HumlaHumla vs tl;dv
tl;dv can record without a bot — but every recording still uploads to its cloud. Humla keeps it all on your Mac.
- Free, no account
- Open source, MIT
- Apple Silicon, macOS 13 or later
Which should you pick?
- Pick Humla for privacy, on-device processing, and price.
- Pick tl;dv for CRM workflows and sales coaching.
How they compare
An honest look. Humla wins on privacy, price, and openness; tl;dv leads on CRM workflows and sales coaching.
| Humla | tl;dv | |
|---|---|---|
| No bot joins the call | Optional (botless) | |
| Runs fully on your device | — | |
| Open source (auditable) | — | |
| Bring your own AI key / model | — | |
| Speaker labels (who said what) | ||
| AI summaries & action items | ||
| App integrations (Slack, CRM…) | — | |
| Mobile app | — | |
| Price | Free | Free / $18–29/user/mo |
Reflects each product's standard plans as of 2026. Check their sites for the latest.
What you get instead
- No bot, and nothing uploaded. tl;dv's bot-free desktop mode still saves and processes recordings in its cloud library. Humla records your Mac directly and can keep everything on-device.
- On-device, not cloud. tl;dv is a cloud product; Humla can run transcription and summaries entirely on your Mac with your own key, or fully offline.
- Free and open source. tl;dv runs $18–29/user/month past its free tier; Humla is free forever and MIT-licensed, with optional sync at $5/user/month.
- Own your data. Notes live in local SQLite on your disk — no cloud retention windows.
- Speaks your language. Around 99 languages via Whisper — on-device or with your own key — plus a dedicated Norwegian model and per-language routing.
One meeting, from agenda to recap
Write the agenda, record the call, press Summarize. Your note stays on the left while the transcript and the recap fill in on the right.
Six pages, maybe a new CMS?
Keep the brand palette
Who signs off the budget?
Hanna approves budget, wants qu
Speakers are identified when you stop.
When to pick tl;dv instead
Humla isn't for everyone. Choose tl;dv if:
- You want a turnkey cloud with a shared, searchable meeting library and 5000+ integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack).
- You need sales-team features: AI coaching, CRM field mapping, and meeting analytics.
- You want Windows support and native mobile apps, not a Mac-only tool.
tl;dv vs the field
Weighing tl;dv against another tool? These honest head to heads put Humla up as the third option.
Related reading
- What is Meeting bot?A meeting bot is an automated participant that joins a video call to record and transcribe it, appearing in the attendee list like another guest.
- What is On-device transcription?On-device transcription converts speech to text entirely on your own computer, with no audio sent to a cloud service.
- What is Speaker diarization?Speaker diarization is the process of splitting an audio recording into segments by who is speaking, so a transcript can show “who said what.”
- What is AI notetaker vs AI notepad?An AI notetaker records and transcribes a meeting for you; an AI notepad is one you write in yourself while the AI augments your notes with the transcript.
Keep your meetings on your Mac.
Free and open source. Apple Silicon, macOS 13 or later.