Quick Answer
The best Granola AI alternative depends on why you're switching:
- You can't install apps, or don't want a subscription: KenzNote. Record a meeting from your browser for free, with no bot, and pay $0.99 per hour only for transcripts.
- You need notes from meetings you can't attend: KenzNote or Fathom. Both can send a bot.
- You want bot-free notes with EU data handling: Jamie.
- You want noise cancellation too: Krisp.
- You want the biggest free plan: Fathom.
- You need sales workflows and CRM sync: Fireflies.ai.
Key Takeaways
- Granola is a strong product. People usually leave over per-seat pricing, having to attend, or having to install a desktop app, not over note quality
- Bot-free alternatives: KenzNote (browser), Jamie and Krisp (apps). Bot-based: Fathom, Fireflies, Otter, and KenzNote's optional bot
- KenzNote is the only option here that records for free in the browser and charges by the hour, with no seats
- Prices change often. Check each vendor's pricing page before you buy
Table of Contents
- Why People Look for a Granola Alternative
- Comparison Table
- The Catch: What Each Plan Limits
- The 6 Best Granola AI Alternatives
- How to Choose
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why People Look for a Granola Alternative
Granola turns your rough notes into clean ones using the meeting transcript, and it does that well. Read our full Granola AI review for the details. The common reasons to look elsewhere:
- You have to be there. Granola captures audio on your own device, so it can't take notes on a meeting you skip.
- You have to install it. Some work laptops block new apps, and some people would rather not run a recorder app at all.
- Seats add up. Business is about $14 per user per month. If you have three meetings a month, that's a lot per meeting.
- Free history is limited. The free Basic plan hides older notes, so it doesn't work as a permanent archive.
- Training controls sit at Enterprise. Reviews describe the team-wide model-training opt-out as an Enterprise feature.
Comparison Table
| Tool | How it captures | Need to attend? | Pricing (at time of writing) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KenzNote | Browser recorder (bot-free), bot you send, or file upload | No (bot option) | Recording free; transcripts $0.99/hour; 2 meetings free | No install, occasional use, meetings you miss |
| Jamie | Device app (bot-free) | Yes | Free 10 meetings/month (30 min each); Plus about €25/month | EU teams, in-person meetings |
| Krisp | Device app (bot-free) | Yes | $8/user/month billed yearly, $16 monthly; 7-day trial | Noise cancellation plus notes |
| Fathom | Bot (calendar) | No | Free (unlimited recording); Premium about $16–20/user | Big free plan |
| Fireflies.ai | Bot (calendar) | No | Free plan; Pro $10/seat annual | Sales teams, CRM sync |
| Otter.ai | Bot (calendar) | No | Free 300 min/month; Pro $16.99/month | Live captions |
The Catch: What Each Plan Limits
"Free" and "unlimited" often come with fine print. Here is what each plan really limits before you commit.
| Tool | Price | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Granola | Free Basic; Business $14 per user a month | Free shows only about your last 30 days of notes. Business is billed monthly only, per user |
| Fireflies.ai | Pro $10 per seat a month billed yearly, $18 monthly | Free says unlimited transcription, but storage is 400 minutes, there are no exports, and free accounts opened since September 2026 get 3 meetings unless auto-join is on. Recordings stop at 2 hours on Free and Pro |
| Fathom | Free; Premium about $16 per user a month billed yearly, $20 monthly | Recording is unlimited, but on Free the advanced AI summaries stop after 5 calls a month |
| Otter.ai | Pro $16.99/month, or $8.33 if you pay a year upfront. Per user | Free cuts every call at 30 minutes and stops at 300 minutes a month, with 3 file imports ever. Pro stops at 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes per call, and unused minutes don't roll over |
| Jamie | Free; Plus about €25 a month | Free allows 10 meetings a month of 30 minutes each. Plus allows 20 meetings a month |
| Krisp | $8 per user a month, billed yearly | The $8 is the yearly price; monthly it is $16 per user. There is no free plan anymore, just a 7-day trial, then access stops |
| KenzNote | Recording is free. Transcripts $0.99 per hour, hours last a year. No seats, no monthly minute cap. Unlimited is $39.99/month | Free plan transcribes 2 meetings (up to 120 minutes). Pay as you go starts at 5 hours ($4.95). The recorder needs desktop Chrome, Edge or Brave |
Red marks limits that are easy to miss on the pricing page. Green marks where KenzNote is ahead. Limits from each vendor's plans and 2026 reviews (for example Fireflies, Fathom, Krisp), November 2026. Plans change often, so check before you buy.
Not sure a plan fits how often you meet? Record your next meeting free with KenzNote and pay only for the hours you transcribe.
The 6 Best Granola AI Alternatives
1. KenzNote: Best If You Don't Want an App or a Subscription
We make KenzNote, so weigh this one accordingly. Here is what it does differently from Granola.
No install, no bot: open KenzNote in desktop Chrome, Edge or Brave, start the screen recorder, and pick the tab your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call is in. It records the meeting audio plus your microphone. Nothing joins the call, and recording is free.
A bot when you can't attend: paste a meeting link, or schedule one, and an assistant clearly named "Kenz" joins for you. It never needs your calendar.
Upload anything else: in-person meetings, lectures, or files from another recorder.
You get a transcript with speakers, a summary and action items. A meeting can switch between up to three languages. Invite anyone by email to view or edit a meeting (people without an account sign up free to open it), and use Ask Kenz to question a whole folder of meetings, with answers that jump to the exact moment in the recording.
Pricing: recording is free. Transcripts cost $0.99 per hour, and purchased hours last a year, so 5 hours costs $4.95. Busy month? Unlimited is $11.99 a week or $39.99 a month. Your first 2 meetings are transcribed free. Our privacy policy states in writing that meetings are never used to train AI.
Where Granola is better: Granola works with the notes you type, has an iPhone app, and has a more polished desktop experience. KenzNote's recorder needs a desktop Chromium browser, and Safari and Firefox can't capture the other participants' audio.
Try a Granola alternative without installing anything
Record your next meeting from your browser for free, with no bot. Transcribe it only if you need to, at $0.99 per hour.
Record a meeting free →No credit card. Your first 2 meetings are transcribed free.
2. Jamie: Best for EU Teams
Jamie is a German, bot-free note taker that, like Granola, runs as an app on your device. It says it processes and stores meeting data in Europe and claims support for 100+ languages. Its mobile apps also handle in-person meetings. The free tier allows 10 meetings a month of up to 30 minutes each, and Plus (about €25 a month) raises that to 20 meetings of up to 2 hours. See our bot-free AI meeting recorder roundup for more options like it.
3. Krisp: Best If You Also Want Noise Cancellation
Krisp started as a noise-cancellation app and now adds bot-free meeting notes. If background noise is your bigger problem, it solves both at once. The $8 per user per month price is for yearly billing; month to month it is $16. 2026 reviews report the permanent free plan was replaced by a 7-day trial, after which access stops unless you pay.
4. Fathom: Best Free Plan
Fathom sends a bot to your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams calls and records and transcribes unlimited meetings for free. Advanced AI summaries are reported as capped at about 5 a month on the free tier, and Premium is about $16–20 per user per month. It's the opposite trade from Granola: a bot in the call, but a much bigger free plan.
5. Fireflies.ai: Best for Sales Teams
Fireflies joins calls from your calendar and syncs notes into Salesforce, HubSpot and other CRMs, with conversation analytics for coaching. Its 2026 policy states it does not train on meeting content. Pro is about $10 per seat per month billed annually ($18 monthly), and recordings stop at 2 hours on Free and Pro. See KenzNote vs Fireflies.
6. Otter.ai: Best for Live Captions
Otter's assistant auto-joins from your calendar and shows live captions during the call. The free plan gives 300 minutes a month with a 30-minute limit per conversation, and Pro is $16.99 a month ($8.33 billed annually) with 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes per conversation. Otter's policy allows training on de-identified data on standard plans. See KenzNote vs Otter.ai.
How to Choose
- Will you always be in the meeting? If not, you need a tool with a bot: KenzNote, Fathom, Fireflies or Otter.
- Can you install apps? If not, KenzNote's browser recorder or a bot-based tool.
- How often do you meet? A few hours a month favors pay-as-you-go. Daily meetings favor a seat.
- Does a bot bother your clients? Use a bot-free option and tell participants you're recording. Our guide to recording consent laws covers the rules.
- What happens to your data? Read each vendor's training policy before recording sensitive calls.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free alternative to Granola?
Fathom has the biggest free plan, with unlimited recording and transcription through a meeting bot. If you want to stay bot-free, KenzNote records meetings from your browser for free and transcribes your first 2 meetings free, then charges $0.99 per hour.
Is there a Granola alternative that doesn't need an app?
Yes. KenzNote's screen recorder runs in desktop Chrome, Edge or Brave. You pick the meeting tab, and it records the call audio plus your microphone, with no download and no bot.
Is there a Granola alternative that works when I'm not in the meeting?
Yes. Bot-based tools can join without you. KenzNote, Fathom, Fireflies and Otter all send an assistant into the call. KenzNote does it from a pasted link and never needs calendar access.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Granola?
For occasional use, yes. Granola Business is about $14 per user per month. On KenzNote, 5 hours of meetings costs $4.95 and the hours last a year, and recording without transcription is free.
Which Granola alternative is best for privacy?
Look for a written no-training policy. KenzNote's privacy policy states meetings are never used to train AI, Fireflies.ai says the same in its 2026 policy, and Jamie processes data in the EU. With any bot-free tool, tell participants you're recording.
Related Resources
About KenzNote Team
The KenzNote team is dedicated to helping teams capture better meeting insights and transform how they collaborate. With backgrounds in AI, product design, and enterprise software, we're building the future of meeting productivity.
Ready to transform your meetings?
KenzNote automatically captures meeting insights, extracts action items, and generates summaries so you can focus on the conversation instead of taking notes.
Try KenzNote Free