Granola review
AI meeting notes without a bot joining your call
- Granola
- Free + paid plans
- Mac, Windows, iPhone & iPad, Android
Does it deserve #6?
Is Granola worth it?
For most people, yes. Granola scores 8.5/10 and ranks #6 in AI Assistants. It's best for busy professionals who sit in back-to-back video meetings. Skip it if you need a full audio recording of every meeting. Price: Free plan keeps 30 days of notes; Business is $14 per user a month.
The verdict
Granola listens to your meetings through your computer or phone's audio, so no bot joins the call. You jot rough notes as usual, and afterwards it merges them with the transcript into clean, structured notes using templates you choose. Chat across past meetings, share them in team Spaces, or send them to Slack, Notion or HubSpot. The free plan keeps only 30 days of history, and training on anonymized data is on unless you opt out.
- No meeting bot needed
- AI notes merged with your own
- Custom templates and Recipes
- Chat across all your meetings
- Pre-meeting Briefs
- MCP for Claude and ChatGPT
Score breakdown
Overall = features 30% · design 20% · speed 20% · value 15% · privacy 15%. Why these weights?
What's new
- Sep 2026Support for more languages
- Jul 2026Granola arrived on Android and Apple Watch
- May 2026Briefs give you context as you join a meeting, on Mac and Windows
Privacy 7.2/10
Granola doesn't store meeting audio, and notes are encrypted at rest. It trains on anonymized data by default, with an opt-out in Settings. The App Store label links audio, contacts and usage to you.
What we like
- No bot joins your calls
- Turns your rough notes into clean summaries
- Works with Zoom, Meet, Teams and in person
What could be better
- Free plan keeps only 30 days of notes
- No audio recording to replay later
- Trains on anonymized data unless you opt out
Busy professionals who sit in back-to-back video meetings
you need a full audio recording of every meeting
Questions about Granola
Is Granola worth it in 2026?
For most people, yes. Granola scores 8.5/10 and ranks #6 in AI Assistants. It's best for busy professionals who sit in back-to-back video meetings. Skip it if you need a full audio recording of every meeting. Price: Free plan keeps 30 days of notes; Business is $14 per user a month.
Does Granola record meeting audio?
No. Granola transcribes in real time and doesn't store meeting audio, though the mobile app caches audio briefly while it works.
Is Granola free?
Yes, the Basic plan is free with 30 days of meeting history. Business is $14 per user a month and Enterprise is $35.
Does Granola use my notes to train AI?
Granola trains on anonymized data by default, and you can opt out in Settings. Training is off by default on Enterprise.
What are the best alternatives to Granola?
The closest alternatives are ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini Notebook. See all of them ranked on our Granola alternatives page.
Where does Granola rank?
Granola ranks #6 of 10 in our AI Assistants ranking, with an overall score of 8.5 out of 10.