Granola vs Otter: differences, pricing and which one to pick

What they have in common

Both listen to the meeting, turn it into text and give you a summary with the topics and action items. Also:

• They answer questions about your meetings, like "what's still pending?".
• They run on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, and have a free plan.
• They connect to Claude or ChatGPT through MCP, so your AI can read your notes.
• They can take notes without a bot, using your computer's sound: Granola always does; Otter does with its desktop app.
• They transcribe Spanish, but their apps are in English only.

Granola vs Otter, point by point

Details from each company's official pages, checked on October 28, 2026.

Where Granola wins

• Nobody else joins the call. There's no bot to let in or explain, and it works with any call whose sound plays through your computer. Otter's assistant shows up in the participant list as "Notetaker (Otter.ai)", with your name.
• More languages, mixed. With its multi-language mode, Granola keeps up when people switch from Spanish to English. Otter transcribes one language per meeting and you have to pick it before you start (the exception is French with English).
• A free plan with no minute limit. Granola caps history, not meetings: you see the notes from the last 30 days, and older ones come back if you pay. Otter gives you 300 minutes a month and only shows the first 30 minutes of each conversation.
• Your notes guide the summary. You jot down what matters to you and, at the end, Granola fills it in with what was said: your part stays in black and the AI's in gray.
• It dictates too, on Mac. Voice Typing, in beta and free on every plan, types with your voice in any app. Granola says it's coming soon to Windows and phones.

Where Otter wins

• It goes even when you don't. Connect your calendar and Otter Notetaker joins your Zoom, Meet and Teams meetings on its own, including the ones you can't attend. Granola only takes notes if you're in the call.
• With a bot or without, your choice. Its desktop app for Mac and Windows records your computer's sound and detects calls in Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack or WhatsApp.
• You can listen again. Otter keeps the recording and highlights each word as it plays. Granola doesn't keep the audio.
• It transcribes recordings. Upload an audio or video file and it turns it into text. Granola only transcribes live.
• It costs less if you pay yearly. Pro comes to about USD 100 a year. Granola Business can only be paid monthly: USD 168 a year.

Prices side by side

What one person pays in total:

If you're a student: Granola gives 12 months of Business for free to the students it accepts into its program, and Otter takes 20% off Pro for students and teachers with an email address ending in .edu.

Privacy

• Granola deletes the audio as soon as it's transcribed. It stores your notes and transcripts encrypted, on servers in the United States, until you delete them; for transcripts you can set an automatic deletion period. On Basic and Business it may use your anonymized data to improve its own models; you can turn that off in the app's settings. It doesn't let other AI companies train on your data. HIPAA is Enterprise only.
• Otter keeps the recording and the transcript, encrypted. It only starts recording when someone in the meeting presses record or invites the assistant. It trains its own models on de-identified data; its AI providers don't train on it. Whatever you delete stays in the trash for 30 days. HIPAA is an Enterprise add-on.
• Both ask you to tell others and get their permission before you transcribe.

Which one to pick

And if you work in Spanish too: Loro

Granola and Otter transcribe Spanish, but their apps are in English. Loro is a meeting notes and voice dictation app for Windows and Mac, in Spanish and English: the app, the website and the notes. It takes notes without a bot in Meet, Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp and other call apps, and when you hang up you get the topics and each person's next steps, in the language you spoke. It also dictates in any app: hold Ctrl + Win (fn on a Mac) and talk. Offline, it transcribes on your computer.

• Free: unlimited meeting notes (you see the last 30 days) and 2,000 dictation words a week.
• Pro: USD 9.99 a month or USD 80 a year.
• Missing: a phone app, and languages other than English and Spanish. It doesn't keep the audio, the app doesn't transcribe files (that's what our free tool is for) and it can't take notes of meetings you don't join.

More detail in Loro vs Granola.

Try Loro for free

Dictate in any app and get notes from your meetings, with no bot. For Windows and Mac, no card needed.

Download for free

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, Granola or Otter?›

Granola, if you don't want bots, if you mix languages, or if you want a free plan with no minute limit. Otter, if you want the assistant to go to meetings you can't join, to listen to the audio again, or to transcribe recordings.

Does Otter work in Spanish?›

It transcribes Spanish and the summary comes out in Spanish, but the app is in English. It also transcribes one language per meeting: you have to pick Spanish in the settings before you start, because it can't be changed afterwards.

Does Granola work in Spanish?›

It transcribes Spanish and, with its multi-language mode, also meetings that mix Spanish with another language. Notes can come out in the language spoken the most. The app is in English.

Does Granola work on Windows?›

Yes, on Windows and Mac (macOS 14 or later), and it has iPhone and Android apps. On a computer it transcribes your video calls; on the phone, in-person meetings.

Does Otter add a bot to the meeting?›

Yes, if you use Otter Notetaker: it joins Zoom, Meet and Teams as a guest, and everyone can see it. To take notes without a bot, use its desktop app for Mac or Windows. It's still good practice to tell people.

Which one has the better free plan?›

For lots of meetings, Granola: it doesn't cap minutes, though you only see the notes from the last 30 days. Otter gives you 300 minutes a month, but it lets you upload 3 recordings and listen to the audio again.

Sources

• Granola: pricing and plan comparison and plans and billing, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Granola: languages, how transcription works, mobile app, Voice Typing and security and privacy, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Otter: pricing and free plan limits, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Otter: languages, Otter Notetaker, desktop app and privacy and security, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Loro: pricing.