Two bot-free note takers. Different homes for your notes.
Compare Epilude Notetaker and Granola for meeting capture, transcription, summaries and where your notes are processed.
Documentation reviewed September 30, 2026. This is a comparison of documented features, not a hands-on quality benchmark. Plans and availability can change.
Epilude vs Granola
| Feature |   | |
|---|---|---|
| Bot-free capture | Microphone and system audio on Mac | Desktop capture without a bot; mobile supports in-person meetings |
| Transcription | Cloud default or local on Apple Silicon | Cloud providers |
| Summaries | Cloud default; local requires separate selection and 16GB+ Apple Silicon | Cloud AI providers |
| Notes and exports | Editable summaries, citations, decisions/actions; Markdown and PDF | Enhanced notes, sharing and integrations |
| Speakers | Your side vs others, with manual labels | Check labels in the meeting workflow you use |
| Other voice workflows | Dictation and Narrator | Meeting notepad and chat; reading/writing workflows not assessed |
| Epilude plans | $12/month billed annually ($144/year). $59 Pay Once for supported local features, with one year of updates. | Free and paid plans; history and team features vary |
- Epilude
- Microphone and system audio on Mac
- Granola
- Desktop capture without a bot; mobile supports in-person meetings
- Epilude
- Cloud default or local on Apple Silicon
- Granola
- Cloud providers
- Epilude
- Cloud default; local requires separate selection and 16GB+ Apple Silicon
- Granola
- Cloud AI providers
- Epilude
- Editable summaries, citations, decisions/actions; Markdown and PDF
- Granola
- Enhanced notes, sharing and integrations
- Epilude
- Your side vs others, with manual labels
- Granola
- Check labels in the meeting workflow you use
- Epilude
- Dictation and Narrator
- Granola
- Meeting notepad and chat; reading/writing workflows not assessed
- Epilude
- $12/month billed annually ($144/year). $59 Pay Once for supported local features, with one year of updates.
- Granola
- Free and paid plans; history and team features vary
Features checked 2026-09-30. “Not established” means the reviewed sources do not confirm support; it is not a claim that a feature is absent.
Key differences
Your typed notes matter in both
Both let your own notes contribute to the finished write-up. The distinction is how you organize and process the resulting material.
Audio storage and processing differ
Granola says it does not retain desktop audio recordings. That does not make its transcription or summaries local: notes and transcripts use its cloud infrastructure.
Local processing is a choice
Choose local transcription and local summaries separately. Local summaries need a 16GB+ Apple Silicon Mac and are slower and less capable than cloud summaries.
Where Granola is the better pick
Choose Epilude if
- You want a Mac notes library with Markdown and PDF exports
- You want separately configurable local transcription and summaries
- You also use Dictation or Narrator
Choose Granola if
- You want cloud notes and questions across meetings
- You want its collaboration and integrations
Writing, meeting notes and reading in one Mac app
Dictation
Notetaker
Narrator
Choose where each step runs
Try each workflow
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Epilude and Granola.
Desktop capture without a bot; mobile supports in-person meetings
Choose local transcription and local summaries separately. Local summaries need a 16GB+ Apple Silicon Mac and are slower and less capable than cloud summaries. Cloud summaries send transcript text even when audio was transcribed locally.
No. It distinguishes your microphone from other participants and supports manual labels. Do not rely on automatic named identification.
