a matosic tool
A Granola alternative that keeps your meetings on your Mac
I make Karl, so I'm biased. Granola and Karl both leave the bot out and listen through your computer's audio. What happens next is the difference. Granola sends the audio to transcription services and the transcript to AI companies to write your notes. Karl does both on your Mac or phone, and nothing is sent to us or to an AI company.
Side by side
| Karl | Granola | |
|---|---|---|
| Bot in your call | No | No |
| Transcription | On your device | Cloud transcription services |
| Summaries | On your device: Apple Intelligence on iPhone and Mac, Gemini Nano or a downloaded model on Android | Cloud AI from OpenAI and Anthropic |
| Account | None | Google or Microsoft sign-in |
| AI training | Nothing is sent to us or to an AI company, so there's nothing to train on | Anonymised data is used for training by default on Free and Business. You can opt out. |
| Free plan | Unlimited, and nothing gets hidden later | Notes older than 30 days are hidden until you upgrade |
| Paid plan | Pro is $1.99 a month, $14.99 a year, or $24.99 once | Business is $14 per user per month |
| Offline | Works fully offline once a language is downloaded | Old notes open offline. New notes need a connection. |
| Runs on | iPhone (iOS 26), Mac (macOS 26) and Android (8 or later) | Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android |
Granola's details come from its own security, help and billing pages, checked in September 2026. Check granola.ai before you decide.
When Granola is the better pick
- You use Windows. Karl runs on iPhone, Mac and Android, and on Apple devices it needs iOS 26 or macOS 26.
- You like typing rough notes during the call. Granola is built around filling those in from the transcript.
- Your notes are shared across a team. Granola has team workspaces and integrations. Karl is made for one person.
- Your iPhone or Mac can't run Apple Intelligence. Karl still records and transcribes, but on Apple devices the automatic summaries need it.
When Karl is
- You don't want your meetings on anyone else's servers. No transcription service and no AI company ever sees them. The App Store privacy label says Data Not Collected.
- You don't want another account. Karl has no sign-in at all.
- You want your old notes to stay yours. Every meeting stays on your device, readable, for free.
- You'd rather pay once. The free app is complete. Pro adds sync between your iPhone and Mac through your own iCloud, speaker names, folders and Ask Karl, for $24.99 once.
Also compared with Otter.ai. Or read how to record a Zoom call on Mac without a bot, or about Karl itself.