# tl;dv vs Plaud: pricing, features, and which is better > tl;dv and Plaud compared across pricing, capture, speaker labels, recordings, notes, sharing, automations, integrations, AI-agent access, and administration. - Canonical HTML: https://circleback.ai/compare/tldv-vs-plaud - Structured JSON: https://circleback.ai/compare/tldv-vs-plaud.json - Comparison directory: https://circleback.ai/compare - Language: en-US - Editorial perspective: Neutral competitor comparison. Circleback appears only as a clearly labeled third option. ## Short answer tl;dv centers online video, clips, and recurring reports. Plaud adds dedicated in-person and phone-call devices, desktop audio capture, and credit-based Agent workflows. Test both products on meetings that reflect your work, such as a customer call, planning session, or in-person conversation. Compare the notes, speaker labels, sharing defaults, and follow-up you still need to do by hand. ## tl;dv at a glance tl;dv combines unlimited meeting recording on its free tier with clips, reels, recurring reports, playbooks, and sales coaching. Its newer bot-free desktop mode broadens capture, but that mode is audio-only and drops video, screen share, and chat. **Best for:** Individuals and customer-facing teams that want a generous free recorder, easy clips, recurring multi-meeting reports, and optional sales playbooks. **Less ideal for:** Teams that need a fully released mobile app, bot-free video, a stable API, long-term free recording storage, or shared company history beyond meetings. **Price:** Free; Pro $18 and Business $29/user/month with annual billing Free includes unlimited recordings and transcripts, but recordings are retained for three months, older recordings are archived shortly after processing, advanced AI credits are lifetime-limited, and after the first ten meetings generated notes cover only the first ten minutes. Paid prices are per user/month: Pro is $18 with annual billing or $29 month-to-month; Business is $29 or $39. Enterprise is quoted separately. **Free option:** Yes: unlimited recordings and transcripts, with retention, archive, AI-note, credit, duration, and concurrency limits. ### tl;dv strengths - One of the broadest free recording and transcription allowances, despite meaningful retention and AI-output limits. - Strong clips, reels, highlights, multi-meeting reports, playbooks, and sales coaching workflows. - Bot and bot-free macOS/Windows capture now sit beside an early mobile recorder for in-person conversations. - Recurring AI reports and conditional Slack workflows are particularly good at turning many calls into a compact digest with decisions and owner/deadline action lists. ### tl;dv tradeoffs - Bot-free capture is audio-only: no video, screen sharing, or meeting chat is preserved. - The mobile recorder is described as an early-stage testing experience; confirm availability before relying on it. - Free recordings are retained for three months and quickly archived; after the first ten meetings, generated notes cover only the first ten minutes. - The public API is labeled v1alpha1, and MCP searches typically return at most 50 meetings per query. - There is no bulk meeting export in the product. Individual recording downloads require both owner and downloader to be on a paid plan, plus editor or admin access. - The domain-level Organization is automatic rather than a governed tenant: any same-domain user can join it and the Organization itself cannot be deleted. Paid Teams provide the actual admin hierarchy. - Several advanced AI, sales, and multilingual capabilities are reserved for higher plans. - tl;dv can extract assigned action lists and send them elsewhere, but it does not document a native workspace-wide task system with assignee queues, status, due dates, and completion tracking. ### Choose tl;dv when - Unlimited free recording matters more than unlimited AI notes. - Your workflow revolves around clips, playlists, sales playbooks, and recurring topic reports. - You are comfortable using a bot when video, screen share, and chat need to be retained. ## Plaud at a glance Plaud combines dedicated phone-mounted and wearable recorders with desktop capture and an AI workspace. Its Note family records calls and room audio, while NotePin models focus on in-person conversations. Plaud Intelligence adds templates, search, Agent actions, Skills, and Routines; transcription minutes and Agent credits are separate allowances. **Best for:** People who prefer a dedicated recorder or wearable, and teams that want Plaud’s capture hardware, templates, and Agent workflows in one ecosystem. **Less ideal for:** People who want in-person recording directly from their existing phone or Watch, or organizations that require SSO and flexible external meeting access. **Price:** Devices list at $159–$189; AI plans priced separately Standard device prices are $159 for Note or NotePin, $179 for NotePin S, and $189 for Note Pro; promotions may lower these prices. Pro costs $99.99/year or $17.99/month; Unlimited costs $239.99/year or $29.99/month. Team requires at least two seats and costs $25/user/month with annual billing or $35 with monthly billing. Launch offers reduce those rates to $20 for the first year or $28 through November 30, 2026, respectively. Agent credits are separate from transcription. **Free option:** Starter is free with a device and includes 300 transcription minutes/month. Pro includes 1,200/month; Unlimited and Team allow up to 24 hours/day. Unused monthly minutes do not roll over. Paid Team users can record on desktop without buying hardware. ### Plaud strengths - Choose a phone-mounted recorder for calls and meetings or a wearable for in-person conversations. The devices capture independently and provide physical recording controls. - Desktop capture combines audio, highlights, typed notes, and screenshots. Use templates to format summaries and ask questions across recordings. - Plaud offers MCP and CLI access to recordings and transcripts, plus Skills, Routines, connected Agent actions, and a managed Team workspace. ### Plaud tradeoffs - Portable hardware capture adds a device to buy and charge. NotePin models do not record phone calls; that requires Note or Note Pro. Team desktop capture does not require hardware. - An unlimited transcription plan does not mean unlimited Agent use. Ask Plaud, connected actions, Skills, and Routines consume separate credits; the launch grant does not renew monthly. - Team sharing is limited to workspace members, and SSO is not yet supported. Existing AutoFlows do not migrate automatically to Routines. ### Choose Plaud when - You want a dedicated phone-mounted or wearable recorder with physical controls. - You value summary templates, highlights, screenshots, and Agent-generated documents. - You want Plaud hardware and desktop recordings in a managed workspace with MCP and CLI access. ## Feature comparison | What matters | tl;dv | Plaud | | --- | --- | --- | | Capture options | Broad support — Meeting bot or bot-free desktop recording. macOS and Windows can capture system audio from any meeting platform without a bot. The bot remains the richer mode for supported conferencing platforms. | Broad support — Dedicated recorders, bot-free desktop, and imports. Press and hold a device’s recording control to start. Note and Note Pro capture calls and room audio; NotePin and NotePin S capture in-person conversations. Desktop records computer audio without a meeting bot and offers manual, prompted, or automatic recording. Team users can record on desktop without hardware; individual Starter activation requires a bound device. | | Desktop and mobile | Available with limits — Web, Chrome, macOS, Windows, and an early mobile app. Desktop capture is broad. tl;dv now documents a mobile app for in-person meetings, but describes it as recently launched, early-stage, and available for testing. | Available with limits — Recorders, iOS, Android, web, macOS, and Windows. Mobile apps manage devices and recordings; web and desktop provide access to the same account or workspace. Desktop records from a Mac or Windows computer. Without a Plaud device, Team capture is through desktop or audio imports. A native Apple Watch recorder is not documented; NotePin is separate wearable hardware. | | In-person capture and speaker labels | Available with limits — Desktop microphone or early-stage mobile recording. A laptop can capture room audio and the newer mobile app can record in-person meetings. tl;dv documents speaker identification generally but does not explain whether the early mobile path preserves the same naming behavior, so test it before a broad rollout. There is no documented Watch capture. | Broad support — Portable hardware with automatic speaker labels. All four Note/NotePin models record in-person conversations and support speaker-labeled transcription. NotePin S has a tactile button and highlight control; the original NotePin uses a pressure-sensitive control and lacks device highlights. Both need charging and transfer recordings for processing. Neither NotePin model supports phone-call recording. | | Recordings, playback, and clips | Broad support — Rich playback, clips, and reels—with a botless video caveat. Bot recordings support video, transcript, clips, reels, and shareable moments. Bot-free recordings are audio-only and omit video, screen sharing, and chat. | Available with limits — Saved audio, highlights, exports, and desktop screenshots. Keep and play back audio, export recordings and text, and mark important moments. Desktop can attach screenshots and typed notes to enrich summaries. Screenshots are not a continuous meeting-video recording. MCP and CLI can retrieve audio download links, full speaker-labeled transcripts, and generated notes. | | Notes, action items, and search | Broad support — AI notes, action digests, multi-meeting reports, and topic tracking. The product is particularly good at synthesizing multiple meetings and turning recurring prompts into reports, including action lists grouped by person and date. Those are report or checklist outputs rather than a native task lifecycle with workspace queues and completion state. Free accounts get a limited number of AI notes. | Broad support — Templates, action items, and questions across recordings. Plaud generates speaker-labeled transcripts, default summaries, and action items. Template summaries offer different views of a conversation. Ask Plaud searches across transcribed files with references; Agent can create documents and take actions in connected apps. Default meeting outputs use transcription allowances, while Agent questions and new work use separate credits. | | People, companies, and context | Available with limits — Meeting library and multi-meeting synthesis. tl;dv can query and report across accessible meetings, but it does not present a broader email/calendar/person/company relationship memory as its core model. | Available with limits — Recording knowledge base and connected Agent context. Plaud Intelligence organizes recordings into a searchable knowledge base. Agent can use shared Team recordings and connected tools to answer questions and complete tasks. The cited documentation does not establish dedicated person/company pages with rolling summaries and email relationship timelines. | | Automatic sharing and workspace defaults | Broad support — Granular team privacy defaults and automatic sharing. Teams can automatically share with participants, publish to a team or organization library, and apply admin privacy rules using meeting context such as title, internal or external type, and team role. Sensitive categories can remain private by rule. | Available with limits — Personal sharing, Team member access, and Routines. Personal plans include sharing and exports. Team files are private until shared with workspace members, with member-restricted links rather than public external links. Routines can deliver notes through connected tools, but this does not grant access to the source recording or establish workspace-wide sharing defaults. | | Automations | Broad support — Recurring AI reports and sales workflows. Automated multi-meeting reports, playbooks, CRM updates, and conditional Slack posts are useful, especially for customer-facing teams. Slack workflows can format decisions and action items with owners and deadlines, but team workflow scope excludes team admins and billing-group admins, and the overall system is less open-ended than a general meeting condition/action builder. | Broad support — Conditional Routines, Skills, and connected actions. Plaud Intelligence replaces AutoFlow with Routines, which can run on schedules or conditions such as a completed recording. Skills define reusable tasks and can be shared on Team. Existing AutoFlows do not carry over automatically. Running Skills and Routines consumes Plaud Credits, separate from transcription minutes. | | Integrations | Available with limits — CRM and collaboration integrations on paid plans. tl;dv connects to common CRMs and work tools; exact access varies by plan. The catalog focuses on sales and collaboration tools. | Broad support — Agent connectors, Zapier, and developer tools. Agent lists Slack, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Outlook, Notion, Linear, and Zapier connectors. More Microsoft 365 integrations and a Salesforce note-sync connector are described as upcoming. Connected Agent actions use credits. MCP and CLI provide another route for assistants and custom workflows. | | API, MCP, CLI, and data portability | Available with limits — MCP on Pro+ and a public alpha API. MCP can search meetings and participants, with typical result sets capped at 50. A subtle access rule matters: viewing a shared meeting is not enough if its organizer is on Free—the organizer must have Pro or higher before that meeting is available through MCP or the API. The API is documented as v1alpha1 and includes recording downloads, so integration teams should expect contract evolution. | Available with limits — MCP and CLI retrieval; separate Embedded SDK/API. Plaud MCP and CLI retrieve recording metadata, speaker-labeled transcripts, summaries, and audio links. CLI search matches recording names across up to 500 recent files, rather than semantic transcript search. The Embedded device SDK and transcription API are separate offerings; the cited docs do not establish a full REST API for the consumer workspace. | | Security, privacy, and admin | Available with limits — Paid Team controls; separate domain-based Organizations. Paid Teams add roles, billing administration, and forward-looking defaults; team settings do not override Team Admins. The separate domain-based Organization has no organization-wide admin defaults, any same-domain user can join it, and it cannot be deleted. Multi-team management is Business-only. | Available with limits — Security certifications and Team administration. Plaud lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001/27701, GDPR, and HIPAA support. Team adds billing, seat and device management, secure offboarding, and workspace-level data residency. Content remains private until shared. The Team FAQ says SSO is not yet supported; a workspace has a two-seat minimum. | | Languages | Available with limits — Multilingual transcription; advanced multilingual mode is plan-gated. Language selection behavior varies by capture mode, and the multilingual Whisper option is documented for Business and Enterprise. | Broad support — 112 transcription languages. Plaud documents transcription in 112 languages with speaker labeling and custom vocabulary. Validate performance on the languages, accents, and specialized terminology you use; the supported-language count is not an independent accuracy comparison. | Ratings describe documented breadth rather than overall product quality: - **Broad support:** Broad native support across the product or relevant paid plans. - **Available with limits:** Documented support with meaningful scope, mode, or plan limits. - **Narrow or indirect:** Narrow, indirect, beta, or substantially plan-gated support. - **Not documented:** No current first-party documentation for a native option. ## Detailed analysis ### Capture options **Both products document broad support for capture options, with different scope and plan limits.** **tl;dv:** Meeting bot or bot-free desktop recording. macOS and Windows can capture system audio from any meeting platform without a bot. The bot remains the richer mode for supported conferencing platforms. Evidence: [tl;dv bot-free recording](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/14433337-recording-without-a-bot). **Plaud:** Dedicated recorders, bot-free desktop, and imports. Press and hold a device’s recording control to start. Note and Note Pro capture calls and room audio; NotePin and NotePin S capture in-person conversations. Desktop records computer audio without a meeting bot and offers manual, prompted, or automatic recording. Team users can record on desktop without hardware; individual Starter activation requires a bound device. Evidence: [Plaud devices](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-device-comparison), [Plaud recording controls](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/55643286546329-How-to-Record), [Plaud desktop](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-desktop), [Plaud desktop requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/53795026112409-Device-binding-required-notice-on-Plaud-Desktop), [Plaud Team requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57466295856537-What-is-Plaud-Team). ### Desktop and mobile **Both products support desktop and mobile, with different scope and plan limits.** **tl;dv:** Web, Chrome, macOS, Windows, and an early mobile app. Desktop capture is broad. tl;dv now documents a mobile app for in-person meetings, but describes it as recently launched, early-stage, and available for testing. Evidence: [tl;dv bot-free recording](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/14433337-recording-without-a-bot), [tl;dv mobile app](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/8490450-mobile-app). **Plaud:** Recorders, iOS, Android, web, macOS, and Windows. Mobile apps manage devices and recordings; web and desktop provide access to the same account or workspace. Desktop records from a Mac or Windows computer. Without a Plaud device, Team capture is through desktop or audio imports. A native Apple Watch recorder is not documented; NotePin is separate wearable hardware. Evidence: [Plaud desktop](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-desktop), [Plaud desktop requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/53795026112409-Device-binding-required-notice-on-Plaud-Desktop), [Plaud Team requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57466295856537-What-is-Plaud-Team). ### In-person capture and speaker labels **Plaud has broader documented support for in-person capture and speaker labels.** **tl;dv:** Desktop microphone or early-stage mobile recording. A laptop can capture room audio and the newer mobile app can record in-person meetings. tl;dv documents speaker identification generally but does not explain whether the early mobile path preserves the same naming behavior, so test it before a broad rollout. There is no documented Watch capture. Evidence: [tl;dv mobile app](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/8490450-mobile-app), [tl;dv speaker identification](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/6171907-speaker-identification-in-transcript). **Plaud:** Portable hardware with automatic speaker labels. All four Note/NotePin models record in-person conversations and support speaker-labeled transcription. NotePin S has a tactile button and highlight control; the original NotePin uses a pressure-sensitive control and lacks device highlights. Both need charging and transfer recordings for processing. Neither NotePin model supports phone-call recording. Evidence: [Plaud devices](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-device-comparison), [Plaud recording controls](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/55643286546329-How-to-Record), [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing). ### Recordings, playback, and clips **tl;dv has broader documented support for recordings, playback, and clips.** **tl;dv:** Rich playback, clips, and reels—with a botless video caveat. Bot recordings support video, transcript, clips, reels, and shareable moments. Bot-free recordings are audio-only and omit video, screen sharing, and chat. Evidence: [tl;dv bot-free recording](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/14433337-recording-without-a-bot), [tl;dv free-plan limits](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/8919450-what-are-the-limits-of-the-free-plan). **Plaud:** Saved audio, highlights, exports, and desktop screenshots. Keep and play back audio, export recordings and text, and mark important moments. Desktop can attach screenshots and typed notes to enrich summaries. Screenshots are not a continuous meeting-video recording. MCP and CLI can retrieve audio download links, full speaker-labeled transcripts, and generated notes. Evidence: [Plaud devices](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-device-comparison), [Plaud desktop](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-desktop), [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing), [Plaud Agent credits](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/piplcrinto), [Plaud MCP](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/mcp), [Plaud CLI](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/cli). ### Notes, action items, and search **Both products document broad support for notes, action items, and search, with different scope and plan limits.** **tl;dv:** AI notes, action digests, multi-meeting reports, and topic tracking. The product is particularly good at synthesizing multiple meetings and turning recurring prompts into reports, including action lists grouped by person and date. Those are report or checklist outputs rather than a native task lifecycle with workspace queues and completion state. Free accounts get a limited number of AI notes. Evidence: [tl;dv pricing](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/6082483-what-is-tl-dv-s-pricing), [tl;dv free-plan limits](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/8919450-what-are-the-limits-of-the-free-plan), [tl;dv AI prompts](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/9235713-ai-prompts-inspiration). **Plaud:** Templates, action items, and questions across recordings. Plaud generates speaker-labeled transcripts, default summaries, and action items. Template summaries offer different views of a conversation. Ask Plaud searches across transcribed files with references; Agent can create documents and take actions in connected apps. Default meeting outputs use transcription allowances, while Agent questions and new work use separate credits. Evidence: [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing), [Plaud cross-recording questions](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51041335681689-Ask-Across-All-Files-Ask-Plaud), [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines), [Plaud Agent credits](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/piplcrinto). ### People, companies, and context **Both products support people, companies, and context, with different scope and plan limits.** **tl;dv:** Meeting library and multi-meeting synthesis. tl;dv can query and report across accessible meetings, but it does not present a broader email/calendar/person/company relationship memory as its core model. Evidence: [tl;dv MCP](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/15322415-mcp). **Plaud:** Recording knowledge base and connected Agent context. Plaud Intelligence organizes recordings into a searchable knowledge base. Agent can use shared Team recordings and connected tools to answer questions and complete tasks. The cited documentation does not establish dedicated person/company pages with rolling summaries and email relationship timelines. Evidence: [Plaud cross-recording questions](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51041335681689-Ask-Across-All-Files-Ask-Plaud), [Plaud Intelligence Team update](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/get-ready-new-plaud-intelligence-for-team), [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines). ### Automatic sharing and workspace defaults **tl;dv has broader documented support for automatic sharing and workspace defaults.** **tl;dv:** Granular team privacy defaults and automatic sharing. Teams can automatically share with participants, publish to a team or organization library, and apply admin privacy rules using meeting context such as title, internal or external type, and team role. Sensitive categories can remain private by rule. Evidence: [tl;dv team privacy defaults](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/15033798-team-privacy-defaults). **Plaud:** Personal sharing, Team member access, and Routines. Personal plans include sharing and exports. Team files are private until shared with workspace members, with member-restricted links rather than public external links. Routines can deliver notes through connected tools, but this does not grant access to the source recording or establish workspace-wide sharing defaults. Evidence: [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing), [Plaud Team sharing](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57138357578649-Sharing-content-in-Plaud-Team), [Plaud Intelligence Team update](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/get-ready-new-plaud-intelligence-for-team), [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines). ### Automations **Both products document broad support for automations, with different scope and plan limits.** **tl;dv:** Recurring AI reports and sales workflows. Automated multi-meeting reports, playbooks, CRM updates, and conditional Slack posts are useful, especially for customer-facing teams. Slack workflows can format decisions and action items with owners and deadlines, but team workflow scope excludes team admins and billing-group admins, and the overall system is less open-ended than a general meeting condition/action builder. Evidence: [tl;dv pricing](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/6082483-what-is-tl-dv-s-pricing), [tl;dv Slack workflows](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/5946410-set-up-the-slack-integration). **Plaud:** Conditional Routines, Skills, and connected actions. Plaud Intelligence replaces AutoFlow with Routines, which can run on schedules or conditions such as a completed recording. Skills define reusable tasks and can be shared on Team. Existing AutoFlows do not carry over automatically. Running Skills and Routines consumes Plaud Credits, separate from transcription minutes. Evidence: [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines), [Plaud Agent credits](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/piplcrinto). ### Integrations **Plaud has broader documented support for integrations.** **tl;dv:** CRM and collaboration integrations on paid plans. tl;dv connects to common CRMs and work tools; exact access varies by plan. The catalog focuses on sales and collaboration tools. Evidence: [tl;dv pricing](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/6082483-what-is-tl-dv-s-pricing). **Plaud:** Agent connectors, Zapier, and developer tools. Agent lists Slack, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Outlook, Notion, Linear, and Zapier connectors. More Microsoft 365 integrations and a Salesforce note-sync connector are described as upcoming. Connected Agent actions use credits. MCP and CLI provide another route for assistants and custom workflows. Evidence: [Plaud Intelligence Team update](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/get-ready-new-plaud-intelligence-for-team), [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines). ### API, MCP, CLI, and data portability **Both products support API, MCP, CLI, and data portability, with different scope and plan limits.** **tl;dv:** MCP on Pro+ and a public alpha API. MCP can search meetings and participants, with typical result sets capped at 50. A subtle access rule matters: viewing a shared meeting is not enough if its organizer is on Free—the organizer must have Pro or higher before that meeting is available through MCP or the API. The API is documented as v1alpha1 and includes recording downloads, so integration teams should expect contract evolution. Evidence: [tl;dv MCP](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/15322415-mcp), [tl;dv API](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/11583137-api), [tl;dv download limits](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/5946213-how-to-download-your-recording). **Plaud:** MCP and CLI retrieval; separate Embedded SDK/API. Plaud MCP and CLI retrieve recording metadata, speaker-labeled transcripts, summaries, and audio links. CLI search matches recording names across up to 500 recent files, rather than semantic transcript search. The Embedded device SDK and transcription API are separate offerings; the cited docs do not establish a full REST API for the consumer workspace. Evidence: [Plaud MCP](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/mcp), [Plaud CLI](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/cli), [Plaud developer platform](https://docs.plaud.ai/overview). ### Security, privacy, and admin **Both products support security, privacy, and admin, with different scope and plan limits.** **tl;dv:** Paid Team controls; separate domain-based Organizations. Paid Teams add roles, billing administration, and forward-looking defaults; team settings do not override Team Admins. The separate domain-based Organization has no organization-wide admin defaults, any same-domain user can join it, and it cannot be deleted. Multi-team management is Business-only. Evidence: [tl;dv pricing](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/6082483-what-is-tl-dv-s-pricing), [tl;dv team privacy defaults](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/15033798-team-privacy-defaults), [tl;dv organization and team model](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/8975481-organization-vs-team-what-s-the-difference), [tl;dv permission levels](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/10131073-understanding-permission-levels). **Plaud:** Security certifications and Team administration. Plaud lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001/27701, GDPR, and HIPAA support. Team adds billing, seat and device management, secure offboarding, and workspace-level data residency. Content remains private until shared. The Team FAQ says SSO is not yet supported; a workspace has a two-seat minimum. Evidence: [Plaud Team requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57466295856537-What-is-Plaud-Team), [Plaud Team administration](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-team), [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing). ### Languages **Plaud has broader documented support for languages.** **tl;dv:** Multilingual transcription; advanced multilingual mode is plan-gated. Language selection behavior varies by capture mode, and the multilingual Whisper option is documented for Business and Enterprise. Evidence: [tl;dv pricing](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/6082483-what-is-tl-dv-s-pricing), [tl;dv bot-free recording](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/14433337-recording-without-a-bot). **Plaud:** 112 transcription languages. Plaud documents transcription in 112 languages with speaker labeling and custom vocabulary. Validate performance on the languages, accents, and specialized terminology you use; the supported-language count is not an independent accuracy comparison. Evidence: [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing). ## A third option to consider: Circleback Circleback records online meetings with a meeting bot or bot-free desktop app, then turns them into detailed notes, speaker-labeled transcripts, and automatically assigned action items. Automatic sharing, search, and automations turn those meetings into shared company memory. People and AI agents can use the same complete record through the app, API, MCP, and CLI. In-person conversations captured on mobile or Apple Watch, plus imported recordings, flow through the same system. Circleback can also search connected apps and take action in them. It is built for people and AI agents: the same complete meeting data available to a person is available programmatically to ChatGPT, Claude, other agents, and internal tools through the API, MCP, and CLI. Free; Pro from $15/user/month annually; Business from $25/user/month annually; Enterprise $35/user/month, billed annually. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which is better: tl;dv or Plaud? tl;dv centers online video, clips, and recurring reports. Plaud adds dedicated in-person and phone-call devices, desktop audio capture, and credit-based Agent workflows. ### Which is less expensive, tl;dv or Plaud? tl;dv: Free; Pro $18 and Business $29/user/month with annual billing. Plaud: Devices list at $159–$189; AI plans priced separately. Compare the paid seats, included usage, recording access, and admin features you actually need. ### Can tl;dv and Plaud record without a bot? tl;dv: Meeting bot or bot-free desktop recording. Plaud: Dedicated recorders, bot-free desktop, and imports. Check whether your preferred recording method preserves video and speaker labels. ### Which is better for a whole company? Compare automatic sharing, permissions, retention, and the defaults admins can enforce. tl;dv: Granular team privacy defaults and automatic sharing. Plaud: Personal sharing, Team member access, and Routines. ### Can I access and move the full meeting data? tl;dv: MCP on Pro+ and a public alpha API. Plaud: MCP and CLI retrieval; separate Embedded SDK/API. Check the selected plan, authentication model, transcript scope, export format, and retention window for the workflow you need. ### How was this comparison researched? We use first-party pricing pages, product pages, help docs, and release notes for both products. Links appear in each feature comparison and in the Sources section. ## Methodology Circleback reviews first-party pricing pages, product pages, help docs, and release notes. Prices and features change; confirm the details that matter to your decision in the linked sources. Every feature dimension links to the exact first-party documents used for that claim. Ratings describe documented breadth, not an overall score or winner. This page is a neutral competitor-to-competitor comparison. There are no paid placements or affiliate rankings. ## First-party sources ### tl;dv sources - [tl;dv pricing](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/6082483-what-is-tl-dv-s-pricing): Official Free, Pro, Business, and Enterprise pricing and plan scope. - [tl;dv free-plan limits](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/8919450-what-are-the-limits-of-the-free-plan): Recording retention, archive behavior, AI-note coverage, lifetime credits, meeting duration, and concurrency. - [tl;dv mobile app](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/8490450-mobile-app): Recently launched early-stage mobile recording for in-person meetings. - [tl;dv speaker identification](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/6171907-speaker-identification-in-transcript): General automatic speaker identification; the article does not document mobile-mode parity. - [tl;dv bot-free recording](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/14433337-recording-without-a-bot): Desktop capture and the audio-only limitation. - [tl;dv MCP](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/15322415-mcp): Plan eligibility, tools, access model, and result behavior. - [tl;dv API](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/11583137-api): Pro/Business eligibility and v1alpha1 status. - [tl;dv team privacy defaults](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/15033798-team-privacy-defaults): Admin-controlled automatic sharing, workspace-library publishing, and privacy rules for sensitive meetings. - [tl;dv download limits](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/5946213-how-to-download-your-recording): No bulk export plus paid-plan, ownership, and permission requirements for individual recording downloads. - [tl;dv organization and team model](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/8975481-organization-vs-team-what-s-the-difference): Automatic same-domain Organization membership, absence of Organization-wide admin defaults, and the paid Team hierarchy. - [tl;dv permission levels](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/10131073-understanding-permission-levels): Team roles, admin behavior, and the non-deletable domain Organization. - [tl;dv AI prompts](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/9235713-ai-prompts-inspiration): Cross-meeting action-item reports grouped by participant and date plus common analysis workflows. - [tl;dv Slack workflows](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/5946410-set-up-the-slack-integration): Conditional automatic summaries, decisions, and owner/deadline action lists plus the team-admin scope exception. ### Plaud sources - [Plaud devices](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-device-comparison): Model-specific controls, phone-call/in-person capture, charging, storage, and list prices. - [Plaud recording controls](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/55643286546329-How-to-Record): Press-and-hold recording and model-specific highlight controls. - [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing): Individual and Team prices, transcription allowances, launch offers, and included features. - [Plaud desktop](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-desktop): Bot-free capture, meeting detection, recording modes, screenshots, highlights, and typed notes. - [Plaud desktop requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/53795026112409-Device-binding-required-notice-on-Plaud-Desktop): Individual Starter activation requires a device bound to the account. - [Plaud Team requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57466295856537-What-is-Plaud-Team): Two-seat minimum, roles, privacy, and Team desktop capture without hardware. - [Plaud Team administration](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-team): Team management, data residency, and the FAQ stating SSO is not yet supported. - [Plaud Team sharing](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57138357578649-Sharing-content-in-Plaud-Team): Private-by-default recordings and member-only file sharing and links. - [Plaud cross-recording questions](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51041335681689-Ask-Across-All-Files-Ask-Plaud): Questions across transcribed recordings and source-file references. - [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines): Conditional automation, shared Skills, Agent credit costs, and AutoFlow migration limits. - [Plaud Intelligence Team update](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/get-ready-new-plaud-intelligence-for-team): Shared Agent context, launch connectors, forthcoming integrations, and account updates. - [Plaud Agent credits](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/piplcrinto): Transcription versus Agent usage, nonrenewing launch grants, and paid credit top-ups. - [Plaud MCP](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/mcp): Recording, summary, transcript, and audio-link retrieval through authenticated MCP. - [Plaud CLI](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/cli): Command-line retrieval and name-based search limited to 500 recent recordings. - [Plaud developer platform](https://docs.plaud.ai/overview): Distinguishes the Embedded device SDK/transcription API from access to Plaud account data.