Granola vs Otter AI is a choice between two ways of taking meeting notes. Granola is an AI notepad: it listens to your computer's audio, so no bot joins the call, and it combines the notes you type with the transcript. Otter is an automated note taker that joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, writes a live transcript and sends a summary with action items. Granola's free plan keeps 30 days of history, and Business costs $14 a month. Otter's free plan gives 300 transcription minutes a month, and Pro costs $8.33 a month billed yearly. Prices and plan details were checked on Nov 2 and Nov 4, 2026.
If you want prices first, jump to what you pay for each or the free plans. If you record in person or on calls, skip to Granola vs Otter vs Comu AI.
Granola vs Otter AI at a glance
| Granola | Otter AI | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | An AI notepad: your notes plus the transcript | An automated note taker with a live transcript |
| Where it works | macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and other meeting apps | Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, plus in-person recording in the mobile apps |
| Free plan | Basic, 30 days of meeting history | Basic, 300 transcription minutes a month |
| Paid plan, billed monthly | Business $14, Enterprise $35 | Pro $16.99, Business $30 |
| Paid plan, billed yearly | Business $14 a month, $168 a year | Pro $8.33, Business $19.99 |
| Transcription languages | Multi-language | English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese |
| Best for | Bot-free notes in your own structure | Live transcripts in Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet |
Prices are per user in US dollars.
Granola vs Otter: what you pay for each
Granola Basic costs $0, Business is $14 per user per month, which is $168 a year, and Enterprise is $35 per user per month, which is $420 a year. Students get Granola free for 12 months.
Otter has four plans. Basic is free. Pro is $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed yearly ($99.96 a year). Business is $30 a month, or $19.99 billed yearly, and new subscribers pay $24 a month for the first three months. Enterprise is priced through sales. Students and teachers with an .edu email get Pro at $6.67 a month billed yearly.
| Per user per year | Granola | Otter AI |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 |
| Entry paid plan, billed monthly | Business, $168 | Pro, $203.88 |
| Entry paid plan, billed yearly | Business, $168 | Pro, $99.96 |
| Team plan, billed monthly | Business, $168 | Business, $360 |
| Team plan, billed yearly | Business, $168 | Business, $239.88 |
On monthly billing, Granola Business at $14 is cheaper than Otter Pro at $16.99. On yearly billing, Otter Pro at $8.33 is cheaper than Granola Business. Granola Basic costs $0 and keeps 30 days of meeting history, and Otter Basic costs $0 with 300 transcription minutes a month.
Otter AI vs Granola: free plans compared
Granola Basic and Otter Basic both cost $0. Granola keeps 30 days of meeting history, and Otter gives 300 transcription minutes a month.
Granola Basic includes AI meeting notes, bot-free capture using your device's audio, the desktop, iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps, speaker tagging, customized note templates, multi-language support, voice typing, shared folders and a Slack integration. History is limited to 30 days.
Otter Basic joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, gives live transcription, speaker identification, audio playback, AI Chat within and across meetings, multi-language support, the iOS and Android apps and an MCP server. Transcription is 300 minutes a month, a conversation can run up to 30 minutes, you can import 3 files over the life of the account, and the 25 most recent conversations stay in your history.
Granola vs Otter free plans: what each includes
| Free plan | Granola Basic | Otter Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $0 |
| Limit | 30 days of meeting history | 300 transcription minutes a month |
| History | 30 days | 25 most recent conversations |
| Speaker identification | Speaker tagging | Yes |
| AI assistant | AI chat in Auto mode | AI Chat, 20 questions a month |
| Integrations | Slack | MCP server |
For a few short online meetings a month, either free plan works. Granola's free plan fits someone who takes notes in many meetings and does not need to look back past a month. Otter's free plan fits someone who wants a live transcript and needs under 300 transcription minutes a month.
Otter AI vs Granola: features row by row
Granola and Otter differ on capture, notes, live transcription, AI chat, languages, integrations, export, meeting limits and security.
- Capture. Granola uses your computer's audio, so no bot joins the call. Otter joins your meetings from the calendar you connect and records in person through its mobile apps.
- Notes. Granola combines the notes you type with the transcript into enhanced notes. Otter writes automated summaries with action items and outlines.
- Live transcription. Otter writes a live transcript in the Otter app and live captions in Google Meet.
- Briefs and follow-ups. Granola's pre-meeting briefs and follow-up emails start on Business.
- AI chat. Granola's chat uses Auto mode on Basic, with model selection on Business and Enterprise. Otter AI Chat allows 20 questions a month on Basic, 50 on Pro and 200 on Business.
- Languages. Otter transcribes English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Granola supports multiple languages on every plan.
- Integrations. Granola has Slack on every plan, and Notion, Zapier, HubSpot, Attio and Affinity from Business, plus MCP and an API. Otter has an MCP server, Zapier, and Salesforce and HubSpot sync with user limits.
- Export. Otter exports mp3 and txt on Basic and adds pdf, docx and srt on Pro.
- Meeting limits. Otter allows up to 90 minutes a conversation on Pro and 4 hours on Business, and joins 1, 2 or 3 meetings at once depending on the plan.
- Security. Granola is SOC 2 Type II certified on every plan and deletes audio after transcription, with HIPAA-compliant workspaces on Enterprise. Otter has TLS and AES-256 encryption, two-factor authentication, and SSO and SCIM on Enterprise, with HIPAA as an add-on.
Granola vs Otter: history, minutes and limits
Granola limits meeting history and Otter limits transcription minutes, which changes which plan you need.
Granola Basic keeps 30 days of meetings, and Business has unlimited history and unlimited AI notes. Otter Basic gives 300 transcription minutes a month and keeps the 25 most recent conversations. Pro gives 1,200 minutes a month and unlimited history. Business gives unlimited meetings.
A person who attends five one-hour meetings a week uses about 22 hours of audio a month, or about 1,300 minutes, which is more than the 1,200 minutes in Otter Pro, while Granola Business has unlimited AI notes.
Otter vs Granola: which one fits you
| If you | Choose |
|---|---|
| Want no bot in your calls | Granola |
| Want to write your own notes and have AI fill in the rest | Granola |
| Want a live transcript while people talk | Otter |
| Want the lowest yearly price | Otter Pro at $8.33 |
| Want the lowest monthly price | Granola Business at $14 |
| Run long meetings, up to 4 hours | Otter Business |
| Are a student | Granola's 12 free months, or Otter Pro at $6.67 a month billed yearly with an .edu email |
| Record in person or on the phone | A recorder, such as Comu |
Start on a free plan and note the limit you reach first. For Granola it is the 30-day window. For Otter it is the 300 minutes and the 30-minute conversation cap. Each product has its own review: Granola AI review and Otter AI review.
Granola vs Otter: privacy and data handling
Granola is SOC 2 Type II certified on every plan, deletes audio after transcription and offers a DPA. Granola states that third parties may not train on your data. Granola trains on anonymized data itself, each user can opt out in Settings with one click, and Enterprise has model training turned off for everyone by default.
Otter encrypts data with TLS and encrypts real-time content with AES-256. It offers two-factor authentication on every plan, centralized billing and user management on paid plans, and custom data retention, SSO and SCIM on Enterprise. HIPAA compliance is an Otter add-on, and Granola includes HIPAA-compliant workspaces on Enterprise. SSO and SCIM on Otter need a license of at least 100 users, and SSO on Granola is available for Enterprise workspaces with 50 or more users.
Tell the other person you are recording. Laws on recording calls differ by country, and you are responsible for following them.
Granola vs Otter for a small team
Both charge per user, so five people pay $840 a year on Granola Business, $499.80 on Otter Pro billed yearly and $1,199.40 on Otter Business billed yearly. Both free plans cover light use, so a team can keep most people on a free plan and give paid seats to the people who run the most meetings. Granola's Business plan adds centralized billing and user management, and Otter's Business plan adds activity logs, usage analytics and prioritized support.
Granola vs Otter: setting up in your first week
Run both free plans side by side on real meetings for one week.
- Sign up for both free plans. Connect your calendar in each.
- Run three real meetings and keep both tools on for each one.
- Compare the notes. Granola's notes follow what you typed. Otter's summary and action items arrive without any typing.
- Check the limits. Note how many of Otter's 300 minutes the three meetings used, and which meetings Granola's 30-day window will drop first.
- Try a phone call or an in-person conversation with the mobile app of each tool.
- Decide on seats. Give a paid seat to the people who run the most meetings.
Granola vs Otter: cost over three years
Over three years, one person pays $504 on Granola Business, $299.88 on Otter Pro billed yearly and $719.64 on Otter Business billed yearly. Granola Basic costs $0 with 30 days of meeting history, and Otter Basic costs $0 with 300 transcription minutes a month.
| One person | Year 1 | Year 2 (total) | Year 3 (total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granola Business, $14 a month | $168.00 | $336.00 | $504.00 |
| Granola Enterprise, $35 a month | $420.00 | $840.00 | $1,260.00 |
| Otter Pro, $8.33 a month billed yearly | $99.96 | $199.92 | $299.88 |
| Otter Pro, $16.99 a month | $203.88 | $407.76 | $611.64 |
| Otter Business, $19.99 a month billed yearly | $239.88 | $479.76 | $719.64 |
Granola vs Otter vs Comu AI: usage cost compared
Comu Note Pro is €139.99 and Comu Action Pro is €179.99. Granola Business costs $504 over three years and Otter Pro billed yearly costs $299.88. Comu prices are euro prices from the EU store (Nov 6, 2026); competitor prices are US dollar prices from each company's own site. Comu is a recorder with an app. The free plan that comes with a Comu device includes unlimited transcription, unlimited real-time transcription, speaker identification, summaries, action items, templates, and Comu AI for questions across your recordings. Comu records phone calls, supports 113 languages, imports external audio files, and is GDPR, HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant.
The Comu rows use only that free plan. Granola Basic keeps 30 days of meeting history, and Otter Basic stops at 300 transcription minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation. The table therefore compares Comu with Granola Business and with Otter Pro and Business, and lists the two free plans at $0 for reference.
| One person | Year 1 | Year 2 (total) | Year 3 (total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comu Note Pro, free plan | €139.99 | €139.99 | €139.99 |
| Comu Action Pro, free plan | €179.99 | €179.99 | €179.99 |
| Granola Basic, 30 days of history | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Otter Basic, 300 minutes a month | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Otter Pro, 1,200 minutes a month, billed yearly | $99.96 | $199.92 | $299.88 |
| Granola Business, unlimited history | $168.00 | $336.00 | $504.00 |
| Otter Business, unlimited meetings, billed yearly | $239.88 | $479.76 | $719.64 |
For a team of five over three years, Granola Business seats cost $2,520, Otter Business seats billed yearly cost $3,598.20 and five Comu Note Pro devices cost €699.95.
| Feature | Comu (included with the device) | Granola Basic | Otter Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Note Pro €139.99, Action Pro €179.99 | $0 | $0 |
| Transcription and history | Unlimited transcription | 30 days of meeting history | 300 minutes a month, 25 most recent conversations |
| Where it records | A recorder you carry, in person and on the phone | Your computer's audio, plus the phone apps | Online meetings, plus the mobile apps |
| Languages | 113 | Multi-language | 6 |
Comu records the room and the phone from a device you carry, so it works for an in-person interview, a client visit, a lecture or a call. It does not depend on a meeting link or a laptop being open. If your day is mostly in-person meetings and calls, a device you carry is the more direct way to capture them, and the transcript, speaker labels, summary and action items arrive in the app. Every feature that comes with a Comu device is in our guide to the features that come with Comu, and the devices are Comu Note Pro and Comu Action Pro.
Common questions about Granola vs Otter
Is Granola better than Otter?
Granola is the better fit if you want no bot in the call and notes built around what you type, and Otter is the better fit if you want a live transcript and automated summaries without writing anything.
Which is cheaper, Granola or Otter?
On monthly billing, Granola Business at $14 is cheaper than Otter Pro at $16.99. On yearly billing, Otter Pro at $8.33 a month is cheaper than Granola Business at $14.
Does Granola or Otter join the call as a bot?
Granola uses your computer's audio and does not invite a bot. Otter joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet calls from the calendar you connect.
Do Granola and Otter have free plans?
Yes. Granola Basic is free with 30 days of meeting history. Otter Basic is free with 300 transcription minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation.
Which languages do Granola and Otter support?
Otter transcribes English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Granola supports multiple languages on every plan.
Is there a student discount for Granola or Otter?
Yes. Granola is free for 12 months for students. Otter gives individual students and teachers with an .edu email 20% off Pro, at $6.67 a month billed yearly.
Which is better for in-person meetings?
Otter records in person through its mobile apps, and a recorder you carry captures the room without a computer. Comu Note Pro is €139.99 and its free plan includes unlimited transcription, speaker identification and AI summaries.
Is there a recorder alternative to both?
Yes. Comu Note Pro is €139.99 and Comu Action Pro is €179.99. Both record phone calls and in-person conversations.
Related reading
- Granola Pricing (2026): Free Plan, Business at $14 and Enterprise at $35
- Otter AI Pricing (2026): Free Plan, Paid Plans and What Each Includes
- Granola Alternatives (2026): 7 AI Note Takers Compared by Price and Use Case
- Granola AI Review (2026): Features, Pricing, Privacy and Who It Fits
- Otter AI Review (2026): Features, Pricing, Pros and Cons by Plan
Sources
Pages were checked on Nov 2, Nov 4 and Nov 6, 2026.
- Granola, Pricing, home page and student program
- Otter, Pricing
- Comu, Comu Action Pro, Comu Note Pro, and app downloads
