You’re on a video call. Someone asks a question. You quickly jot something down. But meanwhile someone else is talking and you miss half of it. Sound familiar? I tested Granola AI for two weeks to see if this is finally the solution to that endless note-taking during meetings.
Granola AI: the company
Granola AI was born from a simple observation: nobody likes those bots that suddenly join your meeting. You know, that “Fireflies Notetaker has joined the meeting” notification that makes everyone go quiet for a moment. Awkward.
That’s why the company chose a different approach. Instead of a bot that listens in through the meeting itself, Granola runs locally on your computer. It listens to your system audio. No bot. No awkward silences. Just you and your colleagues.
The tool is especially popular with Mac users, although there are now Windows and iOS versions as well. The focus is on privacy and a minimalist experience. No unnecessary bells and whistles, just good transcriptions and AI that improves your notes.
Who is Granola AI really for?
This is for you if you’re regularly in meetings where you need to take notes. Think product managers conducting user interviews. Or consultants having client conversations. Sales people giving demos and wanting to track what the prospect cares about.
Also great for therapists and coaches who have conversations but don’t want a disruptive bot. Or for teams discussing sensitive information and don’t want recordings going to an external server.
Not suitable if you actually want to make video recordings of your meetings. Or if you’re looking for a browser-only solution without a desktop app. And if your team mainly works on Linux, forget about it – that support is missing.
Granola AI features
Let’s look at what exactly you get for your money.
What strikes me is the quality of the transcriptions. Even with background noise or accents, Granola does surprisingly well. Not perfect, but better than I expected. The AI summaries are also actually useful, not those generic “we talked about X” texts.
The calendar integration works smoothly. Granola sees which meetings you have and asks if you want to transcribe. You don’t have to manually start a recording, although you do need to indicate that you want to begin – it doesn’t start fully automatically.
Granola AI pricing
Okay, here’s where it gets interesting. Granola has a free Basic plan, but there’s a hard limit: maximum 25 meetings total. Not per month. Total. And you can only view 14 days of history. Fine for a few test meetings, but not really usable as a serious solution.
Then the paid plans. Pro costs $1 per month. Enterprise costs $1 per month per person.
Honestly? That $1 per month for Pro is steep. Especially when you look at alternatives like Fireflies that are cheaper. Yes, you have a bot there, but in terms of functionality you get more for less money. So the bot-free experience is a premium feature you’re paying for.
There is a 14-day trial. Enough time to test whether the bot-free approach is worth the extra cost for you.
What should you watch out for?
Let’s be honest about the limitations. First: you can’t replay audio. Granola doesn’t store audio files. It only transcribes in real-time. If you want to hear a specific part later, you’re out of luck. For some use cases, that’s a dealbreaker.
That free version with 25 meetings total is basically a joke. After 25 meetings, you’re done. Ever. That feels more like a very limited trial than an actual free plan.
The Windows version isn’t as mature as the Mac version yet. Users report more bugs and limitations. Granola was clearly built for Mac first and the rest came later. If you work on Windows, expect an inferior experience.
Privacy is a thing. Yes, everything runs locally. But your transcripts do go to Granola’s servers for AI processing. And by default, your data is used to train their models. Want to opt out? Then you need the Enterprise plan at $1 per month. Pretty frustrating if privacy was your main reason for choosing Granola.
And then there’s the price. $1 per month is just a lot compared to alternatives. You’re really paying for that bot-free experience. The question is whether that justifies the extra cost for your situation.
Granola AI reviews
I looked at what others think about it. Here’s what I found.
ToolFinder
This reviewer tests Granola primarily from a Mac perspective and is positive about the bot-free approach. The big advantage according to him: you can take your own notes during the meeting and Granola enriches them with AI. That gives you more control than tools that automatically generate a summary.
He also appreciates the calendar integration and the fact that you can easily share transcripts with others. But he does think the price of $1 per month is high, especially compared to competitors. And you have to manually indicate that you want to transcribe a meeting – it doesn’t start automatically.
Pros:
Cons:
Granola AI alternatives
Not quite what you were looking for? These are the alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Does Granola record video or audio?
No, Granola only transcribes the audio in real-time and doesn’t store audio or video files. So you can’t go back to listen to a specific part later. It’s purely transcription and AI summary, not a recording tool.
Will a bot join my meeting?
No, and that’s exactly what Granola positions itself on. It runs locally on your computer and listens to the system audio. Nobody in the meeting sees anything happening. No “Notetaker has joined” notification, no extra participant in the list. For many people, that’s the main reason to choose Granola.
Is my data private?
Partly. The audio is processed locally on your device, that’s true. But the transcripts do go to Granola’s servers for AI processing. And by default, your data is used to train their AI models. Want to opt out of that? Then you need to get the Enterprise plan. So yes, more private than Zoom recordings, but not as private as you might think.
Conclusion
Granola AI does exactly what it promises: transcribe without a bot. And it does it well. The transcription quality is fine, the AI summaries are useful, and the interface is pleasantly calm. If you’re regularly in meetings where a bot would be awkward, this is a solid solution.
But you do pay a premium price for that bot-free experience. $1 per month is a lot, especially when you look at what competitors offer. And the lack of audio playback is really a problem for some use cases. Plus that limited free version isn’t really usable seriously.
My advice: take the 14-day trial. Test whether that bot-free approach is really worth the extra cost for your situation. For therapists, consultants, and teams having sensitive conversations, probably yes. For a startup that just wants good meeting notes, there are cheaper options that offer more features. It really depends on how important that invisibility is to you.
