Granola
A notepad that listens while you type, aimed at people whose calendar is wall to wall.
Our verdict
The best pure meeting notepad here if you live on a laptop, and the only one that ships an API on a $14 plan.
Granola is a notepad that listens. You type what you would have typed anyway during a call, and it fills in what was actually said afterwards, which is a meaningfully different product from a transcript with a summary bolted on. It captures your computer’s audio instead of sending a bot into the meeting, so the other side sees nothing join.
The free plan allows unlimited note taking, with the catch that notes older than 30 days need an upgrade to view. Business at $14 a user a month adds unlimited history, the better models, integrations with Attio, Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Affinity and Zapier, and both API and MCP access, which most rivals hold back for enterprise. Enterprise at $35 a user adds SSO, admin controls and org-wide retention.
The constraint is the shape of the product: it is built around meetings on a computer. PDFs, YouTube links and phone calls are out of scope, and because capture runs off computer audio, the machine has to be in the room.
Reviewed by AI Review Rating desk review against the published rubric How we score
What it does well
- Captures computer audio instead of sending a bot into the meeting
- You type rough notes, it fills in what was actually said
- AI chat across every meeting you have had, not just the current one
- macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and Apple Watch
- Integrations with Attio, Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Affinity and Zapier on paid plans
Pros and cons
Pros
Pricing
| Tier | Monthly | Includes | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Free | AI meeting notes, AI chat, shared folders, custom templates. Notes older than 30 days need an upgrade | per user |
| Business our pick | $14 | Unlimited meeting notes and history, advanced models, Attio, Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Affinity and Zapier integrations, MCP, API access | per user |
| Enterprise | $35 | SSO, admin controls, usage analytics, org-wide retention and model-training opt-out | per user |
On video
What users actually say
- Granola AI is still the best regarding meeting notes? Reddit · 2026
- Anyone using Granola.ai to transcribe meetings, and … Reddit · 2025
We link to discussions rather than reproducing them. Opinions belong to their authors.
User reviews
No one has reviewed Granola here yet. Reviews are moderated before they appear, and our own score is editorial and separate from user ratings, though once reviews land they do lift it.
Used Granola? Review it.
Sign in to rate it. One account, one review per tool, so the score means something.
Requiring an account is how we keep this page free of drive-by spam. We never sell your address.
Granola alternatives
HyNote
An AI note taker that takes eight kinds of…
🥈 
Plaud
Hardware first: a recorder you wear or clip to…
🥉 
Otter.ai
The incumbent transcription service, now sold as a meeting…
Gong
Not a note taker: a revenue platform that happens…
Coconote
A student note taker owned by Quizlet that turns…
Side by side
| Tool | Our score | From | Free tier | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granola this page | 6.7 | $14 | Yes | Back-to-back meeting days on a laptop, where you… | |
| 🥇HyNote Our pick | 5.5 | $11.99 | Yes | People who capture more than meetings: PDFs, YouTube,… | Visit |
| 🥈Plaud | 6.7 | $17.99 | Yes | In-person conversations, site visits and consultations that never… | |
| 🥉Otter.ai | 6.2 | $16.99 | Yes | Teams that need an established vendor with SSO,… | |
| Gong | 5.2 | - | - | Sales organisations buying revenue analytics, with a budget… | |
| Coconote | 3.1 | - | Yes | Students turning lectures and readings into flashcards, quizzes… |
Articles on Granola
HyNote Review 2026: The Cheapest 1,200 Minutes in AI Note Taking
HyNote costs $79.99 a year for 1,200 transcription minutes a month, 20% below the equivalent Otter plan, and handles PDFs,…
Best AI Note Takers in 2026: What Each One Really Costs Per Year
Seven AI note takers compared on verified annual cost, cost per 1,000 transcription minutes and what the free tiers actually…
Questions
Does Granola have a free plan?
Yes. AI meeting notes, AI chat, shared folders, custom templates. Notes older than 30 days need an upgrade Checked on 2026-08-30.
How much does Granola cost?
Granola starts at $14 a month for Business. Unlimited meeting notes and history, advanced models, Attio, Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Affinity and Zapier integrations, MCP, API access Prices read from the vendor’s own pricing page on 2026-08-30.
What is Granola best for?
Back-to-back meeting days on a laptop, where you want notes that read like your own.
When is Granola the wrong choice?
Capturing PDFs, YouTube links or in-person conversations, none of which it handles.