Granola got a lot right. No bot joins your call. You jot down a few words during the meeting, and afterwards it turns them into structured notes using the transcript. The result reads like something you wrote, which is why so many people stick with it.
So why look elsewhere? Usually for one of these reasons:
- You need help in the moment. Granola is designed for after the meeting. If a client asks a question you cannot answer from memory, it will not help you then.
- You are on Windows and want a native desktop app with the same features as the Mac version.
- You want to choose the AI model, or bring your own API keys.
- Price per seat: Business is about $14 per user per month, and the free plan keeps a limited history.
Notes after vs answers during
This is the real split in the category. "Note takers" (Granola, Otter, Fathom, Fireflies) produce a record of the meeting. "Copilots" also produce that record, but they are built to answer questions while the conversation is still going.
An example from a real use case: you are on a renewal call and the client asks "so the rollout would start in the Lyon office?". With a note taker, you find out later whether you said the right thing. With a copilot, you type "Lyon?" and see that your notes say Lyon first with 40 seats, Paris in March, kickoff date not agreed. You answer correctly and move on.
If most of your meetings are internal syncs, a note taker is enough. If you sell, recruit, interview, consult or negotiate, the "during" part is where the value is.
The options
Mufal
Desktop app for Mac and Windows, no bot. Live transcript of both sides, an Answer button that responds to the last thing the other person said, and a chat you can ask anything about the meeting so far. You can attach documents (pricing, résumé, product notes) to a mode or a project so answers use them. After the call: summary, follow-up email draft, and searchable history synced with the iPhone app.
Free plan with 60 minutes of transcription a month and 25 AI answers a day; Pro+ is $25 a month or $240 a year. Disclosure: this is our product.
Otter.ai
Good for searchable transcripts and sharing notes with a team. It offers live captions, but the strengths are on the archive side. Free plan is limited to around 300 minutes a month.
Fathom
Very generous free plan for recording and summaries, through a bot that joins the call. Good if you want something free and do not mind the bot.
Fireflies.ai
Bot-based recorder with strong search, integrations and CRM sync, aimed at teams. See our Fireflies alternatives comparison.
Can you use both?
Yes, and some people do: Granola for internal meetings where they want polished notes, Mufal for client-facing calls where they want help live. Since neither adds a bot, running one or the other does not change what participants see.
Our take
If you like Granola and never get stuck during a call, keep it. If you have ever thought "I should have said that" ten minutes after hanging up, try a copilot for a week. Mufal's free plan is enough to test it on a few real meetings.
