Walkie vs Granola
Neither app sends a bot into your call — both listen to your machine. The difference is what else the app does, and whether the recording has to leave your laptop.
The short answer
Choose Walkie if some meetings should never leave your machine — it can record and transcribe entirely on-device — or if you want dictation and Read Aloud in the same subscription. Choose Granola if you need unlimited meetings, Windows support, or a specialist notetaker with deep CRM integrations.
Granola pricing: Basic free (capped meeting history); Business $14/user/month; Enterprise $35/user/month.
| Feature | Walkie | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free · Pro $6 · Work $14 · Team $25 (per month, billed annually) | Basic free · Business $14/user/mo · Enterprise $35/user/mo |
| Free tier | 3-meeting trial, plus unlimited on-device dictation forever | 25 meetings for the lifetime of the account, 14 days of history |
| Meeting allowance (paid) | 3-meeting trial free · Pro 10/mo (8 h) · Work 100/mo (40 h) · Team 150/mo (75 h) | Unlimited meetings and history on Business |
| Joins with a bot | No — records your machine's audio | No — records your machine's audio |
| Fully on-device capture | Yes — recorded and transcribed locally, hours count the same either way | No — audio is processed in the cloud |
| Speaker labels (who said what) | Yes | Yes |
| Ask across meetings | Yes | Yes |
| Shared folders / team workspace | Yes, on Team | Yes, including on Basic |
| MCP server | Yes, from Work (experimental) | Yes, on Business |
| Dictation in every app | Yes — the core of the product, free offline mode | No |
| Read Aloud (text-to-speech) | Yes — 950+ voices. 10 min/mo free · Pro 2 h/mo · Work & Team 5 h/mo | No |
| CRM & tool integrations | 10+ connectors (Asana, Linear, Slack, GitHub) | Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Attio, Affinity, Zapier on Business |
| Meeting-notes platforms | macOS | macOS, Windows, mobile, Apple Watch |
| SSO, admin controls | No | Yes, on Enterprise |
Granola pricing and features verified from their pricing page. Walkie's own numbers are read live from our plan definitions.
Why choose Walkie over Granola?
The recording can stay on the laptop. Walkie can capture and transcribe a meeting entirely on-device, and the hours count the same as cloud capture — mode is a privacy choice, never a cheaper tier. Granola processes audio in the cloud. For a legal call, a diagnosis, a board conversation or an unannounced deal, that is the whole decision.
It is not only a notetaker. The same subscription dictates into every app you use and reads any text aloud in 950+ voices. Granola is a focused notetaker and does not do either — so a dictation tool is a second bill next to it.
A free tier that does not expire. Granola's free plan is 25 meetings for the lifetime of the account with 14 days of history — a trial with no end date rather than a plan. Walkie's free tier keeps unlimited on-device dictation forever, and gives you 3 meetings to judge the notes by.
A cheaper first paid rung. Walkie Pro is $6/month billed annually with 10 meetings — Granola's first paid tier is $14/user/month. If you have a handful of meetings a week and want dictation too, the ladder starts lower.
When Granola is the better fit
Unlimited meetings, and Windows. Granola Business is unlimited meetings and unlimited history, on Mac and Windows both. Walkie meters meetings on every tier and its notetaker is macOS-only today. If you are in back-to-back calls, or on Windows, Granola is the one that works.
The notes are its whole job. Granola does one thing and the template system, the editing model and the CRM integrations all show it. If meeting notes are the only thing you are buying, a focused tool is a real argument.
Mobile, Watch and enterprise controls. Mobile and Apple Watch apps, and an Enterprise tier with SSO, org-wide auto-deletion and admin controls. Walkie has none of that.
The bottom line
Granola is the better buy if you live in meetings, need Windows, or want a specialist. Walkie is the better buy if some of those conversations should never leave your machine, or if you also want dictation and Read Aloud without paying for a second app.
Walkie vs Granola — common questions
Is Walkie a good Granola alternative?
If privacy or breadth is what moved you to look, yes. Walkie can record and transcribe meetings entirely on-device, which Granola cannot, and the same subscription dictates in every app and reads text aloud. Granola is the stronger pick for unlimited meetings, Windows support and a focused notetaking workflow.
Is Granola free?
There is a free Basic plan, but it is capped at 25 meetings for the lifetime of the account and keeps 14 days of history. Walkie's free tier gives you a 3-meeting trial and keeps unlimited on-device dictation forever.
Does Granola record meetings on-device?
Granola captures your computer's audio without sending a bot into the call, but the audio is processed in the cloud. Walkie can do the whole capture and transcription locally, and charges the same hours either way.