Granola

AI notepad for meetings that enhances your own notes with AI context from the conversation.

Pricing Free / Business $14/mo / Enterprise $35/mo

Category Notetakers & Recording

Founded 2023

HQ London, UK

Quick take

The most differentiated notetaker on the market, and a $1.5B valuation in under three years backs that up. The augment-your-notes model is genuinely original and unusually polished, held back only by reach (no web app) and lighter enterprise features. On Mac or Windows, if you take your own notes, it is close to essential. If you need a browser client or fully hands-off capture for a whole org, pick an incumbent for now.

Trusted by

Vanta

Gusto

Asana

Thumbtack

Cursor

Mistral AI

Granola scorecard

How we grade

A- 89/100

Overall grade

A genuinely original product that became a $1.5B unicorn in under three years, held just short of an A by no web app and HIPAA limited to Enterprise.

Idea A Bot-less, augment-your-own-notes capture, now validated by a $1.5B unicorn outcome. One of the few genuinely original takes in a field of near-identical bot recorders.

Brand A Warm, memorable, design-led identity with a cult following among founders and VCs. Granola reads as human rather than enterprise, and the name stuck.

Product A- Fast, polished, native, and reportedly ~70% weekly retention. Held just short of A by an early-2026 data-handling stumble and occasional AI over-embellishment.

Market fit A- Roughly 70% weekly retention, a unicorn round inside three years, and named enterprise logos (Vanta, Gusto, Asana). Exceptionally strong fit for its core user.

Adoption A- Viral word-of-mouth through founders and VCs, marquee customers, and a $1.5B valuation. No public WAU/ARR figure yet, which keeps it just under an A.

Features B+ Now macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android with Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Zapier, and an API. Still no web app, and the bot-less model means no async recording of others.

Security B SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, DPA and SCCs, encryption, and a public trust center: a solid mid-market posture. HIPAA is available only on the Enterprise plan.

Value B+ Business at $14/user is mid-pack: cheaper than Otter and Fireflies monthly, dearer annually. The free tier is genuinely usable. Fathom's generous free plan still pressures it.

Overview

Granola flips the notetaker model: instead of a bot recording the call, you keep your own rough notes and Granola enhances them with context from what was said, capturing audio on your device. The output reads like the notes you wish you had written. Founded in London in 2023 by Chris Pedregal and Sam Stephenson, it raised a $125M Series C led by Index Ventures in March 2026 at a $1.5B valuation. Native Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android apps (Android since July 2026) plus an Apple Watch app, no web app yet, and it works on any meeting platform without joining the call.

Strengths & limitations

Strengths

+You stay in control of note structure
+No bot, no recording anxiety
+Polished, fast native desktop apps

Limitations

–No web app (macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android only)
–Requires you to take some notes manually
–Lighter team and admin controls than the incumbents

Pricing

FreeBusiness $14moEnterprise $35mo

Basic is free, with AI meeting notes limited to 30 days of meeting history. Business ($14/user/mo) adds unlimited notes and history, advanced AI models, integrations (Attio, Notion, HubSpot, Affinity, Zapier), MCP, and API access. Enterprise ($35/user/mo) adds SSO, SCIM, HIPAA-compliant workspaces, an audit API, and Salesforce. At $14, Business is below Otter Pro ($16.99) and Fireflies Pro ($18) on monthly billing, but above both on annual billing ($8.33 and $10).

Who it's for

Best for founders, execs, and consultants on Mac or Windows who already take notes and dislike recording bots. Skip it if you need a browser client, want zero manual input with a full transcript, or need deep CRM and revenue intelligence, where Fireflies or Gong fit better.

Verdict

A- · 89/100

Follows our review methodology

· Last reviewed October 2026

Key features

AI-enhanced manual notes
No bot required
Desktop (Mac, Windows), iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps
Works on any meeting platform
Custom note templates
AI chat within and across meetings

What users say

It is the first notetaker that did not change how I work. I still take notes, they are just better afterward.

Startup Founder · Community

No bot in the call is the whole reason I switched. Clients never know it is running.

Consultant · Community

Wish it ran on Windows. Half my team cannot use it.

Head of Operations · Community

Frequently asked questions

Does Granola use a meeting bot?

No. Granola captures audio locally on your device and does not send a bot to join the call, so other participants never see a recorder in the meeting. It works on top of Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and in-person conversations.

Is Granola free?

Yes. The free Basic plan includes AI meeting notes with a 30-day meeting history limit. Paid plans are Business at $14/user/month for unlimited notes and history, integrations, and API access, and Enterprise at $35/user/month for SSO, SCIM, and HIPAA-compliant workspaces.

Does Granola work on Windows?

Yes. Granola ships a native Windows app alongside macOS, iOS, and Android (launched July 2026). There is no web app yet, so browser-only users are not covered.

How is Granola different from Otter or Fathom?

Otter and Fathom send a bot to record and transcribe the whole call, then summarize it. Granola instead enhances the notes you take yourself with context from the conversation, with no bot. You keep control of structure; it fills in what you missed.

Is Granola secure?

Granola reports SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliance, with a DPA and standard contractual clauses available, and captures audio on your device rather than via a meeting bot, though transcription and summaries run through cloud providers. Granola says it is HIPAA compliant for Enterprise customers, with HIPAA-compliant workspaces on the Enterprise plan; Basic and Business plans are not covered (contact sales for Enterprise HIPAA terms). Granola does not store meeting audio, only transcripts and notes. Third parties may not train on your data; Granola trains on anonymized data, and every user on every plan can opt out in Settings, while Enterprise workspaces have training turned off by default. Verify current compliance against your own requirements.