Comparison, updated August 2026
Granola alternatives for Mac: the local-first field, honestly compared
Short answer: if you are leaving Granola because of the subscription or because AI notes run in their cloud, the closest full replacement is Mac Note Taker ($149 one-time, everything on-device, named speakers). If you want free and open source, look at Muesli, Humla, or Clio Notes. All of them record without a bot.
Why people switch away from Granola
Granola got the big thing right: no bot in the meeting. People still switch, for three concrete reasons. AI notes are generated in Granola's cloud, so transcripts of NDA calls, sales calls, and board prep leave the machine. Unlimited use costs $14 per user per month (Business tier) - about $168 a year, forever. And transcripts label speakers as Me and Them rather than the actual people in the room, which matters once you search across months of meetings.
Mac Note Taker vs Granola at a glance
| Feature | Mac Note Taker | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $149 one-time, 3 Macs | Free (limited history), Business $14/user/mo |
| AI notes generated | On your Mac (Ollama) or your own API key | Granola's cloud |
| Works offline | Fully | Needs internet for AI notes |
| Speaker labels | Named people, remembered across meetings | Me/Them channel split |
| Bot joins the call | No | No |
| Transcript storage | Your Mac only | Granola's servers |
Full breakdown: Mac Note Taker vs Granola ↗
Every alternative worth considering
We build Mac Note Taker, so we are biased - which is why this list includes every serious option, including the free ones. Pick by what you optimize for.
1. Mac Note Taker
$149 one-time (3 Macs)Full disclosure: this is our app, so discount the bias and check the free trial yourself. It records both sides of Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack huddles, Webex, and Discord calls with no bot, transcribes on-device in 25 languages, identifies speakers by voice and remembers them across meetings, pulls attendee names from your calendar, and generates summaries with local Ollama or your own OpenAI-compatible key. Nothing leaves your Mac. Requires Apple Silicon and macOS 14.2+.
2. Muesli
Free, open sourceFree, open-source, fully local transcription for Zoom, Meet, and Teams on Apple Silicon, with live transcription and Markdown export. The right pick if you want zero cost and are comfortable with a younger open-source project and a smaller feature set.
3. LocalScribe
FreemiumOn-device transcription built on whisper.cpp, with summaries generated by Apple Intelligence. Clean and genuinely local, but summaries require macOS 15+ with Apple Intelligence enabled, which rules out older systems.
4. Humla
Free, open source (MIT)Open-source meeting notes with offline speaker identification and local LLM summaries, no accounts. A newer project that is still evolving; good if you want speaker ID without paying and accept some rough edges.
5. Clio Notes
Free, open sourceFree, open-source, fully local Mac transcription and AI notes with no servers and no subscriptions. Minimal by design; fewer meeting-workflow features than the paid options.
6. Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote)
Free local tier, Pro $15/moOpen-source AI notepad from a YC startup, previously known as Hyprnote and then Char. Has a free local tier; advanced features sit behind a $15/mo Pro subscription with cloud processing. Strong project, but the roadmap has been shifting toward its cloud tier.
7. MacWhisper
Free tier, Pro ~€64 one-timeThe best general transcription suite on the Mac: drag-and-drop files, batch jobs, dictation, 100+ languages, and it records meetings too. Speaker labels are per-recording and there is no calendar integration - it is a transcription toolbox rather than a meeting notetaker. See our detailed comparison.
8. Otter.ai
From $16.99/moThe opposite direction: a cloud service whose bot joins your calls and stores audio on Otter's servers. Makes sense for teams that want cloud sharing and search across an organization, not for anyone leaving Granola over privacy.
Frequently asked
Why do people look for a Granola alternative?
The three most common reasons: Granola generates AI notes in its cloud (transcripts leave your machine), the free tier limits meeting history so ongoing use needs a $14/user/mo Business subscription, and transcripts split speakers into Me/Them channels instead of naming the actual people in the call.
Is there a Granola alternative with no subscription?
Yes. Mac Note Taker is $149 one-time for 3 Macs. MacWhisper Pro is roughly €64 one-time. Muesli, Humla, and Clio Notes are free and open source.
Is there a fully local Granola alternative that works offline?
Mac Note Taker, Muesli, LocalScribe, Humla, and Clio Notes all transcribe on-device. Mac Note Taker and Humla also generate AI summaries locally, so the whole pipeline - audio, transcript, summary - can run with Wi-Fi off.
Which Granola alternative identifies who is speaking?
Mac Note Taker identifies speakers by voice fingerprint and remembers them across meetings, so the colleague labeled in Monday's call is auto-labeled on Thursday. Humla has offline speaker ID per meeting. Granola itself only separates your side from theirs.
Do any of these join my meeting as a bot?
No. Every app on this list records through macOS system audio on your own machine. Nothing appears in the participant list - which is the main reason people pick this category over Otter or Fireflies.