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Both take meeting notes so you don’t have to type everything yourself, and both have free plans. The biggest difference is whether a bot shows up as a participant in your call.
| Otter.ai | Granola | |
|---|---|---|
| How it listens | An assistant can join your Zoom, Meet or Teams call | Listens through your computer or phone audio (no bot in the call) |
| Free plan | Yes (Basic plan, free forever) | Yes (Basic plan, keeps 30 days of meeting history) |
| Entry paid plan | Pro $16.99/mo ($8.33/mo annual) | Business $14/user/mo |
| Main focus | Live transcript as people talk, plus summaries | Turning your rough notes and call audio into clean notes afterward |
| Free-plan catch | Bot joins the call if you use auto-join | Free plan only keeps 30 days of history |
Pick Otter.ai if…
- You want to watch a live transcript while people are talking, like in a lecture or an interview.
- You want a searchable transcript archive and plan to pay yearly ($8.33/mo on Pro annual vs $16.99/mo monthly).
Pick Granola if…
- You don’t want a recording bot showing up in the participant list on client, sales or one-on-one calls.
- You like jotting down a few rough bullet points and letting AI flesh them out when the meeting ends.
Facts above come from otter.ai/pricing and granola.ai/pricing (checked Oct 2026). The “pick if” notes are my opinion.
Where they really differ
A lot of people have switched to Granola because it stays invisible. It captures audio straight from your device, so nobody on the call sees an extra bot tile pop up. The catch on Granola’s free plan is that it only keeps 30 days of meeting history; Business ($14/user/mo) unlocks unlimited history and integrations like Notion and HubSpot.
Otter.ai is still the better fit when you want the live, word-for-word transcript scrolling on screen during the meeting. Just watch the billing toggle: Pro is $16.99/mo billed monthly, or $8.33/mo billed yearly.
Whichever one you use, tell people on the call that you’re using an AI note-taker. It’s good manners, and in some places the law requires everyone’s consent to record. And always read the summary before you send it around, since both tools can mix up who said what. You can also pair either one with the Summarize a meeting workflow in my workspace.