granola alternative

The private Granola alternative for Windows and Mac that can run offline

Granola is a polished AI notepad that listens to your meeting without a bot. The catch: transcription and AI notes are processed in the cloud, the free plan only keeps the last 30 days of notes, most integrations need the $14/user Business plan, and it does meetings only, no dictation, and no voice commands.

Dimmy takes the same bot-free approach and saves the recording on your device. With local models it transcribes and writes the recap locally; with a cloud provider you pick, it uses your own key. It is open source (AGPL-3.0), native on macOS and Windows, keeps your full history with no time cap, and the same app also handles dictation and a voice command mode.

Local modelsNo botNo history cap
Download Dimmy freeBack to Dimmy
side by side

Dimmy vs Granola

FeatureDimmyGranola
Does a bot join the call?
No. Captures your mic + system audio directly.
No. Also bot-free, capturing device audio.
Offline / on-device processing
Transcription and the AI recap can run on your device with local models, or with a cloud provider you pick.
Records audio locally, but transcribes and writes notes in the cloud.
History
Full searchable history kept locally, no time cap.
Free plan exposes only the last 30 days; unlimited needs Business ($14/user).
Open source
Open source (AGPL-3.0).
Proprietary, closed source.
Dictation + command mode
Yes. System-wide dictation and a voice command mode in the same app.
Meetings only. No system-wide dictation or voice commands.
Recap structure
TL;DR, decisions, action items, open questions, timestamps, type classifier.
AI notes, summaries and action items with templates.
Integrations
Notion, folder (Obsidian/Drive/Dropbox), Claude Desktop, MCP, all included.
MCP free (30-day); Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Zapier need Business.
Privacy / data location
Audio and recaps are saved on your device; a cloud provider sees them only if you choose one.
Transcripts and notes are stored on cloud servers.
Price
Free from source. Pro €4.99/mo. €99 once for 3 years. Not per-seat.
Free (30-day history). Business $14/user, Enterprise $35/user.
Platforms
macOS + Windows.
macOS, Windows, iPhone.
included limited paid plan only not available
Competitor details verified on vendor sites in 2026 and may change. Recheck before relying on them.
why switch

Why switch to Dimmy

Your choice of local or cloud: with local models your meeting audio and AI recap are processed on your machine.
No 30-day wall: your full meeting history stays searchable on your machine, for free.
No bot, ever: Dimmy captures both sides of the call from your mic and system audio.
Open source (AGPL-3.0), so you can verify exactly what it does with your data.
Three tools in one: meeting notes plus dictation and a voice command mode.
Structured recaps with decisions, action items, open questions and timestamps, exportable to Notion, a folder, or Claude.
works with your stack

Send your text and recaps where you work

NotionObsidianGoogle DriveClaude DesktopClaude CLICodex CLIMCP server
Every integration is included free, no add-on tier.
frequently asked

Bot-free meetings that can stay on your device.

Yes. With local models, Dimmy records your meeting and runs transcription plus the AI recap on your device, so your audio and notes never have to reach a cloud server. Granola records audio locally but processes the transcription and AI notes in the cloud.
No. Dimmy captures your microphone and system audio directly, recording both sides of the call without adding a participant. Granola is also bot-free in this respect.
On the free Basic plan, accessible meeting-note history is limited to the last 30 days, and most named integrations (Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Zapier) require the $14/user Business plan. Dimmy keeps your full history locally with no time cap.
Yes. Dimmy ships as native macOS and Windows apps. Granola supports macOS, Windows and iPhone.
No. Dimmy is three tools in one: meetings, dictation, and a voice command mode. Granola is meetings only, with no system-wide dictation or voice commands.
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Product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Dimmy is not affiliated with them. Competitor information checked in June 2026; tell us if something changed.