Head to head · Productivity · updated Oct 25, 2026
Granola vs Otter.ai
Granola scores 27 to Otter.ai's 11 on public evidence for meeting notes & transcription, and they rank #1 and #4 there. Both are free to start. Numbers below are the same public signals the ranking uses, recomputed nightly — nothing here is sponsored.
Granola
A notepad that listens to your meeting from your computer audio (no bot) and merges your typed notes with an AI transcript.
+ No bot joins the call, and the final notes combine your own jottings with what was actually said.
− Desktop-only capture means it cannot record a meeting you join from another device, and the free tier is a small trial.
Otter.ai
A meeting transcriber that joins Zoom, Meet and Teams calls, records live transcripts and writes summaries and action items.
+ Live transcript you can read during the call, with a generous free tier for individuals.
− The OtterPilot bot auto-joins meetings and emails attendees unless you turn it off, which annoys other participants.
Side by side
public evidence| Granola | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence score / 100 | 27 | 11 |
| GitHub stars | closed source | closed source |
| Hacker News stories, 30d | 5 | 0 |
| Release-feed mentions, 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Last activity | – | – |
| Pricing | Free tier · Individual $18/mo | Free tier · Pro from $8.33/mo billed annually |
| Platforms | mac, windows, ios | web, ios, android, chrome-extension |
| Maker | Granola | Otter.ai |
Which one?
Pick Granola if
- you want the stronger public evidence (27 vs 11)
- you need it on mac, windows
Best for bot-free meeting notes.
Pick Otter.ai if
- you need it on android, chrome-extension, web
Best for live transcripts during calls.