Looking for a Granola alternative for AI meeting notes? Discover why Hedy is the best AI note taker that provides real-time transcription and automatic suggestions—not just meeting summaries. Compare Granola AI vs Hedy, Otter.ai, and other AI meeting assistants.
If you're searching for a Granola alternative, you've probably realized that basic AI meeting notes aren't enough anymore. While Granola offers a clean AI notepad experience, professionals increasingly need more than summaries after meetings end—they need real-time AI coaching, full transcription, and intelligent suggestions during conversations. This comprehensive guide compares Granola AI with the best alternatives including Hedy, Otter.ai, and Fireflies.ai to help you find the perfect AI meeting assistant for your workflow. Whether you use Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, you'll discover which AI note taker truly delivers meeting intelligence that transforms how you work.
Granola has positioned itself as a local-first AI meeting notepad that generates meeting notes without requiring a bot to join your calls. The tool captures audio directly from your device and uses AI to create summaries of your conversations. Granola offers a clean interface and the ability to chat across multiple meetings to find information.
However, as users dive deeper into Granola's AI capabilities, several limitations become apparent that drive them to seek alternatives:
No Audio Recording or Full Transcription: Unlike comprehensive AI meeting assistants, Granola doesn't provide complete transcripts of your meetings. It focuses exclusively on AI-generated notes and summaries, which means you're missing the full conversation context and can't review exactly what was said.
Limited Free Plan Storage: Granola's free tier stores only 14 days of meeting history, forcing users to export notes regularly or upgrade to paid plans just to maintain their meeting data.
Reactive Rather Than Proactive: Granola creates meeting notes after your meeting ends. It doesn't provide real-time insights when you need them most—during the actual conversation when a brilliant question could change the outcome.
Mac-Only Desktop Support: While Granola offers Mac and Windows support, users report that some features work better on Mac, and there's no mobile app for capturing in-person meetings.
These limitations explain why thousands of professionals search for a better Granola alternative—one that offers proactive AI intelligence, not just passive note-taking.
When evaluating AI note-taking tools like Granola, the best AI meeting assistants share several critical capabilities that separate them from basic transcription tools:
Real-Time Intelligence: The best AI meeting note takers don't wait until your meeting ends to provide value. They analyze conversations in real-time and offer insights, suggestions, and guidance during active discussions—helping you contribute more effectively in the moment.
Complete Transcription: Beyond AI summaries, professionals need full transcripts they can search, edit, and reference. A transcript captures everything said, while a summary might miss nuances important to your specific context.
Cross-Platform Support: The best AI tools work where you work—whether that's Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or in-person meetings. They should function seamlessly on Mac and Windows, plus mobile devices for on-the-go capture.
Customizable Templates for Different Meeting Types: Sales calls need different insights than board meetings or lectures. The best AI meeting assistants offer templates and modes customized for specific meeting types—business meetings, interviews, coaching sessions, medical appointments, and more.
No Meeting Bot Required: Like Granola, the best alternatives capture meeting audio directly without requiring bots joining your video conferencing calls—which can be awkward and raise privacy concerns with participants.
Integration Ecosystem: Modern workflows require AI tools that connect with your CRM, project management tools, and automation platforms. CRM integrations, Zapier connections, and API access transform meeting insights into actionable data across your tech stack.
Hedy takes a fundamentally different approach than Granola's AI notepad model. While Granola focuses on generating AI notes from meeting content, Hedy provides complete meeting transcription plus proactive AI intelligence that coaches you during conversations.
Full Audio Transcription vs. AI Notes Only: Hedy automatically records and transcribes your entire meeting with speaker identification. You get the complete transcript to review, edit, and search—not just an AI-generated summary. Granola offers AI summaries without the underlying transcript, meaning you can't verify what was actually said.
Real-Time Transcript Updates: With Hedy, you can follow along with the transcript during your meeting, seeing what's being captured in real-time. This helps ensure important points are documented and lets you stay engaged without frantically taking notes.
Editable Transcripts for Accuracy: After meetings, you can edit Hedy transcripts to correct names, technical terms, or industry-specific jargon. Add custom vocabulary to improve transcription accuracy for terms Hedy encounters frequently in your meetings.
On-Device Speech Recognition: Like Granola, Hedy processes audio directly on your device for privacy. No meeting bot joins your calls, and speech recognition happens locally before any data goes to the cloud for AI analysis.
The transcription tool capabilities alone make Hedy a compelling Granola alternative, but the real differentiation comes from what Hedy does with that transcript in real-time.
This is where Hedy fundamentally separates itself from Granola and every other AI note taker on the market. Hedy's Automatic Suggestions feature provides proactive AI coaching that delivers intelligent guidance at exactly the right moments—without you having to do anything.
How Automatic Suggestions Work: While you're in a meeting, Hedy's AI continuously analyzes the conversation, identifies opportunities, and surfaces suggestions when they're most valuable. Imagine you're in a client meeting and they mention budget constraints twice but haven't specified a number. Hedy notices this gap and suggests: "Consider asking: 'What budget parameters should we work within?'"
AI That Anticipates Your Needs: Granola requires you to query its AI after meetings end. Hedy proactively identifies blindspots, suggests questions you should ask, and helps you lead conversations rather than just document them. This is ambient intelligence—AI that understands context and acts on your behalf.
Customizable Suggestion Frequency: You control how often Hedy offers suggestions—from frequent coaching to selective prompts only for high-value moments. Adjust the experience to match your comfort level and meeting types.
Context-Aware Intelligence: Create multiple custom contexts for different scenarios—client projects, team meetings, interviews—and Hedy tailors its suggestions to each unique situation. The AI draws from your background information to provide more relevant, actionable guidance.
No other AI meeting assistant offers this level of proactive coaching. While tools like Granola, Otter.ai, and Fireflies.ai generate notes taken after conversations, Hedy actively helps you perform better during conversations.
When comparing Granola alternatives, it's worth understanding how other popular AI tools stack up:
Otter.ai: Otter.ai is an AI meeting assistant that automatically records and transcribes meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. It offers a generous free plan and strong transcription accuracy. However, Otter.ai requires a bot to join meetings (which can be awkward) and focuses on passive transcription rather than real-time coaching. Like Granola, Otter.ai summarizes what happened—it doesn't help you perform better during conversations.
Fireflies.ai: Fireflies.ai is an AI meeting assistant that works with most video conferencing platforms and offers strong CRM integrations for sales teams. It automatically records and transcribes meetings, then generates AI summaries and action items. Like Otter.ai, Fireflies uses a meeting bot that joins your calls, and it focuses on post-meeting analysis rather than real-time intelligence.
Comparison Summary:
Among AI note-taking tools, only Hedy combines the no-bot privacy of Granola with full transcription capabilities AND proactive real-time intelligence. It's not just about how meeting notes are generated—it's about transforming how you show up in conversations.
Yes—and without requiring bots joining your calls, which sets Hedy apart from tools like Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai.
Virtual Meetings on Desktop: The Hedy macOS and Windows apps capture system audio directly, so you can analyze any video conferencing platform—Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, or any other tool. Hedy listens to what's playing through your speakers without adding a visible bot to the participant list.
Mobile for In-Person Meetings: For in-person meetings, simply place your phone on the table with Hedy running. The app captures audio through your device's microphone and provides the same real-time transcription and AI suggestions.
Multi-Device Sessions: Start recording on your iPhone and follow the live transcript and AI suggestions on your Mac or iPad. Your meeting insights are available in real-time wherever you need them most—perfect for virtual meetings where you want to keep Hedy visible on a secondary screen.
Web App Access: Review transcripts, chat with past sessions, and manage your meeting data from any browser through Hedy's web interface. While session capture requires a native app, your complete session history is accessible everywhere.
Absolutely—and many professionals specifically choose Hedy because they want AI-powered meeting intelligence without the awkwardness of bots joining calls.
Why Meeting Bots Create Problems: When an AI assistant like "Otter.ai Notetaker" or "Fireflies.ai Bot" joins your Zoom call, everyone notices. Clients may feel surveilled. Colleagues might speak more guardedly. Some organizations prohibit recording bots entirely. The presence of a meeting bot fundamentally changes conversation dynamics.
Hedy's No-Bot Approach: Like Granola, Hedy captures meeting audio directly from your device without any bot joining the call. On desktop, it listens to system audio. On mobile, it uses the microphone. No one knows you're using Hedy unless you tell them—giving you AI meeting intelligence while maintaining natural conversation flow.
Better Results Without the Bot: When people don't know they're being recorded by an obvious AI tool, they communicate more naturally. You get more authentic conversations, better insights, and stronger relationships—plus all the benefits of AI-generated transcripts, summaries, and meeting notes.
Understanding the free tier options helps you evaluate AI note-taking tools before committing:
Granola Free Plan: 14 days of meeting history, basic AI notes, cross-meeting chat. The limited storage window means you need to export or lose your meeting data regularly.
Otter.ai Free Plan: 300 monthly transcription minutes, limited AI features. The generous free tier makes it popular for individuals and small teams just getting started with AI transcription.
Hedy Free Plan: Up to 5 hours per month, unlimited local storage, full AI insights including automatic suggestions, meeting summaries, and action items. Your meeting data stays on your device indefinitely—no artificial storage limits.
Key Difference: Hedy's free plan includes the proactive automatic suggestions feature that premium competitors don't offer at any price. You experience real-time AI coaching without paying, then upgrade to Pro for unlimited sessions and cloud sync when ready.
AI summaries and action item extraction are table stakes for modern AI meeting tools. Here's how Hedy delivers:
Intelligent Meeting Summaries: After each session, Hedy generates comprehensive summaries highlighting key discussion points, decisions made, and important context. The AI captures meeting content in a structured format that's easy to scan and share.
Automatic To-Do Extraction: Hedy identifies action items from your conversations and creates a manageable task list automatically. You can edit tasks, mark them complete, or export to your favorite task management tool via Zapier or our API.
Detailed Meeting Notes on Demand: Beyond summaries, generate detailed meeting notes that capture more nuance from longer sessions. Perfect for board meetings, client reviews, or complex discussions where you need comprehensive documentation.
Shareable Notes and Summaries: Share meeting summaries via email, export to markdown, or send auto-recap emails to your team. Pro users can include detailed notes in auto-recaps and customize the recipient list.
Templates for Different Meeting Types: Hedy offers specialized modes for business meetings, lectures, medical consultations, journalism interviews, coaching sessions, and recruitment calls. Each mode customizes how summaries and insights are generated to match your specific meeting context.
For professionals who want more than passive transcription, Hedy represents the evolution of AI meeting intelligence. Here's the bottom line comparison:
Granola: A capable AI notepad for generating meeting summaries. Best for users who want simple AI notes without transcription or real-time features. Pricing: $14/month for unlimited storage.
Otter.ai: Strong transcription tool with a generous free plan. Best for individuals and small teams who need basic meeting transcription and don't mind bots joining calls. Pricing: Free tier available, paid plans from $16.99/month.
Fireflies.ai: Feature-rich AI meeting assistant with excellent CRM integrations. Best for sales teams who need meeting data flowing into their sales tools. Pricing: Free tier available, paid plans from $18/month.
Hedy: The only AI meeting assistant that provides proactive real-time coaching plus complete transcription—all without meeting bots. Best for professionals who want to actually perform better during conversations, not just document them afterward. Pricing: $9.99/month or $199 lifetime.
The fundamental question: Do you want AI that documents your past conversations, or AI that makes you brilliant during current conversations? If you want to lead meetings, ask better questions, and demonstrate expertise in real-time, Hedy is the clear choice among Granola alternatives.
Q: Can I use Hedy offline?
A: Hedy requires an internet connection for AI analysis, but speech recognition happens on-device for privacy. Your transcripts are generated locally before any data is sent for AI processing.
Q: How accurate is Hedy's transcription compared to Granola?
A: Hedy provides full transcription with high accuracy across 30+ languages. Unlike Granola's AI notepad approach, you can verify exactly what was said and edit the transcript to correct any errors. Custom vocabulary support improves accuracy for industry-specific terms.
Q: Will people know I'm using Hedy in meetings?
A: No—like Granola, Hedy runs discreetly on your device without bots joining calls. For virtual meetings, Hedy captures system audio. For in-person meetings, your phone sits on the table. No one knows you're using AI assistance unless you tell them.
Q: Can I import my existing notes from Granola or Otter.ai?
A: Yes! Hedy's transcript import feature lets you bring in text from other AI tools to analyze with Hedy's AI capabilities. You can also import audio and video files for full transcription and AI analysis.
Q: How does the automatic suggestions feature work?
A: Hedy continuously monitors your conversations and uses AI to identify moments where specific insights, questions, or guidance would be valuable. Suggestions appear at the perfect moments—no action required from you. You control the frequency and can disable suggestions anytime.
Q: What happens to my meeting data?
A: On the free plan, all data stays on your device—Hedy is local-first. Pro users can enable cloud sync for cross-device access, with all data encrypted in transit and at rest. Hedy never sells your data, and AI analysis happens in real-time without storing conversations on third-party servers.
Q: Does Hedy work with my CRM?
A: Hedy offers CRM integrations through Zapier, webhooks, and our API. Automatically send meeting summaries, action items, and insights to Salesforce, HubSpot, or any CRM that connects with automation platforms.
The gap between reactive note-taking and proactive AI coaching is enormous. While tools like Granola document your meetings after they end, Hedy transforms how you perform during conversations.
See Hedy in action: Download the free AI meeting assistant today and experience automatic suggestions in your next meeting. You'll immediately understand why thousands of professionals call Hedy "game-changing for their careers."
Start with confidence: The free plan includes up to 5 hours per month with full access to Hedy's core features including automatic suggestions, transcription, and AI summaries. No credit card required.
Upgrade when ready: Pro users get unlimited sessions, cross-device sync, Topics for organizing conversations, and advanced integrations for just $9.99/month—less than Granola Business while delivering far more value.
Don't just document your conversations. Dominate them.
Be the brightest person in the room. With Hedy.
