Guide

A Granola alternative for Windows and Linux

Granola runs on macOS and Windows, with apps for iPhone, Android and Apple Watch, and lists no app for Linux: its own pages, read on 15 October 2026, name macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. Recordist is an app for Mac, with Windows and Linux in preview that, like Granola, puts no bot in the call, and that writes the transcript and the notes on your own computer, with no account. Windows and Linux versions are a preview, free to download with no email. We make Recordist, so every fact about Granola on this page comes from Granola's own pages, with the day we read them.

What Granola is, and what it does well

Granola is a notepad for meetings. You type rough notes during the call, it listens through your computer's audio, and afterwards it combines your notes and the transcript into a finished document. It does not join the meeting: its home page says it uses your computer audio, so no bot is invited.

It has grown quickly. Its updates page dates the Windows app to 11 June 2025, Briefs on Mac and Windows to 20 May 2026, the Android app to 1 July 2026, the Apple Watch app to 28 July 2026, and support for 32 languages to 2 September 2026. Its Basic plan is free, with unlimited notes and 30 days of meeting history; its pricing page lists Business at $14 per user a month and Enterprise at $35.

Where the work happens

This is the difference to weigh. Granola's security page says it transcribes in real time on macOS and Windows with transcription providers such as Deepgram and Assembly, that it does not store meeting audio, that notes are kept in its US-hosted Amazon Web Services cloud, and that AI providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic write the summaries. It also says Granola trains on anonymised data unless you opt out in Settings, with training off by default on Enterprise. You sign in with a Google or Microsoft account.

Recordist does that work on your computer. When a call starts, a small card asks "Record this meeting?" By default it asks before it records, and nothing is written to disk until you click Record. It transcribes with Whisper on your computer, its built-in engine writes the notes there by default, and there is no account and no Recordist server that could hold a meeting. If you choose a cloud AI provider for notes, the transcript of that meeting goes from your computer to that provider under your own account; that is your choice, off by default, and the Privacy Ledger in the app lists each request.

Recordist also keeps the audio, on your computer, for 30 days by default or as long as you choose. Every decision and action item in its notes links to the line it came from, and you can press the time and hear it said, while the audio is kept.

Side by side

Granola from its own pages, read on 15 October 2026; Recordist as it is today. The numbers name the sources listed at the foot of the page.

Question	Granola	Recordist
Joins the call as a bot	No. It uses your computer audio. [1]	Never. It records your microphone and the sound your computer plays.
Runs on	macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and Apple Watch. [1][5]	Mac (macOS 14.6 or later on Apple silicon); Windows and Linux as a preview
Linux	No app on its pages. [1][2]	Yes, as a preview (x86_64 with glibc 2.35 or newer)
Account	Sign-in with a Google or Microsoft account. [2]	None. A Pro key, if you buy one, is checked on your computer.
Where speech is transcribed	Transcription providers such as Deepgram and Assembly, in real time on macOS and Windows. [4]	On your computer, with Whisper.
Where notes are kept	Its US-hosted Amazon Web Services cloud, encrypted at rest and in transit. [4]	A folder on your computer.
Meeting audio	Not stored. [4]	Kept on your computer, 30 days by default or as long as you choose.
Free plan	Unlimited notes, with 30 days of meeting history. [1][3]	Recording, transcription and search with no time limit; 7 days of Pro, then notes for 3 calls a month.
With no internet	Notes can be read, edited and searched. [5]	Recording, transcription, search and notes from the built-in engine, once the models are downloaded.

Recordist on Windows and Linux, plainly

Windows and Linux are built from the same code as the Mac app. They are a preview until real calls have been recorded on them, and the Windows installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows asks you to confirm before it runs. Record something you can afford to lose first, and tell us what you find.

Windows needs 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 and a processor with AVX2. Linux needs x86_64 with glibc 2.35 or newer (Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12 and later) and PipeWire or PulseAudio. Installing Recordist on Linux has the steps.

What differs from the Mac today:

Transcription runs on the processor, so it is slower than on a Mac.
The built-in notes engine, about 1.4 GB, downloads the first time you make notes.
Window titles are read only on the Mac, so a call in a browser shows as Browser unless the Chrome extension is paired.
Prep Briefs appear only on the Mac, because they read the Mac's calendar. A calendar feed added in Settings still brings up the card when a meeting starts.
Managed settings for IT are read only from a macOS configuration profile.
On Linux under Wayland, the record card cannot stay on top and global shortcuts do not work, and GNOME shows no tray icon without the AppIndicator extension.
Until the installer is signed, Smart App Control on Windows 11 blocks it with no override. Windows says it protected your PC explains SmartScreen's question.

The known issues page keeps this list current.

When Granola is the better choice

If you like typing notes during the meeting and having them filled in afterwards, Granola is built around exactly that, and Recordist is not a notepad. If you want your notes on your phone or your wrist, Granola has apps for both, and Recordist runs only on a computer. If you are on a Mac or on Windows and cloud transcription is fine for your meetings, Granola is a well-made choice.

If you are on Linux, if the transcript must stay on your own computer, or if you want no account, Recordist is built for that. The longer comparison, with prices and agent access, is Recordist and Granola.

Free and Pro

Free for Mac, Windows and Linux. No account and no email needed. Windows and Linux are a preview. The Mac app is signed with our Developer ID and notarised by Apple.

Recording, transcription and search are free, with no time limit, and Free writes notes for 3 calls a month. Every install includes 7 days of Pro, with no card, starting with your first recorded call of 10 minutes or more. Pro writes up every call and drafts the follow-up email with the notes. Pro is US$9 a month or US$90 a year for anyone who subscribes by 30 November 2026, and that price stays for as long as the subscription stays active; from 1 December 2026 new subscribers pay US$15 a month or US$144 a year.Pro is CA$9 a month or CA$90 a year for anyone who subscribes by 30 November 2026, and that price stays for as long as the subscription stays active; from 1 December 2026 new subscribers pay CA$15 a month or CA$144 a year.Pro is €9 a month or €90 a year for anyone who subscribes by 30 November 2026, and that price stays for as long as the subscription stays active; from 1 December 2026 new subscribers pay €14 a month or €139 a year.Pro is £8 a month or £79 a year for anyone who subscribes by 30 November 2026, and that price stays for as long as the subscription stays active; from 1 December 2026 new subscribers pay £12 a month or £119 a year.

Download freeDownload for MacDownload for WindowsDownload for Linux See pricing

Questions

Is there a Granola app for Linux?

Not on Granola's own pages, read on 15 October 2026: its home page and its setup guide name macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, and its updates page lists no Linux release. If that changes, write to us and we will correct this page.

Does Recordist run on Windows and Linux today?

Windows and Linux are built from the same code as the Mac app. They are a preview until real calls have been recorded on them, and the Windows installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows asks you to confirm before it runs. Windows needs 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 and a processor with AVX2. Linux needs x86_64 with glibc 2.35 or newer (Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12 and later) and PipeWire or PulseAudio.

Does either one join the call as a bot?

No. Granola says it uses your computer audio and does not join the meeting, and Recordist records your microphone and the sound your computer plays. Neither appears in the participant list. Granola's pricing page lists a setting on each plan to let people know you are using it; Recordist copies a short notice for you to read out or paste into the chat, and telling people stays your job.

Do I need an account?

For Granola, yes: its setup guide says you sign in with a Google or Microsoft account. Recordist has no account. You download it and record, and if you buy Pro, a licence key comes by email and is checked on your computer.

Can I listen to a line again?

Granola's security page says it does not store meeting audio. Recordist keeps the audio on your computer, for 30 days by default or as long as you choose, and every decision in its notes links to the line it came from, which plays while the audio is kept.

Does either one work offline?

Granola's updates page says its notes can be read and edited without the internet (18 December 2024) and searched without a connection (16 December 2024). Recordist records, transcribes, searches and, with its built-in engine, writes the notes with no network once its models are downloaded. A meeting recorder that works offline has the details.

Granola's own pages, read on 15 October 2026:

Granola is a trademark of its owner, and Windows, macOS, Linux, Deepgram, Assembly, OpenAI, Anthropic and Amazon Web Services are trademarks of theirs, named here only to identify their products. Recordist is not affiliated with Granola. If something here is out of date, write to support@recordist.app and we will correct it.