Otter.ai vs tl;dv Comparison 2026
Otter.ai transcribes meetings and files with speakers separated and search across everything you have ever recorded, free for 300 minutes a month, then Pro at $16.99 a month, or $8.33 billed annually, for 1,200 minutes. tl;dv records and transcribes Zoom, Meet and Teams calls with no cap at all, even free, and meters only the AI notes layer at ten meetings a month before Pro at $18 a seat billed annually removes it. Otter's paid tier is cheaper at either of its own cadences. tl;dv's free plan is the more generous one if calls are what you record.
Searchable transcripts of calls and recordings
Recordings and notes from every call, free to start
At a glance
- Otter.ai starts cheaper, at $16.99.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Otter.ai | tl;dv | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $16.99 | From $18 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | None | Not stated |
| API | Yes |
Otter.ai
Searchable transcripts of calls and recordings
Otter sits in a meeting or takes a file and returns a transcript with the speakers separated, which is where show notes, a follow-up post or a list of clips can start. Search across everything you have ever recorded is the part people keep paying for. Three hundred free minutes a month is five hours, so a weekly interview show fits and a daily one does not.
Our note
Otter for talking, Descript for publishing. If the transcript is the product this is faster and cheaper, and if the transcript is how you edit the audio, pay for Descript instead and skip this one.
Only on this side
- Covers ai content tools
- Covers audio & podcasting
- Works with Podcast
tl;dv
Recordings and notes from every call, free to start
tl;dv records Zoom, Meet and Teams calls, transcribes them in more than thirty languages and writes the notes, with the recording and the transcription uncapped even on the free plan. What the free plan meters is the AI on top: ten meetings of notes and ten questions. Paying removes that ceiling and adds templates, action items and a search across every transcript. This is aimed at calls rather than at published audio, so a podcaster wants a transcription service instead.
Why people weigh these two
- tl;dv instead of Otter.ai
- tl;dv records and notes every call for free to start, priced around meeting volume rather than Otter's per-minute model built for interview shows.
- Otter.ai instead of tl;dv
- Otter.ai keeps searchable transcripts of calls from $17 with a free tier, stronger on the transcript than the summary.
Which one should you pick
Choose Otter.ai if you record more than meetings: interviews, voice memos, any file you need turned into searchable text with speakers separated. Free gives 300 minutes a month and three lifetime file imports, the limit most people hit first, and Pro raises that to 1,200 minutes for $16.99 a month, or $8.33 billed annually, cheaper than tl;dv's Pro seat either way. The API is Enterprise only, so anybody wiring transcripts into another tool needs to check that tier first.
Choose tl;dv if your work is calls specifically and you want the recording and transcript uncapped from day one, even for free: unlimited recordings and transcription in more than thirty languages, metering only the AI notes at ten meetings a month. Pro removes that ceiling for $18 a seat a month billed annually and adds a search across every transcript. It joins Zoom, Meet and Teams on its own through calendar integration, which Otter does not do the same way.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper, Otter.ai or tl;dv?
- At the entry paid tier, Otter.ai is cheaper on either cadence: $16.99 a month, or $8.33 billed annually, against tl;dv's $18 a seat billed annually with no monthly rate published. The two cap different things, though, so cheaper is not automatically better for every workflow.
- Which one has the more generous free plan?
- tl;dv's, if your recordings are calls: it never caps recording or transcription, only the AI notes at ten meetings a month. Otter.ai's free plan caps transcription itself at 300 minutes a month and three lifetime file imports, whichever limit is hit first.
- Can Otter.ai join a Zoom or Google Meet call automatically?
- Yes, it dials into Zoom, Meet or Teams and records without anybody pressing a button. tl;dv does the same through calendar integration, which is closer to its core design, since it is built around meetings specifically rather than recordings in general.
- Which one is better for transcribing something that is not a meeting, like an interview?
- Otter.ai, since it accepts uploaded files and separates speakers on anything you record, with search across everything you have ever transcribed. tl;dv is built around Zoom, Meet and Teams calls, and its own listing says a podcaster recording for publication should use a dedicated recording tool instead.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.