now recording vs granola

The structural difference: on-device app vs. cloud service

The most important difference between now recording and Granola is not a feature — it is the architecture. now recording does the actual work of transcription on your hardware: Whisper runs on WebGPU inside your browser tab (or inside the iOS app), and the resulting transcript stays on your device. The only data that ever leaves your machine is transcript text, and only if you explicitly request an AI summary or enable Pro's text-only cloud backup. Audio never uploads, full stop.

Granola is a cloud service with local capture. Its desktop app records system audio on your Mac or Windows machine — no bot joins the call — but the audio is then sent to cloud transcription providers. Granola's security page names Deepgram and AssemblyAI for transcription and OpenAI and Anthropic for AI processing, and states that notes are stored in a US-hosted AWS Virtual Private Cloud. That architecture is what enables Granola's strengths: AI chat across your whole meeting history, shared folders, and processing that does not depend on your laptop's GPU.

Neither approach is wrong. Cloud processing trades data exposure for convenience and team features; on-device processing trades some of those features for verifiable privacy and an unlimited free tier. The rest of this page details that trade.

Privacy: where does your audio actually go?

With now recording, meeting audio goes nowhere. Recording, live transcription, speaker identification, and the high-accuracy polish pass all execute locally. You can confirm this yourself: open your browser's DevTools network tab during a recording and observe that no audio data is transmitted. The one network-touching feature is AI summaries, which send transcript text (never audio) to an LLM API when you ask for one. There is no audio storage on any server, ever, and no calendar access is required.

With Granola, your audio is captured on your computer but processed in the cloud. Granola's security page states that it "doesn't store the audio from meetings" and that it transcribes "in real time on macOS/Windows, or after your meeting using temporarily cached audio on iOS." That is a reasonable policy, but it means your raw meeting audio transits Granola's infrastructure and its third-party transcription providers, and your transcripts and notes are retained in Granola's AWS cloud. Granola says it does not allow third parties to train AI models on your data, and lets you delete your notes or request full data deletion.

The practical question to ask: does your situation allow meeting audio and transcripts to be handled by a chain of cloud vendors under contractual promises, or do you need a setup where the data physically cannot leave the room? Lawyers, clinicians, journalists, HR teams, and anyone under NDA or strict data-residency rules often need the second. If contractual cloud handling is acceptable — as it is for most general business use — Granola's policy is in line with industry norms.

Pricing compared (as of June 2026)

now recording's free tier has no recording or transcription limits: unlimited recording, unlimited live transcription in 29 languages, on-device speaker identification, a high-accuracy polish pass, and Markdown export. AI summaries are capped at 10 per month signed in, or 3 without an account. Pro costs $8/month, or $5/month billed annually, with a 7-day free trial, and adds unlimited AI summaries, text-only cloud backup and sync, cross-device access, full-text search across meetings, and public share links.

Granola's free Basic plan includes AI meeting notes, AI chat, shared folders, templates, and multi-language support, but limits meeting history — roughly your 25 most recent notes within about 30 days, a restriction introduced in February 2026 that drew significant user criticism since the free plan was previously more generous. Granola Business costs $14 per user/month on annual billing and removes the history limit while adding advanced AI models, integrations, MCP support, and API access. Enterprise is $35 per user/month with SSO and admin controls. Prices verified on granola.ai/pricing in June 2026.

The arithmetic for an individual: a year of now recording Pro on the annual plan is $60; a year of Granola Business is $168. If you only need transcripts and a handful of summaries, now recording costs $0 indefinitely, while Granola's free plan will start expiring your older notes.

Where Granola is better

Granola's signature feature is its note-blending editor: you type rough notes during the meeting, and Granola enhances them into polished notes using the transcript. Users consistently praise this UX, and now recording has no equivalent — it gives you a transcript and a summary, not an AI-enhanced version of your own notes.

Granola is also further along for teams and power users. It ships AI chat within and across meetings today (now recording's "Ask your meetings" Q&A is still in development), plus shared folders, customizable note templates, calendar integration that auto-detects meetings, MCP integration, API access on Business, and SSO with admin controls on Enterprise. Its Mac, Windows, and iOS apps are mature, and its iOS app is well regarded.

If your team wants a shared meeting-notes system with centralized billing, integrations into your existing tools, and cross-meeting AI chat right now, Granola is the stronger choice.

Where now recording is better

now recording wins on privacy architecture, free-tier limits, and zero friction. There is nothing to install for the web app and no account needed to start — open the site, record, and get a live transcript in any of 29 languages. Because capture is local, it works identically with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, phone calls on speaker, or an in-person conversation; there is nothing to integrate and no calendar permission to grant.

The free tier is materially more generous: unlimited recording and transcription versus Granola's ~25-note history window. Speaker identification, the high-accuracy polish pass, and Markdown export are all free and all on-device. And the privacy claim is falsifiable rather than contractual — you can watch the network tab and see that no audio leaves.

The trade-offs are real: on-device transcription depends on your hardware (WebGPU in the browser), there is no Windows/Mac native desktop app, no note-blending editor, no calendar integration, no API, and team features are limited to public share links on Pro. Cross-meeting AI Q&A is announced but not shipped as of June 2026.

frequently asked questions

Does Granola upload my meeting audio to the cloud?

Yes, in transit. Granola captures audio locally (no bot), then sends it to cloud transcription providers — its security page names Deepgram and AssemblyAI — and uses OpenAI and Anthropic for AI features. Granola states it does not store meeting audio afterward, and your transcripts and notes are kept in its US-hosted AWS cloud. now recording, by contrast, transcribes on your device and never uploads audio at all.

Does either tool send a bot into my meetings?

No. Both are botless. Granola records system audio through its desktop app; now recording records through your browser or the iOS app. In both cases, nothing visible joins the call, though you should still follow local consent laws when recording meetings.

Can I really use now recording without installing anything or creating an account?

Yes. The web app runs entirely in a WebGPU-capable browser with no install, and the free tier requires no account — you get unlimited recording and transcription plus 3 AI summaries without signing in (10 per month if you sign in). Granola requires a Mac or Windows desktop app install and an account.

What are the limits on Granola's free plan?

As of June 2026, Granola's free Basic plan limits your meeting history — approximately your 25 most recent notes within about 30 days, a change introduced in February 2026 that generated notable user backlash. Older notes become inaccessible unless you upgrade to Business at $14 per user/month.

How can I verify that now recording doesn't upload my audio?

Open your browser's DevTools, switch to the Network tab, and record a meeting. You will see no audio data leaving your machine. The only network request tied to your content happens if you explicitly request an AI summary, which sends transcript text only — never audio.

Which one is better for teams?

Granola, today. It offers shared folders, customizable templates, AI chat across meetings, centralized billing and user management on Business, and SSO with admin controls on Enterprise. now recording is built for individuals: Pro adds cross-device text sync, full-text search, and public read-only share links, but it has no team workspaces or admin tooling as of June 2026.