Guide · Productivity
What is Granola AI? How the meeting notepad works, its price and alternatives
Granola is an AI notepad that writes meeting notes without a bot. See how it works, what it costs, its privacy claims and how it compares with Otter and ChatGPT Record.
The short answer
Granola is an AI notepad that writes meeting notes without joining the call as a bot: it listens to your computer's audio, you jot a few lines, and it turns them into structured notes. It runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and the web. The Basic plan is free with limited history; Business costs $14 per user a month and Enterprise $35.
Granola is an AI notepad for people who spend the day in meetings. Instead of a bot that joins the call and records it, Granola listens to your computer’s audio in the background while you type a few notes, then combines the two into a clean set of notes you can chat with, share or turn into a follow-up email. This guide explains how it works, what it costs, what it does with your data, and how it compares with alternatives such as Otter and ChatGPT’s record mode.
Granola at a glance
| Detail | Granola |
|---|---|
| What it is | AI notepad for meetings |
| How it captures meetings | Your computer’s audio; no bot joins the call |
| Works on | macOS and Windows, iPhone and Android, and the web |
| Meeting apps | Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other meeting apps, plus in-person meetings and calls |
| Plans | Basic (free), Business ($14 per user a month), Enterprise ($35 per user a month) |
| Security | SOC 2 Type 2; audio not stored |
How Granola works
- Start a meeting note. Granola runs alongside your meeting; you don’t invite anyone.
- Type a little. Write a few prompts, names or decisions as you go.
- Let it listen. Granola transcribes the conversation from your device audio.
- Get your notes. It uses the meeting context to write clear notes that are personal to you, and you can apply templates to shape them.
Beyond notes, Granola offers:
- Chat across your meetings, which “already knows what you’re working on”.
- Pre-meeting briefs, built from your calendar, with attendee information and earlier discussions.
- Post-meeting tools: list actions, write follow-up emails and draft project plans.
- An MCP connector, so AI tools such as Claude, OpenAI’s tools, Figma, Cursor and Replit can use your meeting notes.
Granola also recently announced an Apple Watch app for meeting notes.
How much Granola costs
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Free | AI meeting notes with limited history, AI chat across meetings, shared folders, templates and multi-language support |
| Business | $14 per user a month | Unlimited notes and history, advanced AI models, integrations (Attio, Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Affinity, Zapier), MCP and API access, central billing |
| Enterprise | $35 per user a month | Everything in Business, plus single sign-on, priority support, usage analytics, org-wide auto-deletion and sharing controls, and a team-wide training opt-out |
Granola lists student and nonprofit programmes, and every plan can opt out of model training.
Privacy, security and consent
- Audio: Granola says it doesn’t store meeting audio. On macOS and Windows it transcribes in real time; on mobile it uses temporarily cached audio and deletes it after transcription.
- Notes: private by default, visible to others only if you share them. You can delete individual notes or ask for all your data to be deleted.
- Storage and security: notes sit in a US-hosted AWS environment, encrypted at rest and in transit, and Granola says it meets SOC 2 Type 2 standards.
- Model training: Granola says third parties such as OpenAI and Anthropic may not train on your data. Its security page adds that Granola itself uses anonymised user data, with training turned off by default for enterprise customers, and its pricing page says every plan can opt out.
- Consent: Granola recommends telling participants. It can show a watermark on your camera and post an automatic message in the meeting chat. Laws on recording and transcription vary, so check locally.
Granola alternatives
| Option | How it works | Price |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT record mode | Records and transcribes meetings and voice notes in the ChatGPT macOS app, and saves summaries as canvases | Included with Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu; sessions capped at 4 hours |
| Otter | Records and transcribes meetings, with AI chat | Basic free (300 monthly minutes); Pro $8.33 per user a month billed annually ($16.99 monthly) for 1,200 minutes; Business $19.99 annually ($30 monthly) |
| Your meeting app’s built-in notes | Many video-meeting apps offer their own AI notes | Depends on the app and your plan |
ChatGPT’s record mode works only in the macOS desktop app, records audio only for transcription, then deletes it, and works best in English. Meta’s Muse agent also added a Granola connector, according to Meta’s Muse account on X; see Meta Muse.
Who Granola suits
- Suits: people who take part in many meetings, want notes without a bot in the call, and want to search and chat across past meetings.
- Consider alternatives if: you need unlimited history on a free plan, work mainly on a Mac and already pay for ChatGPT Plus, or need heavy transcription of recorded files.
For how Granola compares with Otter.ai, Fireflies and the meeting tools built into Zoom and Teams, read our guide to the best AI meeting assistants. For more ways to save time, see our guide to the best AI email assistants and 10 ways to be more productive with AI.
Frequently asked questions
What is Granola AI?
Granola is an AI notepad for meetings. It captures the conversation from your computer's audio instead of inviting a bot, and it combines what you typed with what was said to write clear, personal notes. It also offers an AI chat across your meetings, pre-meeting briefs from your calendar, and tools to list actions or draft follow-up emails.
Is Granola free?
Yes, in part. The Basic plan is free and includes AI meeting notes with limited history, AI chat across meetings, shared folders and templates. Business ($14 per user a month) adds unlimited notes and history, and Enterprise ($35 per user a month) adds single sign-on and admin controls.
Does Granola join my meeting as a bot?
No. Granola says it uses your computer's audio, so it does not invite a bot. It works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other meeting apps, and the mobile apps suit in-person meetings.
Does Granola store audio recordings?
Granola says it does not store the audio from meetings. On macOS and Windows it transcribes in real time; on mobile it transcribes after the meeting using temporarily cached audio, which is deleted once transcription completes. It keeps the transcript and your notes.
Is Granola private and secure?
Granola says notes are private by default until you share them, are stored in a US-hosted AWS environment and are encrypted at rest and in transit, and that its security practices meet SOC 2 Type 2 standards. It says it does not allow third parties such as OpenAI or Anthropic to train on your data, and its pricing page says every plan can opt out of model training.
Do I need to tell people I am using Granola?
Yes, as good practice, and the law may require it. Granola recommends that participants know when you use AI note-taking, and it offers a camera watermark and an automatic chat message that everyone in the meeting can see. Recording and transcription laws vary by region, so check with your legal or IT team when in doubt.
Sources
Product facts are checked against the vendor's own announcements and documentation.
- Granola — the AI notepad for back-to-back meetings — Granolahttps://www.granola.ai
- Pricing plans — Granolahttps://www.granola.ai/pricing
- Security at Granola — Granolahttps://www.granola.ai/security
- Getting consent — Granola Help Centerhttps://docs.granola.ai/help-center/consent-security-privacy/getting-consent
- ChatGPT Record — OpenAI Help Centerhttps://help.openai.com/en/articles/11487532-chatgpt-record
- Otter pricing — Otter.aihttps://otter.ai/pricing
- Muse (@Muse) on X — Metahttps://x.com/Muse
