based interface.

Otter.ai vs tl;dv

Otter’s key features

• OtterPilot automatically joins meetings to record and transcribe so you can focus on the discussion
• Automated slide capture grabs images of shared slides and inserts them into the transcript for visual context
• Keyword analytics generate a word cloud and summary keywords to help you grasp the main topics at a glance

Otter’s pricing

• Free
• Pro: $16.99/month
• Business: $30/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Otter’s pros

• Otter is reliable for users who prefer reading and highlighting text over watching video replays
• Unlike tl;dv, Otter’s real-time transcription allows you to see notes appear as people speak, which is great for accessibility
• Collaborative features let multiple users highlight and comment on the live transcript simultaneously
• Stable mobile apps that work well for recording in-person conversations and interviews

Otter’s cons

• The free plan is very restrictive, with a hard 30-minute cap per conversation
• Language support is significantly more limited than tl;dv, primarily focusing on English, Spanish, French, and Japanese
• Otter does not record video for non-enterprise plans, so you lose non-verbal cues and context

5. Avoma

Best for: Sales teams that need a CRM-first assistant to automate data entry

Avoma is the best tl;dv alternative if you want to eliminate the manual work of updating your CRM after every call. While tl;dv is a fantastic generalist tool for recording and clips, Avoma is purpose-built for revenue teams. From scheduling and agenda preparation to updating fields, it manages the entire meeting lifecycle for business leaders.

If you need your meeting notes to flow directly into specific CRM properties, Avoma handles it better than tl;dv’s integrations.

Avoma vs tl;dv

Avoma’s key features

• CRM-synced notes automatically update your deal records in Salesforce and HubSpot, so you don't have to copy-paste data
• Smart agenda templates help you prepare for meetings and ensure you cover all required questions during the call. This is not something you get with tl;dv
• With topic detection, you can automatically categorize parts of the conversation into buckets like pain points or next steps
• Unlike tl;dv, Avoma’s conversation intelligence tracks speaker ratios and sentiments to help sales managers coach their teams

Avoma’s pricing

• Startup: $29/month
• Organization: $39/month
• Enterprise: $39/month (minimum 10 seats)
• Add-ons: $25-$34/month/seat

Avoma’s pros

• It covers the before and after of meetings better than tl;dv by including scheduling and agenda tools
• The deep CRM integration saves sales reps hours of manual data entry every week, which isn’t as advanced in tl;dv
• Structured note-taking templates ensure every rep asks the right qualification questions
• Avoma acts as a single source of truth for the entire sales cycle, not just the recording

Avoma’s cons

• Significantly more expensive than tl;dv, especially if you need the advanced CRM features
• The interface can feel overwhelming for non-sales users who just want a simple transcript
• You cannot effectively use it for free, as Avoma only has a free trial

Which tl;dv alternative is right for you?

Choosing the best alternative depends on your current bottleneck. If you need a private, bot-free experience, Krisp is the clear winner, but for sales teams that live and die by their CRM, Avoma offers the deep integration you need to automate data entry.

If your team works with English speakers, Otter gives you a reliable experience, while Fireflies is a strong contender if you need a centralized hub for sales intelligence.

However, if you want accurate notes without the platform restrictions or language barriers, HappyScribe is the most balanced choice. It combines high-accuracy transcription for over 140 languages and accents with the flexibility to handle both live meetings and pre-recorded files. You get the professional features of a dedicated transcription tool with the ease of an AI note taker.