The Best Granola Alternatives

Why people look for a Granola alternative

Granola is one of the nicest apps in this category. You type rough notes during the call, and afterwards it rewrites them against the transcript so the result keeps your priorities. No bot joins the meeting. Most people who leave aren’t unhappy with the notes. They leave over one of these:

• It trains on your meetings by default. Granola uses de-identified meeting data to train models unless each user finds the toggle in Settings. Its privacy policy also says data already used for training will not be removed from those models.
• Everything after capture happens in the cloud. Audio is recorded on your device, then transcription and AI run on Granola’s servers. Without internet you get no transcript.
• Data stays in the US, and HIPAA is Enterprise-only. There is no EU or UK residency option, and a Business Associate Agreement needs the $35-per-user Enterprise plan.
• The free plan only shows 30 days of meetings. To keep a longer history you need Business at $14 per user per month.
• There is no recording to go back to. Granola deletes meeting audio once transcription finishes, so you can’t replay a moment or share a clip.
• No web app. Granola runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, and Apple Watch, but not in a browser.
• The lawsuit. A proposed class action filed in July 2026 targets exactly the combination of silent capture and default training. It is early, and nothing has been decided. We cover it in Granola’s Lawsuit Tests the Bot-Free Privacy Argument.

Every tool on this page can record without a bot, so you keep the main thing Granola does well. What differs is what happens to the audio afterwards.

What to check before you switch

Four questions separate these tools more than any feature list does. The table further down answers them for each one.

1. Where does the audio go after capture? Every tool here can record without a bot. Of the ones we rank, only Hedy has a built-in way to run both transcription and AI on your device: speech recognition is local by default, and its opt-in Local AI mode moves summaries, notes, chat and live suggestions on-device on capable hardware (Apple Silicon Macs, Windows PCs with a capable GPU, iPhone 15 Pro and later, M-series or A17 Pro iPads, and supported Android phones). Cloud sync and sharing settings still apply. MacWhisper keeps transcription local and can summarise locally only if you install a local model yourself.
2. Does the vendor train on it? Ask what the default is, not whether an opt-out exists. Granola and Fathom both train unless you switch it off.
3. Where is the data stored? If you’re in Europe, US-only storage can rule a tool out before you look at features.
4. What does the free plan really include? “Free” ranges from unlimited recording to 5 meetings for the life of the account.

Pick by the reason you’re leaving

You want no vendor copy at all: Hedy

Hedy captures the same way Granola does, from your own device. The difference is that with Local AI on, transcription, summaries, chat, and live coaching all run on your hardware, so nothing goes to a server. It works on a plane, and it never trains on your data. If you prefer the cloud, you pick EU or US residency at signup. It also coaches you during the meeting, while Granola does most of its work after the call. The free plan gives you 5 hours a month. Pro is $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and there is a $299 lifetime license. The full head-to-head is in Granola vs Hedy.

You want a cloud notetaker that doesn’t train on you: Circleback or Fellow

Circleback is closest to Granola in who it’s for: people in back-to-back meetings who want clean notes without fuss. It records with a bot or without one, has very good transcription and action items, and states that it does not train on customer data. Its free plan includes unlimited meetings with 30 days of history, the same limit as Granola, and Pro costs $15 per user per month billed annually. Fellow records without a bot on Mac and Windows, never trains on customer data, and is the cheapest team option here at $7 per user per month billed annually.

You want your data in the EU: Jamie

Jamie is bot-free, hosts everything in Germany, deletes the audio once transcription finishes, and does not train on your meetings. It holds ISO 27001. The catch is that everything happens after the meeting: there is no live transcript. Paid plans start at $24 a month.

You want the biggest free plan: Fathom

Fathom gives you unlimited recording, transcription, and storage for free, which beats Granola’s 30-day window. It also keeps the recording, which Granola doesn’t. Two things to know first. Bot-free capture is still a Mac-only beta, so on Windows Fathom always joins your call as a bot. And like Granola, it trains on de-identified data unless you opt out. Fathom fixes the price problem, not the privacy one.

You’re on a Mac and only need transcripts: MacWhisper

MacWhisper transcribes on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad with no account, and nothing goes to its developer. It is free with smaller models, and Pro is a one-time €65. It is a transcriber rather than a full meeting assistant. You won’t get team sharing or cross-meeting search, and AI summaries only run locally if you install a local model yourself.

You want video and clips: Bluedot

Bluedot records without a bot through a Chrome extension or its Mac and Windows apps, keeps video, makes shareable clips, and states that it does not train on your data. Its free plan is 5 meetings for the life of the account. We mark it down for leading its marketing with “invisible”, which is the wrong message for a tool where you still have to tell people you’re recording.

New and not yet ranked: Google AI Edge Foresight

On 6 October 2026 Google released AI Edge Foresight, a free, experimental Mac app that is the closest thing yet to Granola’s layout: your shorthand on one side, AI-written notes on the other. Unlike Granola, it processes audio and transcripts on the device, runs on Apple Silicon with Google’s Gemma models, and works offline, including for in-person meetings. It is Mac-only, Google calls it experimental, and it has no team features. We haven’t scored it yet, so it isn’t in the ranking below. If you want the Granola feel with no cloud and you don’t need support or sharing, it’s worth trying.

What you give up by leaving Granola

None of the ranked tools works quite like Granola, where you type notes and the AI expands them using the transcript. Google’s Foresight comes closest. Hedy lets you type notes that feed its AI, but it centres on the live meeting. The others mostly write notes for you from the recording. Granola’s team workspace (Spaces, plus People and Companies views) and its native Notion, HubSpot, Attio, and Affinity connections are also more developed than most of what’s on this list. If those are why you chose Granola, turning off the training toggle may be a better fix than switching.

Why Otter and Fireflies aren’t on this list

Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai top many Granola-alternative lists, and both now have bot-free desktop apps. But both send a bot to your calls by default, and Otter, like Granola, trains on de-identified meeting data by default. For someone leaving a bot-free notepad over privacy, they solve the wrong problem. If what you actually need is CRM sync for a sales team, Fireflies is still worth a look, and the Granola vs Otter comparison covers that trade-off.

How to switch from Granola

1. Turn off training first. In the desktop or iPhone app, go to Settings, then Preferences, and switch off “Use my data to improve models for everyone”. The Android app doesn’t have the toggle yet. This only covers what you record from now on, not data already used.
2. Export your history. Under Settings, then Profile, click Generate CSV. Granola emails a file within a few hours with each note’s title, summary, and transcript, including notes older than 30 days that the free plan hides. The link works for 24 hours, and notes without a summary are left out. On Enterprise, an admin has to allow exports first (Granola’s export guide).
3. Run the new tool alongside Granola for a week. Every pick above has a free plan or a free version, so you can compare notes from the same meetings before you cancel anything. Hedy’s free plan covers 5 hours of meetings a month.
4. Delete the account if you want the data gone. Cancelling a plan doesn’t delete your notes. Granola’s account deletion removes them, so export first.

Whatever you switch to, keep telling people when you record. That obligation doesn’t change with the tool.