AI meeting notes used to arrive with a guest nobody invited: a vendor's bot in the participant list, recording on one person's behalf. Every external call opened with a question about who was recording, and some US laws require every participant to agree first.
Granola reached a $1.5 billion valuation by removing the bot. Its AI notepad captures audio on your own computer, and on March 25, 2026 it announced a $125M Series C led by Index Ventures. Seven months later the idea is everywhere: Otter, Fireflies, Fathom and Notion all record without a bot, and Google released an experimental Mac app on October 6, 2026 that takes meeting notes fully offline, which TechCrunch called a local-first Granola competitor.
So "no bot" no longer separates anything. Where audio is transcribed, what is kept, and where notes go still do.
How Granola Captures a Meeting
Granola is a notepad, not a meeting participant. It captures the meeting from your device's audio, sends that audio for transcription, turns the transcript and your typed notes into a summary, and deletes the audio once transcription finishes.
As of October 17, 2026, Basic is free with 30 days of history. Business costs $14 per user per month and adds unlimited history, a personal API and full MCP access for Claude and ChatGPT. Enterprise costs $35 and adds SSO and HIPAA-compliant workspaces. Every plan is SOC 2 Type II, and an Android app shipped on July 1, 2026.
That design is why people leave: there is no recording to replay, transcription always runs in the cloud, HIPAA needs Enterprise, and the free tier forgets after 30 days.
Bot-Free Is Now Standard, So Compare Where the Audio Goes
Every major notetaker now has one. Otter's Mac app records "without a bot across Slack Huddles, Zoom, Google Meet, and in-person." Fireflies' Windows and Mac app runs botless with an on-screen indicator, Fathom offers bot-free capture in beta, Krisp records with or without a bot, and Notion AI Meeting Notes takes system audio through its desktop app.
Three questions still separate them. Where transcription runs: every commercial tool here uses its own cloud or sub-processors, while Anarlog, Meetily and Foresight can run on your machine (Krisp only on Enterprise). What is kept: Granola deletes audio, while Otter, Fireflies, Fathom and Bluedot keep recordings. Where the notes go: an API or MCP server on the plan you buy.
Consent sits under all three. Notion's help center notes that some US laws need everyone's consent, and bot-free capture removes the visual cue, so Fireflies shows an indicator and Notion can play a spoken consent message.
How We Compared
Every price and limit comes from the vendor's own pages, rendered in a headless browser on October 17, 2026, in US dollars with monthly billing; star counts come from the GitHub API. The worked example is a five-person Austin product team that runs customer calls on Zoom and Google Meet, keeps docs in Notion, and has one healthcare client.
| Tool | Bot-free capture | Transcribes on | Keeps audio | API or MCP | HIPAA | Paid plan, monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granola | Default | Cloud provider | No | MCP free, API Business | Enterprise | $14/user |
| Otter.ai | Mac app | Otter cloud | Yes | MCP free, API Enterprise | Enterprise add-on | $16.99/user |
| Anarlog | Default | Your Mac or your provider | Local files | Local API, CLI, MCP | Self-managed | $0 (Pro $14) |
| Fireflies.ai | Windows and Mac app | Fireflies cloud | Yes | API on Free | Enterprise | $18/seat |
| Fathom | Mac beta | Fathom cloud | Yes | Public API, MCP | Enterprise (BAA) | $19/user |
| Meetily | Default | Your machine | Local | None | Self-managed | $0 |
| Bluedot | Default | Bluedot cloud | Yes | Webhooks, MCP | Not listed | $18/user |
| Notion AI Meeting Notes | Desktop app | Sub-processors | Opt-in, local | API and MCP | Enterprise (BAA) | $24/member |
| Google AI Edge Foresight | Default | Your Mac | Local | None | Self-managed | $0 |
Otter.ai: The Familiar Name, Now With a Bot-Free Mac App
Otter.ai now does both jobs: a bot that joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, and a Mac desktop app that records without one.
The free Basic plan includes 300 transcription minutes a month, live transcription, mobile apps and an Otter MCP server, so Claude or ChatGPT can query meetings for free. Recordings stay available for playback.
The bot-free app is Mac-only, Pro caps a meeting at 90 minutes, and the API, webhooks and the HIPAA add-on sit on Enterprise, so the Austin team's healthcare client means a sales call first.
Pricing: Basic free · Pro $16.99/user/month ($8.33 annually) · Business $30 ($19.99 annually) · Enterprise custom.
Anarlog: Granola's Design, Open Source and Local
Anarlog, formerly Hyprnote, calls itself "an open-source alternative to Granola," and its README sums it up as "Granola, rearranged."
No bot joins. Anarlog captures device audio, can transcribe on supported Macs with built-in models, and keeps notes and transcripts in local SQLite, with recordings as plain files. You choose the AI: a hosted provider, your own key, or Ollama or LM Studio. The free tier includes a local API, a CLI, an MCP server and webhooks, the most developer-friendly free plan here.
On Windows and Linux you bring a transcription provider, mobile is still a beta, and the README says the team is now building a separate product called char, with enterprise components under a commercial license.
Pricing: Free, MIT, 9,521 GitHub stars, desktop v1.4.30 released October 11, 2026 · Pro $14/person/month or $140/year for cloud sync and sharing.
Fireflies.ai: Search and Integrations, Botless on Desktop
Fireflies.ai is a cloud notetaker built around search and integrations, with a bot for calls and a Windows and Mac app that records without one.
The free plan includes API access and transcription in more than 100 languages. The desktop app shows participants an indicator while recording, a clear consent signal. Fireflies is SOC 2 Type II, and Enterprise adds HIPAA and private storage.
Free storage is 400 minutes per team with limited summaries, Pro includes only 20 one-time AI credits, video recording needs Pro, and Enterprise is annual only.
Pricing: Free · Pro $18/seat/month ($10 annually) · Business $29 ($19 annually) · Enterprise $39, annual only.
Fathom: The Free Plan That Does Not Run Out
Fathom, which Superhuman acquired on September 14, 2026, gives individuals unlimited recordings and transcriptions free, with a choice of meeting bot or bot-free capture, still in beta.
Fathom keeps recordings, builds clips and playlists, connects to Claude and ChatGPT, and lists a public API and MCP server. Enterprise includes HIPAA with a signed business associate agreement, the first document a healthcare client asks for.
Bot-free capture is a Mac-only beta, team plans need two users, CRM field sync starts at Business, and HIPAA goes through sales.
Pricing: Free · Premium $20/month ($16 annually) · Team $19/user ($15 annually) · Business $34 ($25 annually) · Enterprise custom.
Meetily: Fully Local, Biggest Community
Meetily is the most-starred project in this list: 31,842 GitHub stars as of October 17, 2026, MIT licensed, v0.4.1 released September 12, 2026.
Everything runs locally. Meetily captures microphone and system audio, transcribes live with Whisper or Parakeet, and summarizes with Ollama, or with Claude, Groq or OpenRouter if you allow it. Installers cover Apple Silicon Macs and Windows.
Linux needs a source build, and the Windows installer requires an AVX2 CPU. Speaker identification, an MCP server, webhooks and PDF or DOCX exports belong to Meetily Pro, a commercially licensed edition.
Pricing: Community Edition free, MIT · Pro $10/user/month, billed annually.
Bluedot: Bot-Free by Default, Billed Per Recorder
Bluedot says it "never invites a bot to your meeting." It records through a Chrome extension, Mac and Windows apps for Zoom, Teams and Slack, and mobile apps for in-person meetings.
It keeps recordings, with video from Pro, transcribes in more than 100 languages, and includes webhooks and an MCP server on its cheapest paid plan. Bluedot says it is SOC 2 audited and bills only users who record, so if two of the Austin team's five run calls, two seats cover everyone.
The free plan is five meetings per account, ever. Basic is audio-only with a one-hour cap per recording, HIPAA is not listed, and recordings are deleted a month after you cancel.
Pricing: Free (5 meetings) · Basic $18/user/month ($14 annually) · Pro $25 ($20 annually) · Business $39 ($32 annually).
Notion AI Meeting Notes: Included If You Already Pay for Notion
Notion AI Meeting Notes fits when your notes end up in Notion anyway: type /meet on a page and the transcript and summary land there.
The desktop app captures system audio and your microphone, so headphone calls work, and Notion Calendar starts transcription in one click. It can play a spoken consent message, its sub-processors do not store audio, and local audio storage is opt-in.
It needs Business, Enterprise or an eligible mobile subscription with Notion AI. The browser version hears your microphone only, mobile hears only the phone's mic, and on a Mac the desktop app needs macOS 13 or later.
Pricing: Business $24/member/month ($20 annually), including the rest of Notion.
Google AI Edge Foresight: Google's Experimental Local Notepad
Google AI Edge Foresight is an experimental Mac app that Google released on October 6, 2026, running the whole pipeline on the laptop with Gemma 4 and EmbeddingGemma 2.
It works like Granola: you jot shorthand and Foresight expands it with details from the conversation. It can also search your files mid-meeting and works offline.
Google labels it experimental and Mac-only, and its announcement describes no sharing or retention controls. Treat it as a preview, not a team standard.
Pricing: Free.
How to Choose Without Switching Twice
- Decide where audio may go first. If transcripts cannot leave the laptop, only Anarlog, Meetily, Foresight or Krisp Enterprise qualify.
- Decide whether you need the recording. If you replay calls or share clips, Granola's deleted audio is a reason to leave, and Fathom, Fireflies, Otter and Bluedot keep it.
- Price the plan that has your integration. Otter's API is Enterprise, Granola's is Business, Fireflies includes one free, and Anarlog's local API costs nothing.
- Ask about HIPAA on day one. Granola, Otter, Fireflies, Fathom and Notion put it on Enterprise, and Bluedot does not list it.
- Run a week of real calls on two finalists, including one on headphones and one in person, because capture differs more than summaries do.
Which One Should You Actually Use?
Already on Notion Business: turn on AI Meeting Notes; it is included.
A healthcare client or a strict security review: Meetily or Anarlog with a local model. If you need a vendor, Fathom Enterprise signs a BAA and Fireflies Enterprise lists HIPAA.
No budget: Fathom, whose free plan has no recording cap, or Otter Basic at 300 minutes a month.
You liked Granola's notepad but want local files: Anarlog, with an MCP server on the free plan.
A sales team that lives in clips and CRM fields: Fathom Business or Fireflies Business.
Conclusion
Granola's $125M round rewarded one idea, keep the bot out of the call, and the market copied it within months. Where the audio goes has not converged. Before renewing any notetaker, ask: does a transcript of my last customer call sit on someone else's server, and do I need it to?
Related DevToolLab Tools
- Meeting Cost Calculator - price the recurring calls you are about to record.
- Speech to Text - transcribe a quick voice memo in the browser.
- Markdown to Slack - convert Markdown notes from Anarlog or Meetily into Slack formatting for the recap.
- Text to Bullet Points - turn pasted action items into a clean list for a ticket.
Related Guides
- Best Speech-to-Text APIs - Deepgram, AssemblyAI and Whisper for building your own pipeline.
- Best MCP Servers - what to pair with the MCP servers these notetakers expose.
- Top Local LLM Tools and Models - local models for Meetily and Anarlog summaries.
- AI Agent Memory Platforms - where meeting context goes for agents.