Best Granola alternatives for Windows

The best Granola alternatives for Windows are Fetch for private, bot-free notes transcribed on your own PC, Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai for teams that want shared workspaces and integrations, Fathom if you’re happy with a bot on Windows, and the AI built into Zoom or Teams if your company already pays for it. Granola itself now runs on Windows, so the right pick depends on what you want to change.

Facts about other tools come from their own websites, checked October 29, 2026. Links are at the bottom. Yes, Fetch is ours. We’ve tried to be fair, including where others win.

At a glance

	Bot joins the call?	Where speech becomes text	Works offline	Free plan	Paid from
Fetch	No	Your PC	Yes	Free during early access	None yet
Otter.ai	Bot, or desktop app without one	Otter’s cloud	Not stated	300 min a month	$16.99 per user a month
Fireflies.ai	Yes by default; desktop app on paid plans	Fireflies’ service	No	Yes	$10 per seat a month, yearly
Fathom	Bot on Windows (Teams bot-free in alpha)	Fathom’s cloud	No	Unlimited recordings	$16 per user a month, yearly
Zoom or Teams AI	Built into the meeting	Zoom’s or Microsoft’s cloud	No	Depends on your plan	Depends on your plan

1. Fetch: best for privacy and offline use

Fetch records your microphone and your computer’s sound on Windows, so nothing joins the call. Speech becomes text on your PC, the audio is kept as MP3 files in your Documents folder, and it works with the internet off. AI notes use your own Claude or ChatGPT account, and only text is sent.

Best for: consultants, recruiters and anyone with sensitive calls. Not ideal for: teams that want shared notes, or Mac users. Read Fetch vs Granola.

2. Otter.ai: best for shared team notes

Otter is one of the best-known notetakers. Its Notetaker bot joins meetings, or its desktop app for Mac and Windows records without a bot. Transcription happens in Otter’s cloud. The free plan gives 300 minutes a month, up to 30 minutes per conversation.

Best for: teams that share notes and want CRM links. Read Fetch vs Otter.

3. Fireflies.ai: best for integrations and analytics

Fireflies’ assistant joins calendar meetings by default. On paid plans, its desktop app can record without a bot, though its guide says that mode saves no audio and labels speakers as Speaker 1 and Speaker 2. It has a long list of integrations and team analytics.

Best for: sales and customer teams that want call data in other tools. Read Fetch vs Fireflies.

4. Fathom: best free plan if a bot is fine

Fathom offers unlimited free recordings, with advanced summaries for 5 calls a month. Bot-free recording needs a Mac running macOS 14.2 or later. On Windows, it’s limited to a Teams alpha, so most Windows users get the bot.

Best for: people on Zoom or Meet who don’t mind a bot. Read Fetch vs Fathom.

5. Zoom or Teams AI: best if you already pay for it

Zoom and Microsoft Teams both offer AI meeting summaries inside their apps. Microsoft says Teams’ intelligent recap needs a Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Zoom’s AI features depend on your Zoom plan. They only cover meetings on their own platform.

Best for: companies standardized on one meeting app.

How to choose

• Want the audio to stay on your computer? Fetch.
• Need team sharing and integrations? Otter or Fireflies.
• Happy with a bot and want free? Fathom.
• Everyone’s on one platform with AI included? Use the built-in tools.

More on the bot question in bot-free recording.

Sources

Checked October 29, 2026. Plans change often, so check each site for the latest.

• Granola home page and pricing
• Otter pricing and desktop app
• Fireflies pricing and recording without a bot
• Fathom pricing and bot-free recording
• Microsoft Teams intelligent recap

Granola, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Fathom, Zoom and Microsoft Teams are trademarks of their owners. Soggy Dog Studios isn’t affiliated with them. This round-up is based on public information as of the date above.