Granola is an AI meeting notepad that transcribes your computer’s audio, so no bot joins your call. You type rough notes during the meeting, and afterwards Granola fills them out with details from the transcript. It works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and any other meeting app, on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.
This review covers what Granola does, who it suits, what each plan includes and where the free plan stops. The short version: Granola is the best choice if you don’t want a bot in your meetings, and its free plan has no meeting limit, but it only shows your last 30 days of notes, so regular users end up on Business at $14 a month.
Cappy’s verdict
| Cappy’s verdict | Granola |
|---|---|
| Cappy Score | 4.2/5 |
| Best for | Founders, consultants and small teams who want notes without a bot |
| Price | Free plan; Business $14/user/month; Enterprise $35/user/month |
| Standout feature | Bot-free notes that build on what you typed |
| Biggest catch | Only the last 30 days of notes on the free plan |
Granola is our top pick for bot-free meeting notes. Start on the free plan, and upgrade to Business when you need notes older than a month or integrations with Notion and HubSpot.
What is Granola?
Granola is a notepad for meetings with AI built in. Instead of sending a bot to join your call, the desktop app listens to your computer’s audio, the same sound you hear, and transcribes it in the background.
During the meeting, you write notes the way you normally would: a few words, half-sentences, the points that matter to you. When the meeting ends, Granola combines your notes with the transcript into clean, structured notes, keeping your own points at the center.
You can then chat with your notes, ask questions across past meetings, share notes with colleagues and send them to Slack. Paid plans add integrations with Notion, HubSpot and Zapier, pre-meeting briefs and follow-up emails.
Who is Granola best for?
- Founders and executives who spend the day in back-to-back calls.
- Consultants and agencies whose clients may not like a bot joining the call.
- Investors and recruiters who run many one-on-one conversations.
- Anyone who already takes notes and wants AI to finish them, not replace them.
Granola is a weaker fit for large meetings where you need accurate speaker labels, for teams that want shareable video recordings and clips, and for anyone who wants an AI assistant to take notes while they don’t write anything at all.
Key features of Granola
Bot-free transcription
Granola transcribes the audio on your device, so no extra participant appears in the meeting. That makes it work with any meeting app, including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack huddles and others, and it avoids the awkward moment of explaining a bot to a client.
AI-enhanced notes
Your own notes stay the backbone. After the call, Granola expands them with the details you didn’t have time to write down, such as numbers, names and decisions, and organizes everything under clear headings. You can use templates for different kinds of meetings, such as sales calls, interviews or one-on-ones.
Chat with your meetings
You can ask Granola questions about a meeting, such as “what did we agree on pricing?”, or across several meetings. This is included on the free plan, limited to the notes you can see.
Sharing and Slack
Notes can be shared with colleagues and in shared folders, and sent to Slack, on every plan. Business adds team workspaces with shared notes and full history.
Integrations and API
Business adds integrations with Notion, HubSpot and Zapier, plus API access and full access through MCP, which lets AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT read your notes. On the free plan, MCP is limited to your own notes from the last 30 days.
Pre-meeting briefs and follow-ups
On Business, Granola can prepare a brief before a meeting from your past notes and draft a follow-up email afterwards.
Desktop and mobile apps
Granola has apps for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. The phone apps are useful for in-person meetings and calls away from your desk.
How Granola works day to day
Download the app, sign in with Google or Microsoft, and connect your calendar. When a meeting starts, Granola shows a notepad for that meeting and starts transcribing when you click to begin.
You type notes as the call goes on. When it ends, click to enhance, and within seconds you get structured notes: your points in your words, filled out with what was said. You can edit them, chat with them, share them or send them to Slack.
The workflow suits people who like to stay engaged in conversations. Because you’re still writing, you stay focused on the points that matter, and Granola handles the rest.
Granola pricing
Granola has three plans: Basic is free, Business costs $14 per user per month, and Enterprise starts at $35 per user per month. Business is billed monthly only; annual billing is offered on Enterprise contracts. There’s no separate free trial, because the free plan does that job.
| Plan | Price | Meeting history | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0 | Last 30 days | Unlimited meetings, AI-enhanced notes, templates, AI chat, sharing, Slack |
| Business | $14/user/month | Unlimited | Everything in Basic, plus advanced AI models, Notion, HubSpot and Zapier, API, full MCP access, pre-meeting briefs and follow-up emails |
| Enterprise | From $35/user/month | Unlimited | Everything in Business, plus SSO, admin controls and a team-wide opt-out of AI model training |
What does the Granola free plan include?
Basic gives you unlimited meetings and transcription, AI-enhanced notes, templates, AI chat across your meetings, sharing and Slack. It’s free forever, not a trial, and needs no card. The catch is history: the app only shows your notes from the last 30 days. Older notes are stored, not deleted, so they come back if you upgrade.
Is Business worth $14 a month?
Business makes sense once you need notes older than a month, want to search your whole meeting history, or want notes to flow into Notion, HubSpot or other tools. Twelve months of Business cost $168 per person, because there’s no annual discount.
What does Enterprise add?
Enterprise adds single sign-on (SSO), admin controls and the option to opt the whole organization out of AI model training. It’s built for larger companies with security and compliance needs.
Which Granola plan should you choose?
- Trying Granola, or only need recent notes → Basic
- Need your full history and integrations → Business
- A larger company that needs SSO and admin controls → Enterprise
Granola Basic vs Business
| Feature | Basic | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Meetings and transcription | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Meeting history in the app | Last 30 days | Unlimited |
| AI-enhanced notes and templates | Included | Included, with advanced AI models |
| AI chat across meetings | Your last 30 days | Full history |
| Slack | Included | Included |
| Notion, HubSpot and Zapier | Not included | Included |
| Pre-meeting briefs and follow-up emails | Not included | Included |
| API and full MCP access | Limited MCP | Included |
| Price | $0 | $14/user/month |
If you mostly need notes from this week’s calls, Basic is enough. If you look back at older meetings or want notes in your CRM, Business pays off.
What Granola costs for different users
| Situation | Best plan | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|
| One person who only needs recent notes | Basic | $0 |
| A founder who searches months of calls | Business | $168 |
| A consultant logging calls in HubSpot | Business | $168 |
| A team of 5 sharing notes | Business (5 users) | $840 |
| A company of 50 that needs SSO | Enterprise | From $21,000 |
Is Granola safe and private?
Because Granola transcribes your computer’s audio, the other people in the call don’t see a bot, so it’s on you to tell them. Let participants know you’re taking AI notes, since some places legally require everyone’s consent to be recorded or transcribed.
Check your company’s policy before using Granola for work calls. Only Enterprise lets an organization opt out of AI model training for the whole team, so companies with strict data rules should look at that plan.
Common Granola problems and how to fix them
- Your older notes disappeared. On Basic, the app only shows the last 30 days. They’re stored, not deleted, and return if you upgrade to Business.
- Speaker names are mixed up. Bot-free transcription can struggle to tell several speakers apart. Add names in your own notes for key points, especially in larger meetings.
- Granola didn’t capture the meeting. Check that you started the notepad and that Granola has permission to access your microphone and system audio.
- Your notes aren’t in Notion or HubSpot. Those integrations start on Business.
- You want a recording to share. Granola focuses on notes and transcripts. If you need video clips, look at tl;dv or Fathom.
Granola pros and cons
What we like
- No bot joins your meetings
- Works with any meeting app
- Builds on your own notes instead of replacing them
- Free plan has no meeting limit
- Apps for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android
What could be better
- Only the last 30 days of notes on Basic
- No annual discount on Business
- Speaker labels can be less accurate in larger meetings
- No shareable video recordings or clips
- Notion, HubSpot and Zapier need Business
Granola alternatives
The best Granola alternatives are Fathom, Fireflies.ai, Otter.ai and tl;dv. Each one beats Granola on a specific need, from free storage to video clips.
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid plans from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Unlimited free recordings and storage | Yes, unlimited recordings | $15/user/month (Team, annual) |
| Fireflies.ai | Searchable notes and CRM sync | Yes, 400 min storage | $10/user/month (annual) |
| Otter.ai | Live transcription during meetings | Yes, 300 min/month | $8.33/user/month (annual) |
| tl;dv | Recording and clipping meetings | Yes, unlimited recordings | $18/seat/month (annual) |
Quick pick:
- Don’t want a bot in your calls → Granola
- Want unlimited free recordings and storage → Fathom
- Want team search and CRM sync → Fireflies.ai
- Want the cheapest paid plan → Otter.ai
- Want shareable video clips → tl;dv
For in-depth looks at the others, read our Fathom review, Fireflies review and Otter.ai review, or compare all five in our guide to the best AI meeting assistants.
Is Granola worth it?
Yes, if you take notes in meetings and don’t want a bot in the call. Granola keeps you engaged, respects your own notes and turns them into something clear and complete in seconds. The free plan is enough to see if the workflow suits you.
Upgrade to Business when the 30-day history starts to hurt or you want notes in Notion or HubSpot. Skip Granola if you need video recordings to share, or if you’d rather not write any notes at all; Fathom and tl;dv do more of the work for you.
As with any AI notetaker, check the enhanced notes before you send them to a client.
How to get the most out of Granola
- Write short notes on what matters to you. Granola uses them as the structure for the final notes.
- Pick a template that matches the meeting, such as a sales call or interview.
- Tell participants you’re taking AI notes. It builds trust, and some places legally require consent.
- Export or save key notes if you stay on Basic, since the app only shows the last 30 days.
- Use chat to prepare for follow-ups, for example by asking what you promised in the last call.
Frequently asked questions
Is Granola free?
Yes. Granola’s Basic plan is free forever, with unlimited meetings and AI-enhanced notes. The app only shows your notes from the last 30 days.
How much does Granola cost?
Business costs $14 per user per month, billed monthly. Enterprise starts at $35 per user per month, with annual billing on Enterprise contracts.
Does Granola join my meeting as a bot?
No. Granola transcribes your computer’s audio, so no bot joins the call. You should still tell participants you’re taking AI notes.
Does Granola work with Zoom, Google Meet and Teams?
Yes. Because it listens to your computer’s audio, Granola works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and any other meeting app.
What happens to my notes after 30 days on the free plan?
They’re stored, not deleted, but you can’t see them in the app on Basic. They return if you upgrade to Business.
Does Granola have a free trial?
No separate trial. The free Basic plan works as one, with unlimited meetings and no card needed.
Does Granola record audio?
Granola transcribes your meetings and focuses on notes and transcripts rather than shareable recordings. If you need video recordings or clips, Fathom and tl;dv are better fits.
Is Granola better than Otter?
For bot-free notes that build on your own writing, yes. Otter is better for live transcription during meetings and has a cheaper paid plan, at $8.33 a month billed annually.