Compare · 03 of 16

Clearminutes
vs Granola

Granola is a polished Mac-only drafting app that processes audio in the cloud. Clearminutes runs on-device, on Mac and Windows, with a one-off Pro price.

Download Free → See the spec
Updated 2026-04-01 · sources: Granola official site, Granola pricing page, Granola privacy page
The verdict
Why people choose Clearminutes.

Clearminutes is the better choice for users who want a real free tier with useful features, local processing with optional cloud AI, and Pro features at £12/mo vs Granola's £14–35/mo. Granola is a polished product, but it's cloud-only, VC-funded with $43M raised, and has limited free tier features. Clearminutes also adds Windows support, a built-in local LLM (Gemma), and bring-your-own API keys that Granola doesn't offer.

03 / Head-to-head

The spec.

Clearminuteslocal-firstGranolacloud-first
Capture & privacy
Meeting botsNoNo
Local processingYes (on-device models)No (cloud-only)
AI & summaries
AI summariesYes (local or BYO keys)Yes (cloud)
Local LLM for summariesYes (Gemma, built-in)No
Bring-your-own cloud AI keysYes (Claude, Groq, OpenRouter)No
Chat with meetingsYesYes
Custom templatesYesYes
Transcription
Speaker identificationYes (Pro)Yes
Workflow
Action items + decisionsYes + TickTick sync (Pro)Yes
Platform & performance
Cross-platformmacOS + Windows + LinuxMac only
Audio & export
Audio file importYes (Pro)Not specified
Integrations
IntegrationsTickTick, Outline, PDFNotion, Slack, HubSpot
Workflow
Cross-meeting searchYesYes
Pricing
Free tierYesYes (limited history)
Pricing modelFree + Pro £12/mo + Lifetime £249£14–35/mo
FundingBootstrapped$43M Series B
04 / Price

Price.

Clearminutes

Free£0
Local transcription for unlimited meetings.
  • Local transcription
  • 5 AI summaries / month
  • Action items
  • Meeting history
  • Cross-platform
Pro£12/mo
Cloud sync, multi-device, advanced summary templates.
  • Unlimited summaries
  • Speaker identification
  • Auto call detection
  • TickTick + Outline sync
  • Audio file import
  • Cloud AI keys supported
Lifetime£249
Pay once, use forever. All Pro features, no subscription.
  • Everything in Pro
  • Pay once, keep forever
  • No subscription

Granola

Free£0
Limited meeting history.
  • Limited meeting history
Business£14/mo
Unlimited notes for individuals.
  • Unlimited notes
Enterprise£35/mo
Team features for organisations.
  • Team features
05 / Data

Your data.

Clearminutes

Clearminutes

  • Audio never leaves device
  • Local Whisper transcription
  • Live privacy network monitor (in-app)
  • '0 outbound connections' is verifiable, per meeting
  • Optional cloud AI (text only, BYO key)
  • GDPR-friendly by design
Granola

Granola

  • Cloud processing (no local option)
  • Account required
  • VC-funded ($43M)
  • Data training opt-out available
  • SOC 2 compliant
06 / FAQ

FAQ.

No. Granola processes audio on its own servers with no local option, so it needs an internet connection for the drafting pipeline. There's no offline mode.
No. Granola is macOS-only. There's no Windows or Linux build, and audio file import isn't specified, so pre-recorded content isn't a clear workaround for non-Mac users.
The paid plans run £14–35 a month on annual billing, with a free tier that limits meeting history tightly. There's no one-off Pro option — it's a per-seat monthly subscription.
No bot joins the call. Granola is bot-free in that sense, but it still uploads meeting audio to its servers for processing. Bot-free and on-device aren't the same thing.
No. Summaries run on Granola's cloud AI only. There's no bring-your-own-API-key option and no on-device summarisation path.
On Granola's servers, including speaker diarization. A data-training opt-out is available, but the default is cloud processing, so audio leaves the device.
Yes. Granola labels speakers in the transcript, but the diarization runs in the cloud alongside the rest of the processing. There's no on-device diarization path.
Audio file import isn't specified in Granola's public materials, so pre-recorded content isn't a clear workaround for non-Mac users or offline workflows. It's designed for live Mac system-audio capture.
Not where the constraint is that audio must not leave the device. Granola's cloud processing default means meeting audio is uploaded, and a data-training opt-out doesn't change that. Clinicians and lawyers usually need a local-first option.
07 / Try it

Try it free.

Local transcription for unlimited meetings, no bot, no cloud. Pro only if you want speaker ID and cross-device sync.

Download for macOS / Windows → Try the demo
Compare
vs Trilla vs Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai vs Fathom vs Jamie vs Granola vs tl;dv vs Krisp vs Meetily vs Speechmark vs Avoma vs Circleback vs heed vs Notion AI Meeting Notes vs Read AI vs Sembly AI
Last updated: 2026-04-01. Sources: Granola official site (accessed 2026-06-21), Granola pricing page (accessed 2026-06-21), Granola privacy page (accessed 2026-06-21).

By James Gibbard, founder of Clearminutes. Built the local audio pipeline; keeps the comparison fair.

Last updated: 2026-04-01. Compared from each tool's public pricing and feature data (see sources), as of the last-updated date.

Sources: Granola official site (2026-06-21), Granola pricing page (2026-06-21), Granola privacy page (2026-06-21).

Clearminutes is our own product; we've kept the comparison fair.