Phrase vs Granola for in-person and online meetings
Audio, storage, accounts and price. Checked against Granola’s own pages on September 25, 2026.
The short answer
Both apps take meeting notes without a bot, and both handle in-person meetings on iPhone. Choose Granola if most of your meetings are video calls on a Mac or Windows PC, or your team shares notes in Slack, Notion or a CRM. Choose Phrase if you want the recording kept with the note, need to import existing recordings or PDFs, or don’t want a Google or Microsoft sign-in.
Granola and Phrase both skip the meeting bot, and both have iPhone, Mac and Apple Watch apps. The differences are what each one listens to and what it keeps: Granola captures your computer’s audio on calls and deletes the audio after transcription, while Phrase records the room and keeps the recording with the note. We make Phrase; the Granola facts here come from Granola’s own website and help center.
Choose Granola if
Most of your meetings are video calls on a Mac or Windows PC, and you want notes from the call audio without a bot.
You like typing a few notes during the meeting and having Granola fill them out from the transcript when it ends.
Your team shares notes in folders and sends them to Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Attio or Affinity, someone on it uses Windows or Android, or your company needs SSO or Granola’s SOC 2 Type II report.
You’d rather no recording be kept at all. Granola deletes the audio once the transcript is done.
Choose Phrase if
You want to hear what was said again. The recording stays with the note, and on iPhone you tap a transcript line to play that moment.
You have recordings, videos, PDFs or whiteboard photos to turn into notes, beyond live meetings.
You don’t want to sign in with a Google or Microsoft account. Phrase has no account at all.
You record lectures or conversations in more than one language on iPhone. Phrase transcribes 100+ languages and follows a switch mid-conversation, and with Pro it turns lectures into flashcards and quizzes.
Side by side
What differs
Phrase
Granola
Where it runs
Apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Needs iOS 26 or macOS 26 or later; the Mac app is on the Mac App Store.
Apps for Mac (macOS 14 or later), Windows, iOS, Android and Apple Watch (watchOS 11 or later). A web view opens and edits notes but can’t record. The Mac app downloads from Granola’s website.Granola setup
Online calls
No bot. Records only what the microphone hears; on a Mac it never captures audio from other apps, so the far side of a call on headphones isn’t recorded.
No bot. On Mac and Windows it captures your microphone plus system audio, so it transcribes Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other call apps. Its phone apps can’t capture call apps.How transcription works
In-person meetings
Record on iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch.
The iPhone, Android and Apple Watch apps are designed for in-person meetings, and the desktop apps also transcribe in person. On iOS it can also take notes on outbound calls placed through its own dialer.Granola for mobile
The audio afterward
Kept with the note. Play it with a timestamped, speaker-labeled transcript and jump to any moment.
Deleted after transcription; Granola keeps the transcript and your notes. Its help center says there are no plans to support audio recordings.Granola security
Importing files
Import audio or video files, PDFs, or up to 8 photos at a time; each becomes a note with the source attached.
Live meetings only. Importing pre-recorded audio files such as MP3s isn’t supported.How transcription works
Account and calendar
No sign-up, no Phrase account and no calendar connection needed. Notes stay on your devices and sync through your own iCloud with Pro. Recordings are uploaded for processing to create the note.
Sign in with Google or Microsoft (SSO on Enterprise). Syncs Google Calendar or Outlook; Apple Calendar isn’t supported. Notes are stored in Granola’s US-hosted cloud and cached on your device.Feature requests
Transcription languages
100+ languages, detected automatically, including conversations that switch languages partway through.
31 languages on Mac and Windows, which can follow a switch mid-meeting; 17 on iPhone and Android, which pick one language per meeting.Multi-language support
Sharing and integrations
Made for one person’s notes, with no shared workspace. With Pro, Phrase adds to-dos to Reminders, puts meetings on your Calendar or drafts an email, each after you approve it.
Share links and shared folders on every plan; Slack on Basic; Notion, Zapier, HubSpot, Attio and Affinity on Business; API access on Business and Enterprise. Integrations run from the desktop app.Granola pricing
Price
Free download: keeps up to 100 notes at a time and includes one media-to-note conversion. Pro is one App Store subscription for iPhone, iPad and Mac, with AI usage limits; the App Store lists current prices.
Basic $0 with no daily transcription limit; notes older than 30 days stay hidden in the app until you upgrade. Business $14 per user per month, billed monthly; Enterprise $35 per user per month. The mobile and Apple Watch apps are free to use.Granola pricing
Computer audio or the room
Granola listens to your computer. On a Mac or Windows PC it captures your microphone plus the system audio, so it works inside Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or any other call app with no bot in the meeting. Its iPhone, Android and Apple Watch apps use the microphone, for in-person meetings and, on iOS, outbound calls placed through Granola’s dialer.
Phrase listens to the room on every device. It records what the microphone on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch hears, and on a Mac it never captures audio from other apps, so for calls on headphones Granola is the tool that records both sides. For a meeting room, a classroom or an interview, both apps work. The differences are in what each one keeps.
Keeping the audio, or deleting it
Granola deletes meeting audio once it’s transcribed and keeps the transcript and your notes. Its help center says there are no plans to support audio recordings. If you’d rather no recording exist, that’s a reason to pick Granola. Phrase keeps the recording attached to the note, so you can play the moment a decision was made and hear how it was said.
The notes get written differently too. In Granola you type rough notes during the meeting, or none, and it combines them with the transcript when the meeting ends. Phrase writes the note after you stop recording: a summary with decisions and to-dos, in a document you can retype, reorder and extend. Phrase also imports recordings you already have, plus videos, PDFs and whiteboard photos, while Granola transcribes live meetings only.
Accounts, calendars and teams
Granola signs you in with Google or Microsoft, syncs Google Calendar or Outlook for meeting context, and stores notes in its US-hosted cloud. Its help center lists Apple Calendar as unsupported. Teams get share links, shared folders and workspaces on every plan, Slack on Basic, and Notion, Zapier, HubSpot, Attio and Affinity on Business.
Phrase has no account and no team workspace. Notes live on your devices and, with Pro, sync through your own iCloud across iPhone, iPad and Mac, under one App Store subscription. Creating a note uploads the recording for cloud processing. With Pro, Phrase can add action items to Reminders, put the next meeting on your Calendar or draft a recap email, and it asks before each one.
Checked on Granola’s own pricing and help pages on September 25, 2026.
Does Granola work for in-person meetings?
Yes. Granola’s iPhone, Android and Apple Watch apps are designed for in-person meetings, and its Mac and Windows apps also transcribe conversations in the room. The main difference from Phrase is what happens to the audio: Granola deletes it after transcription, while Phrase keeps the recording with the note so you can play back any moment.
Does Granola keep a recording of the meeting?
No. Granola’s security page says it doesn’t store meeting audio; it keeps the transcript and your notes, and its help center says there are no plans to support audio recordings. Phrase keeps the recording attached to each note, with a timestamped transcript you can jump around in. If you’d rather no audio be kept, Granola suits that preference.
Can Phrase record Zoom or Teams calls on a Mac, as Granola does?
No. Phrase for Mac records only what the Mac’s microphone hears and never captures audio from other apps, so on headphones the other side of a call isn’t recorded. Granola captures system audio on Mac and Windows, which covers Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other call apps without a bot. For online calls, Granola is the better fit.
Do I need a Google or Microsoft account?
For Granola, yes. It supports sign-in with Google or Microsoft, plus SSO on Enterprise, and connects to Google Calendar or Outlook. Phrase has no sign-up and no Phrase account. Notes stay on your devices and, with Pro, sync through your own iCloud. Phrase uploads each recording for cloud processing to create the note.
How do Granola’s and Phrase’s prices compare?
Granola Basic costs $0 with no daily transcription limit, though notes older than 30 days stay hidden in the app until you upgrade. Business is $14 per user per month and Enterprise $35, per Granola’s pricing page on September 25, 2026, and its mobile apps are free to use. Phrase is free to download with 100 notes at a time and one media-to-note conversion; Pro is one App Store subscription for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Can I import existing recordings into Granola or Phrase?
Granola is built for live meetings and doesn’t support importing pre-recorded audio files such as MP3s. Phrase imports audio and video files, PDFs, and up to 8 photos at a time, and turns each into a note with the source attached. The free download includes one media-to-note conversion, and Pro includes more.
Sources
Granola pricingPlans and prices, 30-day history on Basic, integrations by plan
Granola securityNo stored recordings; transcript and notes kept; US-hosted cloud
