Free Granola alternatives: the 5 best options in 2026
Granola is genuinely good, and its free plan is genuinely free, but it only keeps 30 days of meeting history. Keeping more costs $14 per user per month. I make MeetMouse, so it's on this list even though it isn't free: it's $20 once. Each tool below says what it does better than us.
| Tool | Best for | Price for one person |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fathom | free notes with no minute cap | Free |
| 2. MeetMouse (mine) | a paid upgrade: $20 once, no subscription | $20 once |
| 3. tl;dv | sharing clips with your team | Free, then $29/seat/mo |
| 4. Otter | searching months of old transcripts | Free 300 min, then $16.99/mo |
| 5. Fireflies | sales teams that need CRM sync | From $18/user/mo |
1. Fathom
The best free notetaker on the market. Recordings, transcripts and AI summaries with no minute cap. The trade is a visible bot in your calls and every meeting in their cloud. If neither bothers you, get Fathom.
Good
- Free individual plan with no minute cap
- Recordings, transcripts and AI summaries
- Team features from $19/user/month when you need them
Not so good
- A Fathom bot joins your calls
- Your meetings live in their cloud
2. MeetMousemine
I built MeetMouse because years of transcripts never made me better at meetings. It listens on your Mac, shows a live transcript and talk balance, and nudges you during the call: land the ask, let them finish, pin down that vague "sounds good." Transcription and AI run on your Mac by default and it works with WiFi off. Pick it if privacy matters or you want to change the meeting, not file it away.
Good
- No bot, no account, works with WiFi off
- Coaching cues during the call, hidden from screen shares
- $20 once, cheaper than two months of most paid plans
Not so good
- Mac only (macOS 14.2 or later)
- No CRM sync or team dashboard
- If you turn on Claude or OpenAI in Settings, text goes to that provider (audio never does)
3. tl;dv
If what you share with your team is "watch these 40 seconds," tl;dv's clipping beats everyone's. The free plan records without limits, but AI notes stop after 10 meetings and data is kept up to 3 months. Pro is $29 per seat per month.
Good
- Best clip-sharing on the list
- Free plan records unlimited meetings
Not so good
- Free AI notes stop after 10 meetings; data kept up to 3 months
- A bot joins calls and recordings live in their cloud
4. Otter
Otter has been transcribing meetings the longest, and search across months of transcripts is excellent. It's the default for researchers and journalists. The free plan is about a week of real meetings. Pick it if the archive is the point.
Good
- Strong search across months of meetings
- The default for researchers and journalists
Not so good
- Free plan stops at 300 minutes a month
- Announces itself with a bot in every call
- Audio is processed in their cloud
5. Fireflies
Fireflies is infrastructure for sales orgs: record every call, score it, push it to the CRM and let managers review talk time across the team. For one person it's a truck when you need a bicycle. Pick it if you run a sales team.
Good
- Pushes calls into your CRM
- Call scoring and manager dashboards
- Free plan records unlimited meetings
Not so good
- Overkill for one person
- A bot joins every call
- Priced per seat
What each costs
| Tool | Free plan | Paid | Bot joins? | Where audio goes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Unlimited recordings and summaries | Free for individuals. Teams from $19/user/month. | Yes | Their cloud |
| MeetMouse | No free plan | $20 once. No subscription, no account. 30-day refund. | No | Stays on your Mac |
| tl;dv | Unlimited recordings, AI notes on 10 meetings, data kept up to 3 months | Free with unlimited recordings and AI notes on 10 meetings. Pro $29/seat/month. | Yes | Their cloud |
| Otter | 300 minutes a month | Free for 300 minutes a month. Pro $16.99/month. | Yes | Their cloud |
| Fireflies | Unlimited recording, limited AI credits | Free plan with limited AI credits. Pro from $18/user/month. | Yes | Their cloud and your CRM |
| Granola | Unlimited meetings, 30 days of history | Free with 30 days of meeting history. Business $14/user/month. | No | Cloud AI for notes |
Prices for one person, monthly billing, read from each tool's pricing page on October 2, 2026. Check before you buy; these change.
When Granola is enough
If you only need your last 30 days of meetings, Granola's free plan might already be everything you need. It's bot-free and the notes are excellent. The history limit is the whole business model. Inside it? Stop shopping.
Checked, but not ranked
Voice memo + an AI chat. $0. Record with QuickTime or Voice Memos, drop the file into ChatGPT or Claude and ask for a summary with action items. No bot, no subscription, just a few manual steps.
Poised. It coaches live too, but it coaches delivery (filler words, pace, confidence) as a cloud subscription with an account. A good pick if public-speaking mechanics are the problem. MeetMouse vs Poised
How I checked
Every price and plan limit comes from the tool's own pricing page or help docs, read on October 2, 2026, for one person paying monthly. The ranking is for one person on Zoom, Meet or Teams who cares where their meetings go and wants to get better at them, not a sales team. Nobody paid to be on this list. I make MeetMouse, and its price is the one on this site.
How to switch
- Buy MeetMouse for $20 and open the DMG.
- Allow the microphone and Screen Recording, so it hears both sides without a bot.
- Start your next Zoom, Meet or Teams call. Want to try it first? The 15-second demo needs no permissions.
- Keep Granola running alongside if you still want its archive. They don't know about each other.
Questions
- What is the best free alternative to Granola?
- Fathom. Its free plan has unlimited recordings and summaries with no monthly cap. The catch is that a bot joins your calls and meetings are stored in Fathom's cloud.
- Is there a free Granola alternative without a bot?
- Granola's own free plan is the bot-free free option, with 30 days of meeting history. Recording with Voice Memos and pasting into an AI chat is also bot-free and costs nothing.
- Is there a Granola alternative without a subscription?
- MeetMouse is $20 one time, with no subscription and no account. It coaches you live instead of writing notes afterward.
- What are the limits of Granola's free plan?
- Granola's free Basic plan keeps 30 days of meeting history. Unlimited history needs Business at $14 per user per month.
Try MeetMouse
$20 once, no subscription and no account. If it doesn't earn its keep, email me inside 30 days and I'll refund you.
I checked prices and features for the tools here in October 2026. This stuff changes constantly, so double-check before you buy.
All trademarks belong to their owners. Named for comparison only.