Granola review

★ 4.3/5

AI notepad (bot-free)

Granola is a bot-free AI notepad that records meeting audio directly on your device instead of sending a bot to join the call. It enhances notes you type yourself with an AI transcript and summary, then lets you chat across past meetings and run templates. It is macOS-first (with a Windows app and iOS), built for individuals and small teams who do not want a visible bot announcing recording on every call. The product was rebranded in early 2026 with new paid tiers and a tighter free plan.

Researched & verified by Dirr Research · scored by our rubric

Visit Granola → last verified 2026-06-04

Affiliate link · how we make money

Best for bot-free Mac notetaking. Granola starts $14/user/mo on a free + flat per-seat model. A team of 10 on Business at $14/user/mo is $140/mo (about $1,680/yr) and that unlocks unlimited meeting history, advanced AI models, the CRM integrations and API. The free Basic plan looks generous but its history access is capped (reported as 25 notes lifetime), so anyone doing more than a handful of calls is effectively pushed onto Business by month two. Enterprise (SSO, admin controls, org-wide retention) is $35/user/mo, so the same 10 seats would be $350/mo (about $4,200/yr).

Spec

pricing modelfree + flat per-seat
entry price$14/user/modecode →
free tierBasic ($0): AI meeting notes, AI chat within and across meetings, shared folders, custom templates, multi-language, model-training opt-out. History access is limited (widely reported as a 25-note lifetime cap with a short retention window).source →
self-hostNo
MCPServer
integrationsCaptures audio on-device for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and in-person calls (no bot joins). Paid integrations: Attio, Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Affinity, Zapier, plus MCP across apps and API access on Business.source →
API accessYes
affiliate$20 per lead, one-time (paid when a referred user completes a valid meeting). Referred new users get 100% off their first month.

The gotcha

the pricing catch

The free Basic plan is closer to a trial than a permanent free tier: history access is limited and is widely reported as a 25-note lifetime cap (not monthly) added in the early-2026 rebrand, so heavy users hit a wall fast and must move to the $14 Business plan to keep unlimited history. The pricing page lists only monthly per-seat prices with no annual discount shown, and there is no self-host or on-prem option.

Decode the real cost →

Best for

  • You want clean AI meeting notes without a bot visibly joining the call, and you work mostly on a Mac.

source: granola.ai/pricing →

Granola pricing tiers

Prices move. Cells flagged verify link to the live vendor page.

Decode Granola pricing →
tiermonthlyannualincludedunit
Basic $0verify n/a AI meeting notes, AI chat within and across meetings, shared folders, custom templates, multi-language, model-training opt-out. Limited meeting history access (widely reported 25-note lifetime cap). per user/mo
Business $14 n/a Everything in Basic plus unlimited meeting notes and history, advanced AI thinking models, integrations (Attio, Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Affinity, Zapier), centralized billing and user management, MCP integration, API access. per user/mo
Enterprise $35 n/a Everything in Business plus enterprise security and admin controls, SSO, priority support and usage analytics, org-wide auto-deletion periods, admin controls for sharing and API access, team-wide model-training opt-out. per user/mo

// pools and per-unit rates are volatile · cells flagged verify link to the live vendor page

Compare Granola with…

granola pricing decoded→ granola alternatives→ granola vs otter.ai→

Questions

How much does Granola cost?

Granola starts from $14/user/mo. A team of 10 on Business at $14/user/mo is $140/mo (about $1,680/yr) and that unlocks unlimited meeting history, advanced AI models, the CRM integrations and API. The free Basic plan looks generous but its history access is capped (reported as 25 notes lifetime), so anyone doing more than a handful of calls is effectively pushed onto Business by month two. Enterprise (SSO, admin controls, org-wide retention) is $35/user/mo, so the same 10 seats would be $350/mo (about $4,200/yr).

Can you self-host Granola?

No, Granola is cloud-only.

Does Granola support MCP?

Granola supports MCP as Server, so it works with assistants like Claude and ChatGPT.

What's the catch with Granola's pricing?

The free Basic plan is closer to a trial than a permanent free tier: history access is limited and is widely reported as a 25-note lifetime cap (not monthly) added in the early-2026 rebrand, so heavy users hit a wall fast and must move to the $14 Business plan to keep unlimited history. The pricing page lists only monthly per-seat prices with no annual discount shown, and there is no self-host or on-prem option.