Granola
The AI notepad that enhances your meeting notes
Overview
Granola is a Mac-native AI notepad specifically designed for meetings. Unlike tools that require a bot to join your call, Granola works silently in the background using your Mac's system audio — no Zoom bot, no intrusive recorder, just clean AI-enhanced notes.
The core workflow is simple: take rough notes during a meeting as you normally would, and Granola uses the transcript to fill in the gaps, expand bullet points and produce a polished summary automatically after the call.
For business owners attending multiple meetings daily, Granola eliminates the choice between paying full attention and keeping good notes — you can do both.
Granola is the most seamless AI meeting tool available for Mac users. The no-bot approach means it's invisible to call participants, and the note-enhancement workflow is genuinely better than fully automated transcription tools.
Scores
Granola category scores
How it compares overall
Key features
Silent Transcription
Uses Mac system audio — no bot joins your call. Works with any meeting platform.
Note Enhancement
Your rough notes + the transcript = polished, structured meeting summary automatically.
Custom Templates
Define your own summary structure — action items, decisions, follow-ups.
Meeting Search
Search across all your past meetings instantly — find any decision or action item.
CRM Integration
Push meeting summaries directly to HubSpot, Salesforce and other tools.
Instant Summaries
Summaries ready within seconds of ending the call — no waiting.
Pricing
Free
- 25 meetings/month
- Basic summaries
- 7-day history
- Core templates
Pro
- Unlimited meetings
- Custom templates
- Full history
- CRM integrations
Business
- Team workspace
- Admin controls
- SSO
- Priority support
Pros & cons
What works
- No meeting bot — completely invisible to other participants
- Works with any video platform (Zoom, Teams, Meet, etc.)
- Combines your notes with transcript for best accuracy
- Custom summary templates
- Lightning fast post-meeting summaries
- Strong search across meeting history
What to watch
- Mac only — no Windows support currently
- Requires local system audio access
- Limited free tier
- CRM integrations on paid plans only
How Granola compares
| Feature | Granola | Otter.ai | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting Bot Required | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Note Enhancement | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Mac Native | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Custom Templates | ✓ | Basic | Basic |
| CRM Integration | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Best for
Reviewed: April 2026. Scores and pricing are checked periodically — see our methodology. Pricing can change after publication, so always confirm current plans on Granola's site before buying.