Granola AI

by Granola, Inc.

AI Meeting Notepad

Basic (Free) Tier Ratings

0Safe•

7Caution•

5Risk

Last Reviewed: 2026-07-14

Unlimited meetings. 30-day meeting history only (older notes stored but not accessible in-app; CSV export of titles/summaries available). Slack-only integration; no other integrations. Auto-only AI chat model selection. Opt-out of model training available.

Quick Take

AI-powered notepad that combines your typed notes with AI transcriptions. NO BOT—transcribes computer audio directly. Supports Google Workspace AND Microsoft/Outlook login, and now Android in addition to Mac, Windows, and iOS. Raised $125M Series C in March 2026 at a $1.5B valuation and rebranded (new logo/visual identity) in February 2026. Recently added Spaces (team workspaces), an agentic Granola Chat with Recipes, and personal/enterprise APIs. Free (Basic) tier offers unlimited meetings but only 30-day history. Current plans are Basic (free), Business ($14/user/month), Enterprise ($35+/user/month). No annual billing currently available. Formal Startup and Student discount programs exist; nonprofit discount still requires contacting sales directly.

Ratings by Use Case

How safe is this tool for your specific work? (Showing Basic (Free) tier)

Marketing content

Safe with Precautions

Unlimited meetings. No integrations besides Slack. 30-day history only. Usable for basic solo work.

Safe if you ongoing access to older meeting history is not required

Grant writing

Not Recommended

Risk: Transcription tool, not writing tool. 30-day history limits reference to older funder meetings. No CRM/document integrations on free tier.

Donor communications

Safe with Precautions

Unlimited meetings but only 30-day meeting history visible. Donor conversations older than 30 days inaccessible on free plan.

Safe if you donor interactions are reviewed within 30 days or upgraded to Business

Program documentation

Safe with Precautions

Unlimited meetings. 30-day history limits longitudinal documentation. Only Slack integration on free tier.

Safe if you documentation needs do not require history older than 30 days

Board reports

Safe with Precautions

Unlimited meetings. 30-day history. Opt-out available. No bot is professional for board meetings.

Safe if you training opt-out is enabled and board meeting history within 30 days suffices

Volunteer training

Safe with Precautions

Unlimited meetings. 30-day history. Suitable for episodic training sessions if history isn't needed long-term.

Safe if you training sessions reviewed within 30 days

Social media

Not Recommended

Risk: Not a social media tool.

Email campaigns

Not Recommended

Risk: Not an email tool.

Research summaries

Safe with Precautions

Unlimited meetings. Good for testing. 30-day history limits cross-meeting research queries over time.

Safe if you research is reviewed and exported within 30 days, or Basic is used for short-term evaluation

Policy briefs

Not Recommended

Risk: Transcription only. 30-day history limits reference to older policy discussions.

Event planning

Safe with Precautions

Unlimited meetings. 30-day history. Usable for short-term event planning cycles.

Safe if you planning cycle is within 30 days of meetings

Financial reports

Not Recommended

Risk: Free plan has consumer policy with opt-out required manually. 30-day history. Limited integrations. Consumer-grade tier for sensitive financial discussions.

Policy Snapshot

As of 2026-07-14

Data Training

Anonymized only; third-party prohibited

OpenAI, Anthropic prohibited from training on your data. Granola trains on de-identified/anonymized data only. Opt-out available in account settings for all tiers including free.

Opt-Out

Yes

Available in Settings > Preferences > Data & sharing ('Use my data to improve models for everyone') for Granola's internal model training on anonymized data. Available on all plans including Basic (free).

Human Review

Possible

Granola uses third-party transcription providers (Deepgram, AssemblyAI) and AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic) to process audio and summaries. Support staff may access data for troubleshooting. Audio is deleted after transcription; no recordings stored.

Retention

30 days (app visibility); stored indefinitely unless deleted

On the free Basic plan, only the last 30 days of meeting notes are visible and accessible in the app. Notes older than 30 days are stored but not accessible (not deleted); a CSV export of titles/summaries is available. Audio is deleted immediately after transcription (not stored). Account/note data retained indefinitely unless the user deletes it or the account.

Security

SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR

SOC 2 Type 2 certified (achieved July 2025). ISO 27001 not yet available. GDPR and UK GDPR compliant. Data stored in US-hosted AWS Virtual Private Cloud only (no EU/UK data residency option). Encrypted at rest and in transit. Daily backups. Notes are private by default across all plans. NO HIPAA, NO FERPA.

No bot experience—Granola enhances your own notes with AI

Granola has three tiers: Basic (free, unlimited meetings, 30-day history), Business ($14/user/month, unlimited history, integrations, MCP/API access), Enterprise ($35+/user/month, training OFF by default, SSO, admin controls). Since the March 2026 restructure, pricing tiers have held steady while Granola added Spaces (team workspaces), an agentic Chat with Recipes, and personal/enterprise APIs following a $125M Series C raise. No annual billing currently available. No HIPAA or FERPA compliance on any tier.

Contact sales at [email protected] for nonprofit/education discount

Key Distinctions

NO BOT - Notepad Style

Granola transcribes your computer's audio directly. No bot joins your meetings. This is less intrusive and works with ANY meeting platform (Zoom, Teams, Meet, etc.). You manually start Granola for each meeting.

Free Plan: Unlimited Meetings, 30-Day History

Granola's free Basic plan offers unlimited meetings. The key limitation is 30-day meeting history visibility — notes older than 30 days are stored but not accessible in the app (a CSV export of titles/summaries is available). This makes the free plan useful for ongoing work, but not for longitudinal research or program documentation.

$125M Series C and Enterprise AI Pivot

In March 2026, Granola raised $125M at a $1.5B valuation (up from $250M less than a year earlier), led by Index Ventures. The raise coincided with the launch of Spaces (team workspaces with folders and granular access controls), an agentic rebuild of Granola Chat (with Recipes and inline citations), and personal/enterprise APIs — signaling a shift from a solo note-taking app toward a broader enterprise AI/knowledge platform.

February 2026 Rebrand

Granola rebranded with a new hand-drawn logo, new typefaces (Quadrant, Melange), and a refreshed visual system across desktop, iOS, and web. The company describes the change as aligning the brand with its evolution from a meeting-capture tool toward a broader AI assistant that helps users act on what they capture.

Formal Startup and Student Discount Programs (No Equivalent Nonprofit Program)

Granola now offers publicly documented discount programs: 1 year free Business for startups (<30 employees, pre-seed/seed funded) and 12 months free Business for students at accredited US/UK/Canada universities. No equivalent public nonprofit program exists — nonprofits must still contact sales directly, and Granola remains unlisted on TechSoup and Goodstack.

Individual Plan Eliminated (March 2026)

Granola removed the $18/month Individual plan in early 2026. The current plan structure is Basic (free), Business ($14/user/month), and Enterprise ($35+/user/month). Business is suitable for both individual users and teams.

Google Workspace, Microsoft, and Android

Granola supports Google Workspace and Microsoft/Outlook login, and is now available on macOS, Windows, iOS, and (as of July 2026) Android — removing prior platform restrictions.

No HIPAA or FERPA Compliance

Granola has SOC 2 Type 2 and GDPR compliance but explicitly NO HIPAA and NO FERPA compliance on any tier. No BAA available. Not suitable for healthcare organizations handling PHI or educational institutions needing FERPA compliance for student records. Use Fathom instead for healthcare contexts.

2025 Security Incidents (Resolved)

Granola had security incidents in 2025: iOS beta API key exposure (333 beta users), Google Workspace session logout vulnerability, and legacy unmanaged Google Workspace account auto-join issue. All fixed and disclosed via public post-mortems. Independent reviewers still describe enterprise security posture as 'maturing.'

Recent Changes

2026-07

Granola for Android launched. New agentic Granola Chat rebuilt with Recipes (saved expert prompts) and inline citations across notes, Team Spaces, and shared content. Ability to delete specific parts of a transcript while preserving the rest. Briefs feature: pre-meeting summaries showing who you're meeting, prior discussion topics, and current priorities (Mac and Windows).

2026-03

Raised $125M Series C at a $1.5B valuation, led by Index Ventures with participation from Kleiner Perkins and existing investors (Lightspeed, Spark, NFDG); total funding to date approximately $192M. Announced alongside launch of Spaces (team workspaces with folders and granular access controls), personal and enterprise APIs, updated MCP integration, and expanded Enterprise admin visibility.

2026-03

Pricing restructured: Individual plan ($18/month) eliminated. Free tier (now called 'Basic') changed from 25 lifetime meetings to unlimited meetings with 30-day history limit. Annual billing not currently available.

2026-02

Company rebrand: new hand-drawn logo, new typefaces (Quadrant, Melange), and new visual system across desktop app, iOS, and website.

2026-02

Granola MCP launched: connects meeting notes to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other AI tools via Model Context Protocol. Available on Business and Enterprise tiers.

2026-01

Microsoft login launched: Granola now supports Microsoft/Outlook accounts in addition to Google Workspace. Windows app also now available.

Bottom Line

For organizations with fewer than 5 staff

The Basic (free) plan remains usable for small nonprofits — unlimited meetings with 30-day history, now on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. For longitudinal research or older meeting history, upgrade to Business ($14/user/month) and contact sales about a nonprofit discount; note that Granola has publicly documented Startup and Student discount programs but no equivalent public nonprofit program. Fathom's free tier remains a strong competitor with unlimited history at no cost.

For organizations with 5+ staff

Contact Granola sales at [email protected] for a nonprofit discount on Business ($14/user/month) or Enterprise ($35+/user/month). The no-bot experience is professional for donor, funder, and board meetings, and new Spaces/team-Chat features improve cross-team knowledge sharing following the March 2026 $125M raise. Business supports both individual and team use. No HIPAA or FERPA compliance available on any tier.

For health data or vulnerable populations

Do NOT use Granola for any meetings involving protected health information (PHI), clinical data, or FERPA-protected student records. Granola explicitly does not offer HIPAA or FERPA compliance or a BAA on any tier, and has stated it 'may pursue HIPAA compliance in the future' with no confirmed timeline. For healthcare nonprofits needing HIPAA-compliant transcription, use Fathom (which offers a BAA) or another compliant tool instead.