What it is
Granola is a note-taking app for meetings. Instead of sending a bot into the call, it captures audio from your computer or phone. You type rough notes as you normally would, and afterwards Granola combines them with the transcript to write structured notes. You can chat with your notes, run templates and "recipes", and share folders and team Spaces.
It runs on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Apple Watch. According to its security page, audio is not stored: the desktop apps transcribe in real time and mobile caches audio only until transcription. Transcripts and notes sit in a US-hosted AWS environment. Granola is SOC 2 Type II certified, and by default it trains its own models on anonymised user data unless you opt out; on Enterprise, training is off by default.
The free Basic plan shows only 30 days of meeting history. Business, at $14 per user per month, adds unlimited history, model selection, CRM and Notion integrations, MCP, webhooks and a REST API released in early 2026. Enterprise, at $35, adds SSO, SCIM, Salesforce, HIPAA-compliant workspaces and org-wide deletion rules. In March 2026 the London company raised $125 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, according to TNW.
Our review
Granola gets the important thing right: nobody else in the meeting has to see it. It listens through your own device, so it works for in-person meetings and any video app, and it builds on the notes you type instead of replacing them. Summaries therefore follow what you thought mattered, which reviewers often say makes them more useful than the generic recaps from bot-based tools.
The privacy story is better than most but not as clean as the marketing suggests. Audio is never stored, and Granola says third parties such as OpenAI and Anthropic may not train on your data. Granola itself does, on anonymised data, unless each user opts out in Settings; only Enterprise turns that off for everyone. Notes are hosted in the US only, which an EU team will want reflected in its DPA.
For engineers, the interesting part is the plumbing added in 2026. Business includes a REST API that reads notes, transcripts and AI summaries, rate limited to a burst of 25 requests and 5 a second sustained, plus webhooks and an MCP server that Claude, ChatGPT and Claude Code can query at roughly 100 requests a minute. MCP authenticates by OAuth only, with no API key or service account, so unattended agents have to use the REST API instead.
The free plan is a trial in all but name, because anything older than 30 days drops out of view. Recording without a visible bot also moves the consent burden onto you; only Enterprise lets an admin enforce a notice that Granola is in use. Sales teams that want recorded video and coaching analytics are better served by Fireflies or Otter. At $35 a seat, Enterprise costs two and a half times Business, and most of the difference buys admin control rather than better notes.
Where it earns its place
A seed-stage founder taking 25 investor and customer calls a week
Keep a searchable record of every conversation without a bot unsettling anyone
Types a few bullets during each call; Granola fills in the rest from the transcript and pushes follow-ups to Attio or HubSpot. Business at $14 a month is the realistic floor, since Basic hides anything older than 30 days.
A platform engineer at a 60-person startup building an internal agent
Pull decisions from meetings into Slack digests and tickets automatically
Uses a workspace API key to read public and Team-space notes and transcripts, with webhooks for new notes and requests kept under 5 a second. API access is on by default for new spaces, so the team has to check which spaces it is actually exposing.
The head of IT at a 300-person healthcare company
Roll out meeting notes that pass a security and HIPAA review
Needs Enterprise at $35 a seat, about $126,000 a year for 300 users, for SSO, SCIM, HIPAA-compliant workspaces, org-wide deletion periods and training off by default. Notes are hosted in the US, so any EU subsidiary needs the DPA reviewed.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Install the desktop or mobile app and start a note when a meeting begins; there is no bot to invite or admit.
- Integrations
- Slack on every plan; Attio, Notion, HubSpot, Affinity and Zapier on Business; Salesforce on Enterprise. REST API and webhooks from Business, and an MCP server at mcp.granola.ai for Claude, ChatGPT and Claude Code.
- Data and privacy
- Audio is not stored; transcripts and notes live in a US-hosted AWS VPC, encrypted at rest and in transit. SOC 2 Type II, DPA on request. Granola trains on anonymised data unless users opt out; Enterprise is off by default.
- Cost at scale
- A 50-person team pays $8,400 a year on Business or $21,000 on Enterprise. Annual discounts are not published.
- Limits
- API: burst of 25 requests, 5 a second sustained. MCP: about 100 requests a minute, OAuth only, transcripts on paid plans only. Basic sees 30 days of history.
What's good
- No bot joins the call; works in person and on any video app
- Summaries build on your own typed notes
- REST API, webhooks and MCP from the $14 Business plan
- Audio is never stored
What's not
- Free plan hides notes older than 30 days
- Trains on anonymised data by default below Enterprise
- No video recording; telling participants is on you
- SSO, SCIM and Salesforce are Enterprise-only ($35/user)
Best for
Founders, investors and knowledge workers who take notes in many meetings and dislike bots.
Alternatives
Granola: common questions
- Is Granola worth it?
- Granola makes bot-free meeting notes feel normal, but its free tier is a 30-day sample and anyone below Enterprise should switch off model training on day one. We rate it 4.6 out of 5.
- How much does Granola cost?
- Basic free (30 days of history); Business $14/user/month; Enterprise $35/user/month.
- What are the downsides of Granola?
- Free plan hides notes older than 30 days; trains on anonymised data by default below Enterprise; no video recording; telling participants is on you; sSO, SCIM and Salesforce are Enterprise-only ($35/user).
- Who is Granola best for?
- Founders, investors and knowledge workers who take notes in many meetings and dislike bots.
- How much does Granola cost for a team or in production?
- A 50-person team pays $8,400 a year on Business or $21,000 on Enterprise. Annual discounts are not published.
- Is Granola safe for company data?
- Audio is not stored; transcripts and notes live in a US-hosted AWS VPC, encrypted at rest and in transit. SOC 2 Type II, DPA on request. Granola trains on anonymised data unless users opt out; Enterprise is off by default.
- What are the best Granola alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai and Notion AI.
Answers checked Oct 22, 2026.
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