Best Granola Alternatives of 2026
Eight note takers for people who want Granola's no bot approach with recordings, annual discounts or cheaper Salesforce sync, ranked on published facts.
By , research by the BestBots team ยท Updated Oct 19, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Krisp is the best Granola alternative if you want to keep notes bot free and add recording: Core is $8 a user on annual billing, against Granola Business at $14 monthly with no annual option. Choose Fathom if you want a free plan with unlimited history, and Fireflies if you need Salesforce sync for $10 a seat instead of Granola's $35 Enterprise tier.
Our top picks
How to choose
Granola's design is its selling point: it listens to your device audio, never joins the call, and turns your rough notes into clean ones. People leave it for specific gaps.
You want recordings. Granola deletes audio after transcription and has no video recording. Krisp records audio and video without a bot; Fathom and tl;dv record video with one.
You need old notes on the free plan. Granola Basic shows only the last 30 days. Fathom's free plan has no history limit.
You pay annually. Granola Business is monthly only. Krisp ($8), Otter ($8.33) and Fireflies ($10) all discount annual seats by 44% to 51%.
You need Salesforce or HIPAA. Both are Granola Enterprise features at $35 a user. Fireflies and Otter include Salesforce on their first paid tier; Fathom lists a signed BAA on Enterprise; Read AI has HIPAA on Enterprise+ from 5 seats.
You meet in person a lot. Granola's phone app works, but a dedicated recorder like Plaud runs without your phone.
Our picks, in detail
- Starting price
- $16 per user per month
- Free plan limit
- No free plan; 7 day free trial
- Platforms
- Bot free on Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other voice apps; Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
- CRM sync
- Salesforce on Advanced
Krisp keeps Granola's no bot approach and adds audio and video recording, noise cancellation and an outbound phone call recorder, with Core at $8 a user on annual billing, where Granola Business is $14 billed monthly only.
Pros
- Bot free capture through a virtual microphone and speaker
- Noise cancellation included, which no other pick here offers
- Core at $8 per user annual is among the lowest paid tiers
- 4.7 on G2 from 1,612 reviews
Cons
- No free plan, only a 7 day trial
- Salesforce needs Advanced at $30 per user monthly
- 10 GB storage cap on Core
- 17+ languages, fewer than Fireflies or Notta
Skip it if you want a free plan; Krisp has a 7 day trial only.
- Starting price
- $20 per user per month
- Free plan limit
- Unlimited recordings, transcripts and basic AI summaries
- Platforms
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams; bot free capture in beta on Mac
- CRM sync
- HubSpot and Salesforce; CRM syncs for up to 3 users on Premium, automatic field sync on Business
Fathom's free plan records and transcribes every meeting with unlimited storage and no 30 day history wall. It adds video, clips and playlists Granola does not offer, and a bot free Mac beta.
Pros
- Free plan records and transcribes every meeting with no monthly cap, per the pricing page
- 5.0 on G2 from 7,085 reviews, the largest review base in the category
- Team plan at $15 per user annual is cheaper than most rivals' team tiers
- SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA listed on the homepage
Cons
- Action items, advanced summaries and the full Ask Fathom assistant are paid features
- Automatic CRM field sync needs Business at $34 per user monthly ($25 annual)
- Bot free capture is a Mac beta; everyone else gets a bot in the call
- Supported languages are not listed on the pricing page
Skip it if you never want a bot on Windows; Fathom's bot free mode is Mac only.
- Starting price
- $16.99 per user per month
- Free plan limit
- 300 minutes per month, 30 minutes per conversation, last 25 conversations
- Platforms
- Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet; bot free capture on Mac and Windows desktop
- CRM sync
- Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier from Pro
Otter's desktop app captures without a bot on Mac and Windows and shows a live transcript during the call, which Granola does not. Pro is $8.33 a user annual with Salesforce and HubSpot, which Granola keeps for Enterprise and Business.
Pros
- Pro at $8.33 per user on annual billing is the lowest annual paid tier among the big names
- Live transcript during the call plus bot free desktop capture
- Salesforce and HubSpot integrations start on Pro
- Business removes the minute cap for $19.99 per user annual
Cons
- Free plan caps each conversation at 30 minutes and keeps only the last 25
- Six transcription languages, far fewer than Fireflies or Notta
- Pro still caps you at 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per conversation
- Class action over recording without consent survived a motion to dismiss in August 2026
Skip it if you meet more than 20 hours a month or in more than six languages.
- Starting price
- $18 per seat per month
- Free plan limit
- Unlimited transcription with auto join, 400 minutes of storage per team, limited AI summaries
- Platforms
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, desktop app, mobile app, Chrome extension
- CRM sync
- Salesforce, HubSpot and Pipedrive; app and CRM integrations from Pro
Granola puts Salesforce on Enterprise at $35 a user. Fireflies includes Salesforce, HubSpot and Pipedrive on Pro at $10 a seat annual, with video recording and 100+ languages.
Pros
- Pro at $10 per seat on annual billing is one of the lowest paid tiers in the category
- Transcription in 100+ languages on every plan
- Video recording, downloads and unlimited integrations from Pro
- SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA listed; HIPAA is on Enterprise
Cons
- Free plan storage is 400 minutes for the whole team, so history fills fast
- AI features draw from a monthly AI credit balance (20 on Free and Pro)
- Unlimited free transcription only applies with calendar auto join on; invite only mode limits you to 3 transcriptions
- The bot joins the call by default
Skip it if the bot is the dealbreaker; Fireflies joins calls by default, though its Chrome extension can record without one.
- Starting price
- Quote only
- Free plan limit
- Starter: 300 transcription minutes per month with every device
- Platforms
- In person and phone calls on the device; Plaud Desktop captures online meetings without a bot; iOS, Android, web
- CRM sync
- Not published
Granola's phone app works for in person meetings, but Plaud's recorders capture conversations and phone calls without a phone app running, store 64 GB on device and transcribe 112 languages.
Pros
- Works with no meeting app at all: in person, on calls and on the go
- 112 transcription languages, far more than most software note takers
- SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001 and 27701 listed; conversations not used for training unless you opt in
- Large review base: 4.5 on Amazon from 5,420 ratings for Plaud Note and 4.9 on the App Store from 23,664
Cons
- The free 300 minutes a month is only 5 hours of recordings
- Hardware plus a subscription costs more over two years than most software note takers
- No live transcript on the device; audio syncs to the app first
- Recording others still needs consent under your local law
Skip it if you want unlimited free use; Plaud's free plan is 300 minutes a month.
- Starting price
- $19.75 per user per month
- Free plan limit
- 5 meeting transcripts per month
- Platforms
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome
- CRM sync
- Salesforce and HubSpot from Pro
Read AI covers meetings, email and messages in one search, with desktop and mobile apps that record directly and unlimited transcripts on Pro at $15 a user annual.
Pros
- Covers meetings plus email and messages in one assistant
- SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR and HIPAA listed
- Salesforce and HubSpot on the first paid tier
- Desktop, mobile and browser apps for in person capture
Cons
- Free plan is capped at 5 meeting transcripts a month and 1 hour per meeting
- Audio and video playback needs Enterprise at $29.75 monthly
- HIPAA needs Enterprise+ with a 5 license minimum
- No refunds, per its pricing FAQ; cancel before renewal
Skip it if you dislike bots; Read's assistant joins Zoom, Meet and Teams calls.
- Starting price
- $29 per seat per month
- Free plan limit
- Unlimited recordings; AI notes on 10 meetings; data kept up to 3 months
- Platforms
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, iOS and Android apps
- CRM sync
- CRM integrations and field mapping from Pro
If you liked Granola's free plan but want recordings, tl;dv keeps unlimited free video recordings and storage with EU hosting and a no training policy.
Pros
- Free plan keeps unlimited video recordings with unlimited storage
- GDPR, SOC 2 and EU hosting listed on the pricing page
- Pro adds unlimited AI notes, API, webhooks and an MCP server
- Business adds sales coaching (playbooks, objection handling) without usage fees
Cons
- Free AI notes stop after 10 meetings and data retention is up to 3 months
- Monthly Pro at $29 per seat is above Fireflies ($18) and Otter ($16.99)
- Weekly web recording caps apply (40 on Free, 80 on Pro)
- Each recording is capped at 3 hours
Skip it if you want free AI notes beyond 10 meetings.
- Starting price
- $16.99 per user per month
- Free plan limit
- Summaries and in meeting questions for 3 hosted meetings a month, 3 My Notes uses, 20 AI queries
- Platforms
- Zoom Meetings, Team Chat, Mail and Docs; My Notes also works on third party meeting platforms and in person
- CRM sync
- ZoomMate connects to third party sources such as CRMs, cloud storage and ticketing tools
Zoom's built in assistant is native to the client, so no bot joins, and paid Zoom Workplace plans include unlimited meeting summaries at no extra cost.
Pros
- Unlimited meeting summaries included with Zoom Workplace Pro and Business at no extra charge
- No bot joins: the assistant is native to the Zoom client
- Zoom says it does not train its or third party models on customer audio, video, chat or attachments
- Admins can generate summaries without keeping a persistent transcript
Cons
- Free accounts get summaries for only 3 hosted meetings a month
- The agentic ZoomMate plan is an extra $16.67 to $20 per user
- ZoomMate agent features are English only for now
- Credits meter the advanced actions, so heavy users can run out
Skip it if your meetings span Meet, Teams and in person; it is built around Zoom.
What the alternatives cost
| Tool | Free plan | Cheapest paid seat, annual | Monthly | Bot free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granola (for reference) | No daily limit, 30 day history | Enterprise only | $14 | Yes, every plan |
| Krisp | 7 day trial | $8 | $16 | Yes, every plan |
| Fathom | Unlimited recordings | $15 (Team) | $19 to $20 | Mac beta |
| Otter.ai | 300 minutes a month | $8.33 | $16.99 | Desktop app |
| Fireflies.ai | Unlimited transcription, 400 minutes storage per team | $10 | $18 | Chrome extension |
| Plaud | 300 minutes a month | $99.99 a year (Pro) | $17.99 | Hardware recorder |
| Read AI | 5 meetings a month | $15 | $19.75 | Desktop and mobile apps |
| tl;dv | Unlimited recordings, 10 AI notes | $18 | $29 | No |
| Zoom AI Companion | 3 summaries a month on free Zoom | Included with Workplace Pro | $16.99 | Native to Zoom |
Prices from each vendor's pricing page in October 2026; Plaud prices are for the Plaud Intelligence subscription, not the device. Granola's plans are broken down in Granola pricing.
When to stay on Granola
Stay if your priority is notes you control in any app, with no bot and no minute cap. Granola's free plan has no daily transcription limit, its apps cover Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Apple Watch, and it lists SOC 2 Type II, a DPA and per user model training opt out on every plan. Startups and students can get 12 months of Business free. For most founders and consultants, nothing else matches that mix.
Switching tips
- Export your history. Granola can email a CSV of titles and summaries for your full history from settings.
- Tell participants when you switch to a tool that records audio or video, which Granola did not keep.
- Check language coverage. Granola lists 31 desktop languages; Otter lists six and Krisp 17+.
How we picked
We compared every meeting assistant in our database on published facts: bot free capture, recording, free plan limits, monthly and annual price per seat, CRM sync tier, languages, security and verified ratings. Each pick had to fix at least one specific Granola gap. Ranked order is the best fit for most people leaving Granola. Method: how we score.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Granola?
Krisp, if you want to keep bot free capture and add recording and noise cancellation for $8 a user on annual billing. Fathom, if you want a free plan with unlimited history and do not mind a bot outside Mac.
Is there a free alternative to Granola?
Fathom's free plan has unlimited recordings, transcripts and summaries with no history limit. tl;dv's free plan keeps unlimited video recordings. Both join calls as a bot by default, unlike Granola.
What is an AI note taker that does not join the meeting?
Granola and Krisp capture from your device on every plan. Otter's desktop app and Fathom's Mac beta also capture without a bot. Zoom's and Microsoft's built in assistants run inside the meeting client, so no extra participant appears.
Is Granola better than Otter?
Granola is better for bot free notes across any app and for 31 desktop languages. Otter is better for live transcripts and cheaper on annual billing. See [Granola vs Otter](/granola-vs-otter).
Why do people leave Granola?
The measurable reasons are the 30 day history limit on the free plan, no annual discount on Business, Salesforce and HIPAA only on Enterprise at $35 a user, and no video recording on any plan.
Does Granola work on Windows?
Yes. Granola lists desktop apps for macOS and Windows plus iOS, Android and Apple Watch, all with bot free capture.