Otter joins the call.
Granola improves your notes.
MeetNotes writes
the minutes.
Otter sends a notetaker into your calls. Granola fills out the notes you type, using your computer's audio. MeetNotes records the room on your phone and writes minutes you can send. How the three compare, including on Android, sourced, with no prices.
Where MeetNotes wins: Nobody has to type and nothing has to join: the phone records the room, a notetaker covers calls, sentences that switch language are kept as spoken, and the minutes go out as a PDF or Word file anyone can open.
Your meetings are English-language video calls and you want a notetaker in the call and a live transcript.
You sit at a laptop, you already type notes, and you want them filled out from the conversation with no bot in the call.
Your meetings are in rooms as well as on calls, nobody has time to type, the room mixes languages, and the result has to be minutes other people receive.
Why MeetNotes,
not Otter or Granola
Nobody in this meeting can type. You are on a site, in a client's office, or running the conversation yourself. MeetNotes needs nothing from you but the record button.
The meeting is in a room. MeetNotes started with a phone on a table, and it is the product's main job rather than a mobile extra.
People switch language mid-sentence, on the phone and on calls alike. Otter's help centre lists six transcription languages. Granola's own help says that on mobile it picks one language per meeting and it is best to stick to one. MeetNotes needs no language chosen and writes minutes in any of 110.
The output has to be a document: summary, decisions and action items with owners, as PDF or Word, with speaker names you confirm and that are recognised in later meetings.
Otter vs Granola vs MeetNotes
Structural facts from each company's own pages, no feature-count scoreboard, and no prices, because prices change and a stale price is a false claim.
| Otter | Granola | MeetNotes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built around | A notetaker for online meetings | Enhancing the notes you type, using your computer's audio | Minutes from a room or a call, with nothing to type |
| Online calls | A notetaker joins Zoom, Meet and Teams; a desktop app records without a bot; live transcript | Uses your computer's audio, so no bot joins; macOS and Windows | The MeetNotes Notetaker joins as a visible participant; minutes arrive when the call ends |
| A meeting in a room | The iOS and Android apps record; the product is built around calls | iOS and Android apps for in-person notes | The phone on the table. This is where MeetNotes started |
| Android | Yes, an Android app | Yes, an Android app | Yes, on Google Play |
| Speakers | Speaker recognition | Call display names where supported, otherwise "Me" and "Them"; "Speaker A, Speaker B" on mobile | Labelled by voice; names you confirm are recognised in later meetings |
| A meeting that switches language | Six transcription languages listed | Desktop setting to switch among supported languages; on mobile, one language per meeting | No language to choose; mid-sentence switching kept as spoken |
| What you do in the meeting | Nothing, the notetaker listens | Type your own notes, which it fills out | Nothing, press record |
| What you send afterwards | Transcript, key takeaways and action items in Otter | Your enhanced notes | Minutes as PDF, Word, Markdown or a share link anyone can open |
What we have actually tested
We have not published a blind head-to-head against Otter or Granola yet, so this page makes no accuracy claim about either. Where we have run one, against Fireflies, Microsoft Teams and Fathom, the same real meeting went through both tools, the names were removed, and the outputs were scored blind. Every score, and every row we lost, is on the comparison hub and the open challenge page.
When Otter or Granola
still fits
Otter
Your week is English-language video calls and you want the transcript scrolling live while the call runs.
You want a notetaker that turns up from your calendar, with years of call workflow and integrations behind it.
You want a desktop app that records calls with no bot in the meeting.
Where they fit: For English-language online meetings, Otter is a mature choice with a deeper call workflow than ours.
Granola
You take notes anyway, at a laptop, and you want them sharpened rather than replaced. That is Granola's real idea and a good one.
You want no bot in your calls. Granola uses your computer's own audio.
You would rather no audio is kept. Granola's help centre says it does not record or save audio at any point on desktop, and on mobile the audio is cached only until transcription is done.
Where they fit: If you are at a desk, your meetings are online and you already type, Granola is a better desk companion than we are. MeetNotes keeps the recording with its transcript, so you can replay a line, and delete it when you choose.
Common questions
Otter vs Granola: what is the difference?
Otter is built around a notetaker that joins online meetings and shows a live transcript. Granola uses your computer's audio with no bot and fills out the notes you type. MeetNotes is the third option: it records rooms on your phone, sends a notetaker into calls, and writes minutes you can send as PDF or Word.
Does Granola have an Android app?
Yes. Granola lists apps for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, and has an Android app on Google Play (checked 30 September 2026). If you want a Granola alternative on Android because you want minutes written for you with nothing to type, speaker names you confirm, or meetings that mix languages, MeetNotes is on Google Play too.
Which is better for in-person meetings?
All three have phone apps. Otter and Granola are built mainly around the computer and the call. MeetNotes was built for a phone on a table first. Record one real meeting on the tools you are considering and compare the outputs blind.
Which handles Hindi or mixed-language meetings?
Otter's help centre lists six transcription languages, not including Hindi. Granola lists Hindi, and lets you switch languages during a meeting on desktop, but on mobile it picks one language per meeting. MeetNotes needs no language chosen before recording, on phone or call, and keeps sentences that switch between Hindi and English as spoken.
Record one meeting.
Run the tools. Let an AI
judge them blind.
A comparison page written by a vendor is worth little next to a test you run on your own audio. Ours is published in full: a protocol, a judge prompt that names no product, and a standing promise to publish the head-to-heads we lose.
- Otter: notetaker for Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams; Mac and Windows desktop app that records "without bots joining the call"; iOS and Android apps; live transcription and speaker recognition — otter.ai, home page, checked 30 September 2026
- Otter transcribes English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese (Simplified) — help.otter.ai, Supported languages, checked 24 August 2026; same list in the page's search listing, checked 30 September 2026
- Granola: apps for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android; "Uses your computer audio, so doesn't invite a bot"; mobile "made for in-person meetings too" — granola.ai, home page, checked 30 September 2026
- Granola - AI Meeting Notes is on Google Play (ai.granola) — play.google.com, checked 30 September 2026
- Granola desktop labels speakers from call display names on supported platforms, otherwise "Me" and "Them", and does not record or save audio — docs.granola.ai, How transcription works, checked 30 September 2026
- Granola mobile labels speakers "Speaker A, Speaker B", caches audio only until transcription completes — docs.granola.ai, How transcription works on mobile, checked 30 September 2026
- Granola: 31 transcription languages on desktop and 17 on mobile, Hindi included; switching languages mid-meeting is a desktop setting; on mobile it chooses a single language per meeting — docs.granola.ai, Multi-language support, checked 30 September 2026
Product names are the trademarks of their owners, used here to identify the products compared. If we have got something wrong about Otter or Granola, write to support@getmeetnotes.com and we will correct it on this page.
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