TL;DR verdict: Pick tl;dv if you want unlimited free recordings and transcripts and mainly share clips and notes — its free plan is the most generous recorder in this category. Pick Fireflies if you want the cheapest paid plan ($10/seat/month billed annually vs tl;dv Pro at $18) and deeper conversation analytics once you upgrade to Business. For a small team paying out of pocket, Fireflies Pro is the better value; for a team that wants to stay free as long as possible, tl;dv wins.
Bottom line: tl;dv = best free tier. Fireflies = best cheap paid tier and best sales analytics.
tl;dv vs Fireflies at a glance
| Feature | tl;dv | Fireflies | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | $0 — unlimited recordings and transcripts, AI notes on 10 meetings total | $0 — 400 minutes of team storage in total | tl;dv |
| Entry paid plan | Pro $18/seat/mo billed annually ($29 monthly) | Pro $10/seat/mo billed annually ($18 monthly) | Fireflies |
| Team plan | Business $29/seat/mo annual ($39 monthly) | Business $19/seat/mo annual ($29 monthly) | Fireflies on price |
| Storage on entry paid plan | Unlimited storage on Pro | 8,000 minutes per seat on Pro; unlimited on Business | tl;dv |
| How it records | Meeting bot, plus bot-free desktop app | Calendar auto-join bot, plus desktop app | Tie |
| Sales coaching / playbooks | Business: MEDDIC/BANT/SPIN playbooks, objection analysis, AI coaching | Business: conversation intelligence and team analytics | tl;dv for structured coaching |
| Clips and sharing | Core strength — timestamped clips and reels from any meeting | Clips and soundbites supported | tl;dv |
| Best for | Free recording, clips, multilingual teams (30+ languages) | Budget paid plans, CRM-heavy sales teams, searchable meeting library | Depends on use case |
Prices checked November 11, 2026 against each vendor’s published pricing. Research-based comparison — no hands-on testing claims.
What the pricing page doesn’t make obvious
Two limits decide this matchup, and neither is the headline price. First, tl;dv’s free AI notes cover 10 meetings for the life of the account — not 10 per month. After that, free still records and transcribes without a cap, but you stop getting automatic AI summaries unless you upgrade, and free recordings are deleted after 3 months. Second, Fireflies’ free plan is capped by 400 minutes of team storage in total, a cumulative cap that never resets. Worse, accounts created on or after September 1, 2026 that don’t use calendar auto-join get just 3 meeting transcriptions on free. In short: tl;dv free is a real recorder with limited AI; Fireflies free is a trial with a storage meter running.
Recording and transcripts: where they actually differ
Both tools join Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls, record, transcribe and summarise. tl;dv leans into sharing: timestamped moments, clips stitched into reels, and notes pushed to Slack and CRMs are its home turf, and transcription covers 30+ languages — which is why we rated it highly for multilingual teams in our tl;dv review. Fireflies leans into search and analysis: its AskFred assistant, topic trackers and conversation intelligence are built for managers reviewing many calls, a strength we also noted when comparing Fireflies vs Otter.ai.
Paid plans: $10 vs $18 is not the whole story
Fireflies Pro at $10/seat/month billed annually is the cheapest credible paid tier here, but its 8,000 minutes per seat is a storage pool, not unlimited — heavy callers can burn through roughly 133 hours per person. tl;dv Pro at $18 removes the AI-notes cap and gives unlimited storage, plus API, webhooks and CRM integrations. At Business level, Fireflies ($19 annual) adds unlimited storage and team analytics; tl;dv Business ($29 annual) adds the structured sales stack — playbook scorecards and multi-meeting coaching. If your comparison point is a bot-free recorder instead, see how Fireflies stacks up in Granola vs Fireflies.
Which should you pick?
Pick tl;dv if: you want to record everything free, share clips with people who weren’t on the call, work across many languages, or want playbook-based sales coaching on Business.
Pick Fireflies if: you’re ready to pay and want the lowest per-seat price, a deeply searchable meeting library, and conversation analytics for a sales or support team on Business.
Skip both if: you need a bot-free, privacy-first recorder as the default — look at desktop-first notetakers instead.
Frequently asked questions
Is tl;dv really free?
Yes for recording and transcription, which are unlimited on the free plan. The catch is AI notes: only your first 10 meetings get them, and free recordings are deleted after 3 months.
Is Fireflies free?
There is a free plan, but it holds only 400 minutes of team storage in total and that cap never resets. Newer accounts without calendar auto-join are limited to 3 transcriptions.
Which is cheaper for a 10-person team?
On annual billing, Fireflies Pro is $1,200/year for 10 seats vs tl;dv Pro at $2,160/year. At Business level it’s $2,280/year vs $3,480/year — Fireflies is cheaper at every tier.
Do either of them refund?
tl;dv’s terms state fees are non-refundable, so use the free plan to test before committing a team to annual billing.