Granola Alternatives (2026): 8 AI Meeting Note Takers, by What You Need

Short answer: the closest Granola alternative is Krisp: it also records without a bot, runs on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, and costs $8 a month on annual billing. If you want a bot that can attend meetings for you, Fathom has the most generous free plan (unlimited recordings) and Otter.ai gives you both a bot and a bot-free desktop app. For teams on a budget, Fireflies.ai starts at $10 a seat on annual billing. For EU hosting and a no-training promise, look at Jamie. Granola itself is free for 30 days of history and $14 a user a month after that. Updated November 9, 2026.

How we checked: plans, limits, platforms and compliance claims come from each vendor's own pricing page or homepage, read November 9, 2026. Prices are per user per month unless noted. Compliance claims are the vendors' own; we did not audit them, and we did not test transcript accuracy or note quality ourselves. If you only care about tools that never put a bot in the call, our guide to AI note takers that don't join your meeting goes deeper on that one question.

Granola (our listing) is a notepad first: you type a few lines during the call and it fills them out from the transcript afterwards. It never joins as a bot; it records your device's audio. Its pricing page lists three plans:

• Basic, $0: AI notes, chat across meetings, shared folders and templates, but only 30 days of meeting history.
• Business, $14 a user a month: unlimited notes and history, plus integrations (Notion, Zapier, HubSpot and others), the API and MCP. Audio is deleted after transcription.
• Enterprise, $35 a user a month: SSO, SCIM, an audit API, org-wide auto-deletion and usage analytics. Model training is off by default here.

Apps cover macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. The pricing page lists SOC 2 Type II on every plan and HIPAA only on Enterprise. It does not list an annual price.

Granola's design choices are deliberate, and each one rules it out for somebody:

• No bot means you have to be there. Granola only hears calls your own device is on. A bot-based tool can attend a meeting you skip and send you the notes.
• No video. Device-audio capture gives you a transcript and notes, not a recording of the screen share or the faces in the call.
• Free history runs out. The Basic plan keeps 30 days. Anything older needs Business.
• Compliance sits on the top plan. HIPAA, SSO and Salesforce are Enterprise features at $35 a user. Several alternatives put a BAA on a cheaper team plan.
• Training defaults. Granola says it trains on anonymized user data unless you opt out in Settings (Enterprise has it off by default). It also says third parties such as OpenAI and Anthropic may not train on your data.

Krisp (our listing) started as noise cancellation and added meeting notes on top. Like Granola, it works at the audio level on your device, so no bot joins the call; unlike Granola, it also offers an optional bot for Zoom if you want one. It has desktop apps for Windows and macOS and mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Core is $16 a month, or $8 on annual billing, and includes an unlimited AI note-taker. Advanced is $30 ($15 annual) and adds recording with a bot. Its plan table marks SOC 2 Type II on every plan and HIPAA on Enterprise, with a BAA available for teams of 100 or more seats; its security FAQ says HIPAA without that qualifier, so confirm with sales if you need it. Not for: anyone who wants a free plan. Krisp has a 7-day trial, no card required, and nothing free after that.

Otter.ai (our listing) is the best known meeting note taker. Its AI agent can join your Zoom, Teams and Google Meet calls automatically from your calendar, and its Mac and Windows desktop app and Chrome extension record "without bots joining the call". It also has iOS and Android apps.

The free Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, and keeps your 25 most recent conversations. Pro is $16.99 a month ($8.33 annual) for 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per conversation. Business is $30 a month ($19.99 annual) with unlimited meetings and 4 hours per conversation. HIPAA is an add-on on custom-priced Enterprise. Not for: long meetings on the free plan; the 30-minute cap cuts them off.

Fathom says it captures notes "bot or no bot" and works with Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Its free plan is "free forever" with unlimited recordings and transcriptions and instant AI summaries; some features, such as AI action items and Ask Fathom across calls, are marked limited use.

Premium for one person is $20 a month ($16 annual). Team is $19 a user ($15 annual, two users minimum) and is where HIPAA with a standard BAA starts. Business is $34 ($25 annual). That makes Fathom the cheapest way on this list to get a signed BAA for a small team. Not for: someone who wants Granola's type-your-own-notes workflow; Fathom is built around summaries of the recording.

Fireflies.ai joins calls as a bot and also has a Chrome extension, a desktop app and a mobile app for in-person conversations. It connects to Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and dialers such as Aircall and RingCentral, which suits sales and support teams.

Free includes transcription (marked with an asterisk on the page), limited AI summaries, 20 AI credits and 400 minutes of storage per team. Pro is $18 a seat a month or $10 on annual billing, with 8,000 minutes of storage per seat. Business is $29 ($19 annual) and Enterprise $39 a seat, annual only. The pricing page states SOC 2 Type II and offers a BAA on Enterprise with private storage. Not for: people who dislike a bot in the participant list; the bot is its main mode.

Jamie "runs directly on your device and does not require a meeting bot", and captures in-person meetings from a laptop or phone. Its site lists Windows, macOS, iOS and the web; Android is not mentioned.

The free plan gives 10 AI notes a month with a 30-minute meeting limit. Paid plans start at $24 a month (the page does not say whether that is monthly or annual billing), and Team is $37 a seat a month billed annually. Every plan lists EU hosting, GDPR compliance, "no model training on your data", ISO 27001, and SOC 2 Type II as pending. Not for: Android users, or anyone who needs a finished SOC 2 report today.

tl;dv works with Google Meet, Zoom and Teams. Its homepage promises "unlimited recordings and transcriptions in 100+ languages" on the free tier and carries a "no bot required" badge, without explaining how that mode works. It says it does not yet have a native mobile app.

Pro is EUR 29 a seat a month, or EUR 18 on annual billing. Business is EUR 39, or EUR 29 annual. The pricing page we read does not state compliance certifications or free-tier limits beyond the homepage claim. Not for: buyers who need a compliance answer from the pricing page alone.

Read AI supports Zoom, Teams and Google Meet and has Windows and macOS apps that "record and transcribe meetings directly from your computer". It adds live notes, meeting reports and meeting metrics on top of the transcript.

The free plan is small: 5 meeting transcripts a month and a 1-hour meeting limit. Pro is $19.75 a month ($15 annual) for unlimited transcripts, 4-hour meetings and integrations including Notion, Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier. HIPAA support is on Enterprise+ ($39.75, or $29.75 annual, five licenses minimum). Not for: anyone hoping to live on the free plan.

HyNote (our listing) is a note app with recording built in. It transcribes Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Webex "without a meeting bot", live or from a recording, and runs on iOS, Android, the web, Mac and a Chrome extension. The free plan records up to 3 hours per session.

Paid plans are sold by the year: Pro $79.99 (1,200 transcription minutes a month), Plus $129.99 (live transcription and translation, export to Notion and Google Docs) and Unlimited $189.99. Teams is $180 a seat a year, from two seats. The page shows two different monthly prices for each plan, so check the checkout before you pay. Not for: teams that need stated compliance; the pricing page does not mention SOC 2 or HIPAA.

• You like Granola but need it cheaper or with an optional bot: Krisp, $8 a month on annual billing.
• You want a bot to attend meetings you skip: Fathom (free, unlimited recordings) or Otter.ai.
• You need a BAA without an Enterprise contract: Fathom Team, from $15 a user on annual billing.
• A sales or support team on a budget: Fireflies.ai Pro at $10 a seat on annual billing.
• EU hosting and no training on your data: Jamie.
• You mostly record on your phone, including Android: HyNote, Krisp or Granola's own Android app.
• You want to stay on Granola: Business at $14 removes the 30-day limit; HIPAA and SSO need Enterprise at $35.

One rule applies whichever you pick: no bot does not mean no consent. Recording laws still apply to you, and a bot-free tool shows nothing to other participants unless you turn on a notice or tell them.

What is the best alternative to Granola?

Krisp is the closest: it records your device's audio without a bot, runs on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, and costs $8 a month on annual billing. If you want a bot that attends meetings for you, Fathom has a free plan with unlimited recordings.

Is there a free alternative to Granola?

Yes. Fathom's free plan has unlimited recordings and transcriptions, tl;dv's homepage promises unlimited free recordings, Otter gives 300 minutes a month, and Jamie gives 10 AI notes a month without a bot. Granola's own free plan keeps 30 days of history.

Does Granola work on Windows and Android?

Yes. Granola's homepage lists apps for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, and its pricing page lists desktop, iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps on every plan.

Which Granola alternative is HIPAA compliant?

Fathom offers HIPAA with a standard BAA from its Team plan ($15 a user on annual billing). Read AI has it on Enterprise+, Otter sells it as an Enterprise add-on, and Fireflies and Krisp offer a BAA on Enterprise. Granola lists HIPAA on its $35 Enterprise plan.