A tldv alternative that keeps meetings on your computer

Why people look for a tl;dv alternative

• Bots and blocked bots. tl;dv's video recording uses a notetaker that joins the call. Some guests dislike that, some companies block bots, and Google Meet has reportedly started treating third-party bots with more suspicion.
• AI limits on the free plan. As of October 2026, tl;dv's free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions, but AI notes are limited to a set number of meetings a month.
• Sales features you do not need. tl;dv's paid tiers lean into CRM logging, sales coaching and multi-meeting reports. Individuals who just want transcripts and notes may be paying for more than they use.
• Data in the cloud. Some people want recordings and transcripts on their own machine rather than in a vendor's cloud.

tl;dv in brief: a fair summary

tl;dv is an AI meeting recorder for Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. It records video of your calls, transcribes them in more than 30 languages, writes summaries, drafts follow-up emails and logs notes to your CRM. Its desktop app can also record audio without a bot.

It shines for teams that want to share video moments from calls, for sales teams that want CRM notes filled in, and for multilingual meetings. The free plan is genuinely usable for recording.

The trade-off with its bot-free desktop mode is that you get audio rather than video, so the two tools end up closer than they first look. The real differences are where the transcription happens, where your meetings are kept, and whether the app learns the people you talk to.

Hark vs tl;dv at a glance

tl;dv details from tldv.io, checked October 2026. Its pricing page was not reachable when we checked, so confirm current prices there.

How Hark is different

Always bot-free, in any app

Hark records your microphone and your computer's audio as separate tracks. It works the same for Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex, Slack huddles or a phone call through your computer. Note that on a Mac, Hark records the microphone only for now; Windows and Linux record both sides. Our guide to AI note takers without a bot compares the options.

Local transcription and playback

Speech recognition runs on your computer, so your audio is not uploaded to be transcribed. You see a live transcript during the call and a more accurate one after it. Click any word to hear it; speed up playback without chipmunk voices or skip silences.

Speaker recognition that sticks

Hark tells voices apart, and once you name someone it suggests them in every later meeting. Read how it works in speaker labels in transcription.

Screenshots instead of video

On Windows, press Ctrl+Alt+S for the whole screen or Ctrl+Alt+A for an area, from any app. Screenshots land in your notes and on the meeting timeline. With the $12/month subscription, Claude names and describes them for you.

When to choose Hark

• You want no bot, ever, and audio is enough.
• You want recordings and transcripts kept on your own computer.
• You use meeting apps beyond Zoom, Meet and Teams.
• You want people named by voice automatically.
• You are on Windows or Linux and your meetings are in English.

When to stay with tl;dv

• You need video recordings and clips to share.
• You want notes logged into your CRM, or sales coaching.
• Your meetings are in languages other than English.
• You want a shared team library of meetings.
• You are on a Mac and need both sides of the call recorded through headphones.

Other tl;dv alternatives

• Fathom. Bot-based recorder with unlimited free recordings and instant AI summaries.
• Fireflies.ai. Many integrations and languages, aimed at teams.
• Granola. Bot-free AI notepad for Mac and Windows.

For side-by-side detail, see Fireflies vs Fathom and the best free AI note takers.

How to switch from tl;dv to Hark

1. Download the tl;dv recordings and notes you want to keep.
2. Turn off automatic recording in tl;dv so its bot stops joining your calendar meetings.
3. Download Hark free for Windows, Mac or Linux and sign in with your email.
4. Let Hark download its speech models once (about 730 MB).
5. Drag your downloaded mp4 files into Hark or use File > Import. Hark takes the audio and transcribes it.
6. Name the voices once; Hark suggests them in your next meetings.

Recording laws vary, and some places require everyone's consent. Without a bot, nobody is told automatically, so let people know you are recording.