Granola review
by Granola, Inc.AI meeting notetakers
A bot-free notetaker that transcribes device audio in any meeting app, with full history, integrations and the API on Business at $14 a user, billed monthly.
- Free plan
- No card needed
- Self-serve
- Per seat
- Public prices
What you're paying for
- Easy to adopt (main value)
- Worth the price
Meeting notes without a bot in the call: Granola transcribes your computer’s audio in any meeting app and keeps no recording.
Granola listens to device audio on Mac or Windows, so it works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Slack huddles and other apps without a bot joining, and deletes the audio after transcription. You write notes during the call and Granola fills them out with templates, and AI chat works across meetings. Business, at $14 a user a month, keeps the full history and adds HubSpot, Notion and Zapier integrations, the API and webhooks.
- No bot, any meeting appThe security page says the desktop app works with any meeting platform and that no bot joins; help says audio is deleted from Granola and third-party systems after transcription.Evidence: Granola security page and security FAQ (2026-10-16)
- Full history and integrations at $14Business lists unlimited meeting notes and history, integrations with Notion, Zapier and HubSpot, the API and webhooks for $14 a user a month.Evidence: Granola pricing page and API help (2026-10-16)
- Per-user auto-deleteEach user on Basic or Business can auto-delete transcripts after 1 day to 1 year; Enterprise sets one policy for the workspace.Evidence: Granola help: transcript auto-deletion (2026-10-16)
- Best for
- People and small teams who want AI notes from any meeting app without a bot joining and without stored recordings.
- Good to know
- There is no audio or video recording or file import, and Business is billed monthly only.
How Granola compares
Against 3 other products we reviewed in AI meeting notetakers: what you pay for with each, the five access facts, the plan limits we recorded and each review's bottom line. The note under the table says how each one was checked.
| Metric | Granola | tl;dv | Fathom | Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Easy to adoptMeeting notes without a bot in the call: Granola transcribes your computer’s audio in any meeting app and keeps no recording. | Compliance includedVideo recordings of Zoom, Meet and Teams calls hosted and stored in the EU on every plan, with no training on your meetings. | Worth the priceUnlimited recording, transcription, video and history on a free plan, and a shared team workspace from $15 a seat. | Easy to adoptA notetaker that joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams on every plan, with AI chat across meetings and a desktop app that records without a bot. |
| Overall score | 7.2Best | 7.0 | 6.6 | 6.6 |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan | Free plan | Free plan |
| Card to start | No card needed | No card needed | –Not measured | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $14/user/mo | $18/seat/mo | $15/user/mo | $8.33/user/mo |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Per active member per month | Per seat per month | Per user per month | Per user per month |
| Free option | Basic: no transcription limit, notes visible for 30 days; trials of paid plans (length not stated) | Free: unlimited video recordings, 40 a week, kept 3 months; no card | Free: unlimited recordings and history, for individuals; 30-day Premium preview | Basic: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation; 7-day Business trial, card required |
| Reference scenario (5 users, annual) | $70/mo on Business ($14 × 5, billed monthly), computed | $90/mo on Pro ($18 × 5), computed | $75/mo on Team ($15 × 5), computed | $99.95/mo on Business ($19.99 × 5), computed |
| Month-to-month price | $14 per user on Business; Enterprise $35, monthly or annual | $29 per seat on Pro; $39 on Business | $19 per user on Team; $20 on Premium; $34 on Business | $30 per user on Business ($24 for 3 months for first-time subscribers); $16.99 on Pro |
| Meeting length cap | Not stated; transcription stops after 15 minutes of silence | 3 hours on every plan | Not stated; the bot does not join Zoom meetings over 250 attendees | 30 minutes on Basic, 90 on Pro, 4 hours on Business |
| Meeting platforms | Any app through device audio (Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack huddles) | Zoom, Google Meet and Teams by bot on every plan | Zoom, Google Meet and Teams on every plan | Zoom, Teams and Google Meet on every plan |
| Bot-free capture | Always: no bot; desktop, iOS and Android apps | Desktop app (audio only) and mobile app | Mac-only beta (not Teams yet); iOS app for in-person | Desktop app (macOS, Windows) and Chrome extension for Google Meet |
| Video recording | Not offered; audio is not stored | Every plan; downloads from Pro | Every plan, MP4 download | Enterprise only; audio playback on every plan |
| Training on your data | Anonymized data unless each user opts out; Enterprise off by default | Not used to train AI, every plan (privacy policy) | De-identified data for in-house models; opt-out per user, org-wide on Team | De-identified data used for training; Enterprise opted out by default |
| SOC 2 / HIPAA | SOC 2 Type II; HIPAA BAA on Enterprise through sales | SOC 2 Type II on request; BAA mentioned only in blog posts | SOC 2 Type II; BAA in the terms, signed BAA on Enterprise | SOC 2 Type II; HIPAA add-on on Enterprise |
| EU data storage | Not offered; AWS US region | Every plan (Germany and Finland); AI processing in the EU or the US, as chosen in preferences | Not offered; stored in the US | Not offered; AWS US West |
| SSO | Enterprise, 50+ seats | Enterprise (SAML, OIDC) | Enterprise | Enterprise, 100-user minimum |
| Transcript export | CSV of all notes per user; API from Business | Copy per meeting; API on Pro and Business; no bulk export | Copy in the app; JSON through the API | TXT, PDF, DOCX, SRT from Pro; bulk export from Business |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Granola is the one notetaker here built without a bot or stored audio, with the lowest 5-user price ($70 a month on Business) and self-serve retention settings. It trains on anonymized data unless each user opts out, and SSO needs 50 seats. | From its public pages, tl;dv is the EU-hosted option here, with video on its free plan, no training on your meetings, and CRM mapping and the API on Pro at $18 a seat. Recordings are capped per week (80 a user on Pro), and SSO, retention and the audit log are Enterprise. | From its public pages, Fathom has the strongest free plan of the bot notetakers here and the lowest 5-user price among them, $75 a month on Team. Transcripts leave only through copy or the API, and its pages disagree on several plan details. | From its public pages, Otter covers the three big platforms and AI chat from the free plan, and Business adds unlimited meetings and bulk export at $19.99 a seat. The API, video, retention and HIPAA sit on Enterprise, and data is stored in the US. |
Evidence: Granola: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; tl;dv: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Fathom: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Otter.ai: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
Score
- Pricing clarity
- 6.0 / 10, Good
- scenario plan priced; can be bought online; month-to-month price published; no top-ups offered; the Platform Terms describe annual renewal and seats that cannot be decreased; billing help says Business is billed monthly with prorated seats; Enterprise is $35 on the pricing page and "from $35" in billing help; the pricing page puts Salesforce on Enterprise; the integrations page lists Salesforce via Zapier, a Business feature; the security page offers retention periods on Enterprise; help and the pricing page give per-user transcript auto-delete on Basic and Business
- Free plan and trial
- 8.5 / 10, Excellent
- free plan, unlimited transcription (no daily limit stated), history kept 30 days, AI summaries, no per-meeting cap stated
- Price for 5 users
- 6.6 / 10, Good
- $70/mo: Business at $14 × 5 users, billed monthly (no annual price for this plan); Basic hides notes older than 30 days; Business keeps full history with centralized billing, transcribes device audio in Zoom, Meet and Teams with no stated cap, and stores no audio; assumes no per-meeting length cap, as none is stated (transcription stops after 15 minutes of silence)
- Notetaking features
- 8.5 / 10, Excellent
- bot-free capture on the scenario plan; AI search across meetings on the scenario plan; CRM sync on the scenario plan; custom templates on the scenario plan; video recording not listed; API or webhooks on the scenario plan
- Privacy and compliance
- 7.5 / 10, Good
- SOC 2 Type II, training opt-out on every plan, HIPAA BAA enterprise or through sales only, automatic notice to participants, organizer can pause and delete, EU data storage not listed (no EU, UK or other regional data residency; AWS US region), published DPA
- Admin and data exit
- 6.2 / 10, Good
- SAML SSO enterprise or through sales only; retention settings on the scenario plan; audit log enterprise or through sales only; bulk transcript export; data after cancel stated; no built-in 2FA stated
Review
Review from public pages
Written from Granola's public pages (pricing, security or privacy, and docs) as read on Oct 16, 2026. We did not sign up, and no hands-on run is published yet.
What the public pages show
We read Granola's pricing page with its comparison table and FAQ, the enterprise and security pages, the help center on billing, transcription, chat, templates, integrations, the API, webhooks, exports, SSO, transcript auto-deletion, transparency notices and security, the Platform Terms, the privacy policy and the DPA on Oct 16, 2026; we did not install the app, sign up or call the API. The pages served us US dollar prices. The trust center renders only in a browser script and could not be read, so its subprocessor list is not covered here.
Granola works differently from the bot notetakers: the desktop app transcribes the computer's audio, starts only when you start it, and keeps no audio. There is nothing to cap in minutes; the free limit is history, with notes older than 30 days hidden, not deleted, until you upgrade.
Some points need a question to Granola. The Platform Terms describe annual renewal and seats that cannot be decreased, while billing help says Business is billed monthly with prorated seats. The pricing page puts Salesforce on Enterprise, while the integrations page lists Salesforce through Zapier. Trials of Business and Enterprise exist, but their length and card rule are not stated. Model training is described as opt-out on the pricing page and in the terms, and as opt-in in lines of the privacy policy and DPA.
Strengths
- No bot and no stored audio
The desktop app captures device audio in any meeting app, so no participant joins the call, and the audio is deleted after transcription.
vs Fathom: Otter, Fireflies, Fathom and tl;dv record through a bot by default and keep the recording.
- Lowest scenario cost here
5 users on Business cost $70 a month (computed), with full history, integrations and the API.
vs Fathom: Fathom Team is $75 and tl;dv Pro $90 a month for 5 users on annual terms (computed).
- Retention on the self-serve plans
Basic and Business users can auto-delete their transcripts after 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or 1 year.
vs Fathom: Otter, Fireflies and Fathom keep retention settings on Enterprise.
- Export of the full history
Basic and Business users can export all their notes, including those older than 30 days, as a CSV with title, summary and transcript, once a day.
Compared: tl;dv says it does not support bulk transcript exports.
Things to know
- No recording or import
Granola does not record or keep audio or video; it does not import audio files either, and speaker labels work for Google Meet, Zoom and Teams only.
- Trains on anonymized data by default
On Basic and Business, Granola trains on anonymized data unless each user opts out; Enterprise is off by default. Help notes that data from before an opt-out may already have been used.
Workaround: Each user can opt out with one click in Settings.
- Business is monthly only
Annual billing is for Enterprise contracts only, and the Platform Terms describe annual renewal while billing help describes monthly billing for Business.
- Enterprise for SSO, audit and HIPAA
SSO needs Enterprise with 50 or more seats, the audit API and Salesforce are Enterprise, the HIPAA BAA is through sales and covers the desktop app only; no EU data residency or built-in 2FA is offered.
Pricing reality
Granola bills per active workspace member per month. For our scenario, Basic does not qualify because notes older than 30 days are hidden, so 5 users go on Business: 5 × $14 = $70 a month (computed), before tax, billed monthly because Business has no annual option. That covers unlimited history, AI chat across all notes, Notion, Zapier and HubSpot, the API and webhooks. Enterprise is $35 a user ($175 a month for 5, computed), bought in the app with no seat minimum stated, but SSO needs 50 seats. Nothing is metered: there are no minute or AI credit top-ups. Startups, students, nonprofits and referrals get published discounts.
Exit path
Basic and Business users export all their notes as one CSV (title, summary, transcript) by email, once a day; there is no admin export of the whole team, and Enterprise turns export off by default. The API on Business returns transcripts. After a downgrade, notes older than 30 days are hidden but stored; the terms allow deletion after 30 days of inactivity, with notice.
Compared with
- Pick Granola when
- You want bot-free capture on Mac and Windows, no stored audio and a $14 plan billed monthly.
- Pick Fathom when
- You want video of each call and unlimited history on a free plan.
- Pick Granola when
- You want no stored audio, retention settings on a self-serve plan and a lower 5-user cost ($70 a month, computed).
- Pick Otter.ai when
- You want audio playback, bulk export for the team and built-in 2FA.
- Pick Granola when
- You want no stored audio, retention settings on a self-serve plan and a lower 5-user cost ($70 a month, computed).
- Pick Fireflies.ai when
- You want video, many export formats and a stated promise not to train on your meetings.
Choose it if
- You want AI notes without a bot joining your calls.
- You prefer that no audio or video is stored.
- You want full history, integrations and the API for $14 a user, month to month.
Look elsewhere if
- You need recordings to replay or share as clips.
- You need annual billing below Enterprise, or SSO for fewer than 50 seats.
- You need EU data storage.
Bottom line
From its public pages, Granola is the one notetaker here built without a bot or stored audio, with the lowest 5-user price ($70 a month on Business) and self-serve retention settings. It trains on anonymized data unless each user opts out, and SSO needs 50 seats.
Plan limits at a glance
| Limit | As recorded |
|---|---|
| Billing unit | Per active member per month |
| Free option | Basic: no transcription limit, notes visible for 30 days; trials of paid plans (length not stated) |
| Reference scenario (5 users, annual) | $70/mo on Business ($14 × 5, billed monthly), computed |
| Month-to-month price | $14 per user on Business; Enterprise $35, monthly or annual |
| Meeting length cap | Not stated; transcription stops after 15 minutes of silence |
| Meeting platforms | Any app through device audio (Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack huddles) |
| Bot-free capture | Always: no bot; desktop, iOS and Android apps |
| Video recording | Not offered; audio is not stored |
| Training on your data | Anonymized data unless each user opts out; Enterprise off by default |
| SOC 2 / HIPAA | SOC 2 Type II; HIPAA BAA on Enterprise through sales |
| EU data storage | Not offered; AWS US region |
| SSO | Enterprise, 50+ seats |
| Transcript export | CSV of all notes per user; API from Business |
Read from the vendor's public pages on Oct 16, 2026. No hands-on run is published yet. How we check
We have not published a sign-up run for Granola yet. The access facts above were read from its sign-up and pricing pages on Oct 16, 2026.
We have not published API calls for Granola yet.
Granola lists 3 plans. The cheapest paid plan, Business (billed monthly), costs $14/user/mo.
- GranolaFreeBasic$0/user/moFree
- No daily transcription limit
- Notes viewable and searchable for 30 days
- Templates, AI chat across the last 30 days
- Slack integration only
- GranolaLowest priceBusiness$14/user/moBilled monthly; no annual option
- Unlimited notes and history
- Notion, Zapier, HubSpot, Attio and Affinity
- API and webhooks
- Centralized billing and user management
- GranolaEnterprise$35/user/moBought in the app, no seat minimum stated; monthly or annual; SSO needs 50 seats
- Salesforce and workspace-wide controls
- Audit API and legal holds
- Model training off by default
- HIPAA BAA through sales
Prices as listed, USD, excluding tax; observed 2026-10-16.
Source: granola.ai pricing page. Prices change; the observed date above is when our agent read them.