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 iPhone, and nothing leaves it.
Side by side
| Karl | Granola | |
|---|---|---|
| Bot in your call | No | No |
| Transcription | On your device | Cloud transcription services |
| Summaries | On your device, with Apple Intelligence | Cloud AI from OpenAI and Anthropic |
| Account | None | Google or Microsoft sign-in |
| AI training | Nothing leaves your device, 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) and Mac (macOS 26) | 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 or Android. Karl is iPhone and Mac only, and 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 device can't run Apple Intelligence. Karl still records and transcribes, but 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.