HumlaCompare
Humla 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 · Open source · macOS 13+ (Apple Silicon)
In short
Which should you pick?
- Pick Humla for privacy, on-device processing, and price.
- Pick tl;dv for CRM workflows and sales coaching.
Side by side
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.
Why Humla
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 — or self-host it free.
- 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.
Demo
See a meeting become a note.
New note, record, summary — that's the whole workflow. The cleanup afterwards is none, on a five-minute meeting or an hour-long one.
Being fair
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.
Head-to-head
tl;dv vs the field.
Weighing tl;dv against another tool? These honest head-to-heads put Humla up as the third option.
Learn the terms