6 Best Granola AI Alternatives in 2025

Granola AI has gained popularity as a bot-free meeting assistant that enhances your manual notes with AI transcription. However, many users are seeking alternatives due to privacy concerns, pricing issues, platform limitations, or missing features. 

This article explores the best Granola AI alternatives that address these core limitations and offer other specialized features.

Our Top Picks 

1. Hyprnote: Open-source, completely local processing for maximum privacy

2. Jamie AI: GDPR-compliant European alternative with 100+ language support

3. Tactiq: Chrome extension with real-time transcription and rich integrations

4. Krisp: Audio enhancement specialist with noise cancellation and accent conversion

5. Sonnet AI: CRM automation expert for sales teams

6. tl;dv: Video-first platform with advanced sales coaching 

How We Selected the Best Granola AI Alternatives

To compile this list of Granola AI alternatives, we analyzed hundreds of user reviews across G2, Capterra, and Reddit, conducted hands-on testing of leading AI notetakers, and identified the most frequently cited limitations that drive teams to seek alternatives.

1. Privacy & Data Control - Granola processes meeting data through external AI providers with limited privacy controls. So we looked at tools that keep data local or provide stronger privacy protections.

Source: Granola’s Data Processing Addendum

2. Platform Compatibility - Some users report issues with Granola's limited platform support (currently Mac-only) and the absence of mobile apps that restrict on-the-go usage. 

3. Integration Limitations - Granola doesn't integrate with popular workplace tools like Asana, ClickUp, or Zapier, which limits its usefulness for teams wanting to share notes automatically. We focused on tools with robust third-party integrations beyond basic calendar sync.

Source: G2 review

4. Missing Advanced Features - Granola doesn't record video or allow access to audio recordings, making it less suitable for hiring interviews or user research. 

5. Value & Pricing Concerns - With Granola's $18/month individual plan and limited free tier, we looked for alternatives offering better features-to-price ratios or more generous free plans for teams and individuals. 

If budget is a concern, explore our guide to free AI notetakers that offer powerful features at no cost.

Review of The 6 Best Granola AI Alternatives

1. Hyprnote: The Open-Source Granola Alternative

Best for: Privacy-conscious professionals, regulated industries, and organizations requiring complete data control. 

Hyprnote is the only open-source, truly local AI meeting assistant that gives you complete transparency and control over your meeting data. 

You can inspect the code, customize functionality, and verify exactly how your conversations are processed—all while keeping everything local on your device instead of sending data to cloud providers.

Key Features

• Complete local processing with zero cloud dependency

• Custom HyperLLM-V1 model (1.1GB) optimized for meeting summaries

• Works with all meeting platforms and offline scenarios

• Real-time transcription with on-device processing

• Open-source with full customization capabilities

• Supports integration with any LLM provider (OpenAI, Mistral, custom endpoints)

• Universal platform compatibility (macOS required, Windows coming)

• Unlimited AI summaries and conversational search

Hyprnote vs Granola Strengths 

The core experience is remarkably similar—you take notes, the AI enhances them with transcript insights, and you get polished summaries. The difference is where that magic happens.

Hyprnote vs Granola Limitations 

• No mobile app currently available 

• You want the absolute latest AI capabilities regardless of privacy concerns

2. Jamie AI - The Best Bot-Free European Alternative

Best for: Privacy-focused teams, multilingual organizations, and users requiring GDPR compliance

Jamie AI creates comprehensive meeting notes and action items across any meeting platform without using visible bots. With a strong focus on privacy and European data hosting, Jamie offers offline capabilities and multilingual support for global teams.

Jamie vs Granola Strengths

Both tools deliver intelligent meeting assistance by combining transcription with AI-powered enhancement. The key differences lie in privacy approach, bot usage, and data hosting.

Jamie vs Granola Limitations

• More expensive than Granola at €24/month vs $18/month

• Can take 5-8 minutes to generate summaries after meetings

• Only connects to Google/Outlook calendars, lacks Slack, Notion, or CRM integrations

• Even paid plans have monthly meeting quotas (20-50 meetings)

3. Tactiq: The Best Chrome Extension Solution

Best for: Chrome users, teams wanting real-time transcription, and budget-conscious users

Tactiq provides real-time AI meeting transcription for Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Unlike traditional meeting assistants, it operates directly in your browser without requiring software installation, capturing live transcripts with speaker identification and generating AI-powered summaries and action items after meetings.

Tactiq vs Granola Strengths

Both tools provide intelligent meeting assistance, but they differ significantly in deployment, real-time capabilities, and integration approaches.

Tactiq vs Granola Limitations

• Only works in Chrome, limiting flexibility for users of other browsers

• Limited to three meeting platforms vs Granola's universal compatibility

• AI summaries often need manual correction for accuracy

4. Krisp: The Audio Enhancement Specialist

Best for: Users in noisy environments, teams prioritizing audio quality, and professionals needing accent clarity

Krisp combines industry-leading AI noise cancellation with meeting transcription, ensuring crystal-clear audio quality while providing accurate meeting documentation without visible bots. 

Krisp vs Granola Strengths

Both tools provide bot-free meeting assistance, but Krisp's unique focus on audio quality sets it apart from purely transcription-focused solutions.

Krisp vs Granola Limitations

• Only 60 minutes/day noise cancellation vs Granola's 25 full meetings in the free plan

• English-only on free tier, limited multilingual support

• Requires desktop app installation vs Granola's simpler approach

5. Sonnet AI: The CRM Integration Expert

Best for: Sales teams, customer success professionals, and CRM-heavy workflows

Sonnet AI is an end-to-end meeting assistant that specializes in automatically updating CRM systems with meeting insights. 

Founded by Y Combinator alumni, Sonnet records device audio without visible bots and transforms conversations into structured CRM data, eliminating manual data entry while providing customizable AI-generated meeting notes.

Sonnet AI vs Granola Strengths

Both tools provide bot-free meeting assistance, but Sonnet AI's focus on CRM automation and relationship management sets it apart from general note-taking solutions.

Sonnet AI vs Granola Limitations

• More complex setup and configuration vs Granola's simplicity

• Stores audio, video, and transcripts on servers vs Granola's lighter approach

• Many features may be excessive for simple note-taking needs

• Pro features require higher-tier plans vs Granola's simpler pricing. Paid plans start at $25/month

6. tl;dv: The Video-First Meeting Intelligence Platform

Best for: Sales teams, customer success managers, and organizations needing video recording capabilities

tl;dv is a comprehensive AI meeting assistant that goes beyond simple note-taking to provide video recording, sales coaching, and multi-meeting intelligence. It transforms conversations into actionable insights while offering enterprise-grade video capabilities that bot-free alternatives cannot match.

Note: tl;dv is the only bot-based tool in this comparison list. Unlike the other bot-free alternatives, tl;dv sends a visible bot to join your meetings to enable video recording and advanced features that aren't possible with device-level audio capture alone. 

For more bot-based options similar to tl;dv, explore our comprehensive AI meeting assistant guide.

tl;dv vs Granola Strengths

While both tools provide meeting intelligence, tl;dv's bot-based approach enables video capabilities and advanced features that device-level solutions cannot offer.

tl;dv vs Granola Limitations

• Relies on meeting platform bot capabilities and permissions

• Video files require significant storage vs text-only notes

• More features mean steeper learning curve for basic users

Choose the Best Granola AI alternative

While each alternative has its strengths, Hyprnote offers a unique value proposition that no other tool can match: complete data sovereignty.

Hyprnote's local-first approach provides:

✅ Zero privacy risks - Your conversations never leave your device
✅ Complete offline functionality - Works anywhere, anytime
✅ No vendor lock-in - Open source with full control
✅ Future-proof technology - Local AI models are rapidly improving
✅ Cost-effective - No recurring fees for basic functionality

For teams in healthcare, legal, finance, or any industry where confidentiality matters, Hyprnote isn't just an alternative to Granola AI—it's the evolution of how sensitive conversations should be handled in the AI age.

Ready to take control of your meeting data? Download Hyprnote and experience truly private AI-powered note-taking.