# Granola vs Plaud: pricing, features, and which is better > Granola and Plaud compared across pricing, capture, speaker labels, recordings, notes, sharing, automations, integrations, AI-agent access, and administration. - Canonical HTML: https://circleback.ai/compare/granola-vs-plaud - Structured JSON: https://circleback.ai/compare/granola-vs-plaud.json - Comparison directory: https://circleback.ai/compare - Language: en-US - Editorial perspective: Neutral competitor comparison. Circleback appears only as a clearly labeled third option. ## Short answer Granola keeps the workflow close to a personal notepad and deletes source audio. Plaud keeps recordings and adds dedicated capture devices, reusable templates, and credit-based Agent workflows. Test both products on meetings that reflect your work, such as a customer call, planning session, or in-person conversation. Compare the notes, speaker labels, sharing defaults, and follow-up you still need to do by hand. ## Granola at a glance Granola combines notes you write during a meeting with an AI-generated summary, without a meeting bot or saved recording. It supports Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Apple Watch, with integrations, API, and MCP access. Sharing starts with the individual note or folder. **Best for:** People and small teams who write a few notes during calls and want AI to expand them without keeping source audio or video. **Less ideal for:** Companies that need recordings and clips, automatic capture, consistent named-speaker transcripts across every device, workspace-enforced sharing, bulk transcript export, service-account agent access, or operational automations across every function. **Price:** Free; Business $14/user/month; Enterprise from $35/user/month, billed monthly Granola currently bills monthly rather than offering an annual discount. Basic is free but only the last 30 days of history remain accessible. Business adds unlimited history, advanced AI, integrations, MCP, API, billing, and user management. Enterprise adds SSO, retention, organization sharing/API controls, training defaults, and participant notifications. A workspace uses one tier and every active member of a paid workspace is a paid seat, although someone who only opens a shared note link does not need a seat. **Free option:** Yes, with a rolling 30-day accessible history. ### Granola strengths - Your own notes guide the AI summary, so you can emphasize what matters to you. - No durable source recording: audio is processed for transcription and then deleted, which some privacy-sensitive teams prefer. - Desktop and mobile apps, person and company pages, cross-meeting chat, integrations, API, and MCP support work beyond an individual note. - Granola can extract source-linked action-item text with owner and date labels, and paid users can route note output into task systems through Zapier. ### Granola tradeoffs - No replayable audio/video, timestamped moments, or clips after processing. - Android and Apple Watch now cover in-person capture, but their launch pages do not document the same multi-speaker labeling that Granola explicitly documents for iPhone. iPhone also cannot capture audio from another calling app; integrations and several settings remain desktop-oriented. - Starting notes automatically for every meeting remains under consideration. Users can copy and redact transcript segments after capture. - Bulk CSV export omits transcripts, and admins cannot export the entire workspace; each person exports only their own notes. - MCP is OAuth-only, has no service-account/API-key path, and cannot directly access Team-space folders. Users must move a note to My Notes and share it explicitly, which changes its default visibility. - Free and Business accounts permit anonymized customer data to be used for Granola model improvements by default unless users opt out. An administrator-enforced organization-wide opt-out is an Enterprise feature. - Notes and transcripts are retained indefinitely by default. Configurable transcript retention is Enterprise-only; SSO is also Enterprise-only and documented for organizations with at least 50 seats. - The notes are concise and shaped by what you write. If people who missed the meeting will rely on them, test whether the summary preserves enough context for those readers. - Granola can extract owner and date text into a note, but it does not automatically create and assign native action items to users. Actions remain note content unless a team builds a Zapier handoff; there is no workspace-wide task board with assignees, status, due dates, and completion tracking. ### Choose Granola when - You want a notepad first and do not want to retain source recordings. - Your users are on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, or Apple Watch and are happy to start notes themselves. - You want to shape and share a meeting document more than manage recordings or automate follow-up. ## Plaud at a glance Plaud combines dedicated phone-mounted and wearable recorders with desktop capture and an AI workspace. Its Note family records calls and room audio, while NotePin models focus on in-person conversations. Plaud Intelligence adds templates, search, Agent actions, Skills, and Routines; transcription minutes and Agent credits are separate allowances. **Best for:** People who prefer a dedicated recorder or wearable, and teams that want Plaud’s capture hardware, templates, and Agent workflows in one ecosystem. **Less ideal for:** People who want in-person recording directly from their existing phone or Watch, or organizations that require SSO and flexible external meeting access. **Price:** Devices list at $159–$189; AI plans priced separately Standard device prices are $159 for Note or NotePin, $179 for NotePin S, and $189 for Note Pro; promotions may lower these prices. Pro costs $99.99/year or $17.99/month; Unlimited costs $239.99/year or $29.99/month. Team requires at least two seats and costs $25/user/month with annual billing or $35 with monthly billing. Launch offers reduce those rates to $20 for the first year or $28 through November 30, 2026, respectively. Agent credits are separate from transcription. **Free option:** Starter is free with a device and includes 300 transcription minutes/month. Pro includes 1,200/month; Unlimited and Team allow up to 24 hours/day. Unused monthly minutes do not roll over. Paid Team users can record on desktop without buying hardware. ### Plaud strengths - Choose a phone-mounted recorder for calls and meetings or a wearable for in-person conversations. The devices capture independently and provide physical recording controls. - Desktop capture combines audio, highlights, typed notes, and screenshots. Use templates to format summaries and ask questions across recordings. - Plaud offers MCP and CLI access to recordings and transcripts, plus Skills, Routines, connected Agent actions, and a managed Team workspace. ### Plaud tradeoffs - Portable hardware capture adds a device to buy and charge. NotePin models do not record phone calls; that requires Note or Note Pro. Team desktop capture does not require hardware. - An unlimited transcription plan does not mean unlimited Agent use. Ask Plaud, connected actions, Skills, and Routines consume separate credits; the launch grant does not renew monthly. - Team sharing is limited to workspace members, and SSO is not yet supported. Existing AutoFlows do not migrate automatically to Routines. ### Choose Plaud when - You want a dedicated phone-mounted or wearable recorder with physical controls. - You value summary templates, highlights, screenshots, and Agent-generated documents. - You want Plaud hardware and desktop recordings in a managed workspace with MCP and CLI access. ## Feature comparison | What matters | Granola | Plaud | | --- | --- | --- | | Capture options | Available with limits — Manual bot-free desktop, phone, and Apple Watch capture. Granola listens locally without a bot and combines typed notes with the transcript. It does not currently offer an “always automatically start every meeting” setting. | Broad support — Dedicated recorders, bot-free desktop, and imports. Press and hold a device’s recording control to start. Note and Note Pro capture calls and room audio; NotePin and NotePin S capture in-person conversations. Desktop records computer audio without a meeting bot and offers manual, prompted, or automatic recording. Team users can record on desktop without hardware; individual Starter activation requires a bound device. | | Desktop and mobile | Broad support — macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and Apple Watch. Desktop is the full experience. iOS and Android cover in-person conversations, and Apple Watch can start an in-person note with one tap and sync it to the phone and desktop apps. iPhone also supports outbound speakerphone calls but cannot capture another app’s audio; integrations and several workspace settings remain desktop-oriented. | Available with limits — Recorders, iOS, Android, web, macOS, and Windows. Mobile apps manage devices and recordings; web and desktop provide access to the same account or workspace. Desktop records from a Mac or Windows computer. Without a Plaud device, Team capture is through desktop or audio imports. A native Apple Watch recorder is not documented; NotePin is separate wearable hardware. | | In-person capture and speaker labels | Broad support — Phone, Apple Watch, and laptop room capture. The iPhone app handles in-person conversations, identifies up to ten speakers, and can place outbound speakerphone calls. Android and Apple Watch also capture in-person meetings, though their launch pages do not promise the same speaker-label behavior. Desktop does not diarize individual voices: its transcript uses Me and Them for microphone versus system audio. iPhone cannot transcribe another calling app running on the same phone. | Broad support — Portable hardware with automatic speaker labels. All four Note/NotePin models record in-person conversations and support speaker-labeled transcription. NotePin S has a tactile button and highlight control; the original NotePin uses a pressure-sensitive control and lacks device highlights. Both need charging and transfer recordings for processing. Neither NotePin model supports phone-call recording. | | Recordings, playback, and clips | Not documented — No retained audio or video. Granola deliberately deletes audio after transcription. That is a privacy benefit for some teams and a hard limitation for anyone who needs playback, evidence, clips, or coaching review. | Available with limits — Saved audio, highlights, exports, and desktop screenshots. Keep and play back audio, export recordings and text, and mark important moments. Desktop can attach screenshots and typed notes to enrich summaries. Screenshots are not a continuous meeting-video recording. MCP and CLI can retrieve audio download links, full speaker-labeled transcripts, and generated notes. | | Notes, action items, and search | Broad support — Concise attendee notes, extracted actions, and cross-meeting chat. Your notes guide the generated summary. Paid plans support chat across meetings, folders, people, and companies. Granola extracts action-item text with owners, deadlines, and transcript citations, but does not create or assign native tasks. Those actions remain in the note unless sent to another tool. Source recordings are deleted after transcription. | Broad support — Templates, action items, and questions across recordings. Plaud generates speaker-labeled transcripts, default summaries, and action items. Template summaries offer different views of a conversation. Ask Plaud searches across transcribed files with references; Agent can create documents and take actions in connected apps. Default meeting outputs use transcription allowances, while Agent questions and new work use separate credits. | | People, companies, and context | Available with limits — People and company pages built from calendar contacts. Granola groups meetings around people and companies, with chat across those groups. Directory entries are inferred from calendar data and cannot be manually added, so imperfect associations can happen. | Available with limits — Recording knowledge base and connected Agent context. Plaud Intelligence organizes recordings into a searchable knowledge base. Agent can use shared Team recordings and connected tools to answer questions and complete tasks. The cited documentation does not establish dedicated person/company pages with rolling summaries and email relationship timelines. | | Automatic sharing and workspace defaults | Narrow or indirect — Private by default; sharing starts with a note or folder. Notes are not auto-shared with attendees. A user shares a note or adds it to a team-space folder; recurring meetings can auto-add to a folder and new folder notes can auto-post to connected tools. Enterprise can enforce how links work across the workspace, but it still does not provide conditional rules that automatically distribute each matching meeting to the right internal people or teams. | Available with limits — Personal sharing, Team member access, and Routines. Personal plans include sharing and exports. Team files are private until shared with workspace members, with member-restricted links rather than public external links. Routines can deliver notes through connected tools, but this does not grant access to the source recording or establish workspace-wide sharing defaults. | | Automations | Narrow or indirect — Zapier triggers from folders or manually shared notes. Paid users can trigger Zapier when a note is added to a chosen folder or manually shared, then create tasks in Linear, Asana, Trello, Monday, and thousands of other apps. This is useful, but there is no automatic every-meeting trigger in the documented integration and Granola does not center conditional custom extraction and multi-action workflows in the product itself. | Broad support — Conditional Routines, Skills, and connected actions. Plaud Intelligence replaces AutoFlow with Routines, which can run on schedules or conditions such as a completed recording. Skills define reusable tasks and can be shared on Team. Existing AutoFlows do not carry over automatically. Running Skills and Routines consumes Plaud Credits, separate from transcription minutes. | | Integrations | Available with limits — Notion, Slack, Attio, HubSpot, Affinity, Zapier, API, and MCP. Business includes integrations for sending notes to connected tools. Zapier can turn folder notes into tasks across 8,000+ apps; more complex workflows require setup in the destination or automation tool. | Broad support — Agent connectors, Zapier, and developer tools. Agent lists Slack, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Outlook, Notion, Linear, and Zapier connectors. More Microsoft 365 integrations and a Salesforce note-sync connector are described as upcoming. Connected Agent actions use credits. MCP and CLI provide another route for assistants and custom workflows. | | API, MCP, CLI, and data portability | Available with limits — MCP and API on Business+; material export and scope limits. Personal API keys are beta on Business/Enterprise and can return transcripts for notes the key owner may access; Enterprise organization keys can cover Team-space notes. MCP also has a transcript tool, but uses OAuth, has no service-account key, and cannot directly access Team-space folders. Bulk CSV export excludes transcripts and admins cannot export every member’s notes, so programmatic access exists but workspace portability is not complete. | Available with limits — MCP and CLI retrieval; separate Embedded SDK/API. Plaud MCP and CLI retrieve recording metadata, speaker-labeled transcripts, summaries, and audio links. CLI search matches recording names across up to 500 recent files, rather than semantic transcript search. The Embedded device SDK and transcription API are separate offerings; the cited docs do not establish a full REST API for the consumer workspace. | | Security, privacy, and admin | Available with limits — User management on Business; retention and organization controls on Enterprise. SSO, retention, enforced sharing/API controls, participant notification, and organization training defaults require Enterprise; Granola documents SSO for organizations with at least 50 seats. There is no native password or MFA system—authentication delegates to Google, Microsoft, or Enterprise SSO. Notes and transcripts persist indefinitely unless deleted or covered by Enterprise retention, and admins do not get a one-click workspace export. | Available with limits — Security certifications and Team administration. Plaud lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001/27701, GDPR, and HIPAA support. Team adds billing, seat and device management, secure offboarding, and workspace-level data residency. Content remains private until shared. The Team FAQ says SSO is not yet supported; a workspace has a two-seat minimum. | | Languages | Available with limits — Multilingual transcription. Granola supports multiple languages, but it does not publish the same 100+ headline count as several rivals. Test switching, accents, and domain vocabulary on real calls. | Broad support — 112 transcription languages. Plaud documents transcription in 112 languages with speaker labeling and custom vocabulary. Validate performance on the languages, accents, and specialized terminology you use; the supported-language count is not an independent accuracy comparison. | Ratings describe documented breadth rather than overall product quality: - **Broad support:** Broad native support across the product or relevant paid plans. - **Available with limits:** Documented support with meaningful scope, mode, or plan limits. - **Narrow or indirect:** Narrow, indirect, beta, or substantially plan-gated support. - **Not documented:** No current first-party documentation for a native option. ## Detailed analysis ### Capture options **Plaud has broader documented support for capture options.** **Granola:** Manual bot-free desktop, phone, and Apple Watch capture. Granola listens locally without a bot and combines typed notes with the transcript. It does not currently offer an “always automatically start every meeting” setting. Evidence: [Granola transcription](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription), [Granola feature requests](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/feature-requests). **Plaud:** Dedicated recorders, bot-free desktop, and imports. Press and hold a device’s recording control to start. Note and Note Pro capture calls and room audio; NotePin and NotePin S capture in-person conversations. Desktop records computer audio without a meeting bot and offers manual, prompted, or automatic recording. Team users can record on desktop without hardware; individual Starter activation requires a bound device. Evidence: [Plaud devices](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-device-comparison), [Plaud recording controls](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/55643286546329-How-to-Record), [Plaud desktop](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-desktop), [Plaud desktop requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/53795026112409-Device-binding-required-notice-on-Plaud-Desktop), [Plaud Team requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57466295856537-What-is-Plaud-Team). ### Desktop and mobile **Granola has broader documented support for desktop and mobile.** **Granola:** macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and Apple Watch. Desktop is the full experience. iOS and Android cover in-person conversations, and Apple Watch can start an in-person note with one tap and sync it to the phone and desktop apps. iPhone also supports outbound speakerphone calls but cannot capture another app’s audio; integrations and several workspace settings remain desktop-oriented. Evidence: [Granola iOS](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/ios/getting-started), [Granola Android launch](https://www.granola.ai/blog/introducing-granola-for-android), [Granola Apple Watch launch](https://www.granola.ai/blog/granola-for-apple-watch), [Granola transcription](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription). **Plaud:** Recorders, iOS, Android, web, macOS, and Windows. Mobile apps manage devices and recordings; web and desktop provide access to the same account or workspace. Desktop records from a Mac or Windows computer. Without a Plaud device, Team capture is through desktop or audio imports. A native Apple Watch recorder is not documented; NotePin is separate wearable hardware. Evidence: [Plaud desktop](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-desktop), [Plaud desktop requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/53795026112409-Device-binding-required-notice-on-Plaud-Desktop), [Plaud Team requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57466295856537-What-is-Plaud-Team). ### In-person capture and speaker labels **Both products document broad support for in-person capture and speaker labels, with different scope and plan limits.** **Granola:** Phone, Apple Watch, and laptop room capture. The iPhone app handles in-person conversations, identifies up to ten speakers, and can place outbound speakerphone calls. Android and Apple Watch also capture in-person meetings, though their launch pages do not promise the same speaker-label behavior. Desktop does not diarize individual voices: its transcript uses Me and Them for microphone versus system audio. iPhone cannot transcribe another calling app running on the same phone. Evidence: [Granola iOS](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/ios/getting-started), [Granola Android launch](https://www.granola.ai/blog/introducing-granola-for-android), [Granola Apple Watch launch](https://www.granola.ai/blog/granola-for-apple-watch), [Granola transcription](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription). **Plaud:** Portable hardware with automatic speaker labels. All four Note/NotePin models record in-person conversations and support speaker-labeled transcription. NotePin S has a tactile button and highlight control; the original NotePin uses a pressure-sensitive control and lacks device highlights. Both need charging and transfer recordings for processing. Neither NotePin model supports phone-call recording. Evidence: [Plaud devices](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-device-comparison), [Plaud recording controls](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/55643286546329-How-to-Record), [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing). ### Recordings, playback, and clips **Plaud has broader documented support for recordings, playback, and clips.** **Granola:** No retained audio or video. Granola deliberately deletes audio after transcription. That is a privacy benefit for some teams and a hard limitation for anyone who needs playback, evidence, clips, or coaching review. Evidence: [Granola transcription](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription). **Plaud:** Saved audio, highlights, exports, and desktop screenshots. Keep and play back audio, export recordings and text, and mark important moments. Desktop can attach screenshots and typed notes to enrich summaries. Screenshots are not a continuous meeting-video recording. MCP and CLI can retrieve audio download links, full speaker-labeled transcripts, and generated notes. Evidence: [Plaud devices](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-device-comparison), [Plaud desktop](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-desktop), [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing), [Plaud Agent credits](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/piplcrinto), [Plaud MCP](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/mcp), [Plaud CLI](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/cli). ### Notes, action items, and search **Both products document broad support for notes, action items, and search, with different scope and plan limits.** **Granola:** Concise attendee notes, extracted actions, and cross-meeting chat. Your notes guide the generated summary. Paid plans support chat across meetings, folders, people, and companies. Granola extracts action-item text with owners, deadlines, and transcript citations, but does not create or assign native tasks. Those actions remain in the note unless sent to another tool. Source recordings are deleted after transcription. Evidence: [Granola transcription](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription), [Granola spaces and folders](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/folders/spaces-and-folders), [Granola action-item extraction](https://www.granola.ai/blog/meeting-action-items-ai-extraction). **Plaud:** Templates, action items, and questions across recordings. Plaud generates speaker-labeled transcripts, default summaries, and action items. Template summaries offer different views of a conversation. Ask Plaud searches across transcribed files with references; Agent can create documents and take actions in connected apps. Default meeting outputs use transcription allowances, while Agent questions and new work use separate credits. Evidence: [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing), [Plaud cross-recording questions](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51041335681689-Ask-Across-All-Files-Ask-Plaud), [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines), [Plaud Agent credits](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/piplcrinto). ### People, companies, and context **Both products support people, companies, and context, with different scope and plan limits.** **Granola:** People and company pages built from calendar contacts. Granola groups meetings around people and companies, with chat across those groups. Directory entries are inferred from calendar data and cannot be manually added, so imperfect associations can happen. Evidence: [Granola workspaces](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/workspaces), [Granola spaces and folders](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/folders/spaces-and-folders). **Plaud:** Recording knowledge base and connected Agent context. Plaud Intelligence organizes recordings into a searchable knowledge base. Agent can use shared Team recordings and connected tools to answer questions and complete tasks. The cited documentation does not establish dedicated person/company pages with rolling summaries and email relationship timelines. Evidence: [Plaud cross-recording questions](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51041335681689-Ask-Across-All-Files-Ask-Plaud), [Plaud Intelligence Team update](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/get-ready-new-plaud-intelligence-for-team), [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines). ### Automatic sharing and workspace defaults **Plaud has broader documented support for automatic sharing and workspace defaults.** **Granola:** Private by default; sharing starts with a note or folder. Notes are not auto-shared with attendees. A user shares a note or adds it to a team-space folder; recurring meetings can auto-add to a folder and new folder notes can auto-post to connected tools. Enterprise can enforce how links work across the workspace, but it still does not provide conditional rules that automatically distribute each matching meeting to the right internal people or teams. Evidence: [Granola workspaces](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/workspaces), [Granola spaces and folders](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/folders/spaces-and-folders), [Granola sharing controls](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/consent-security-privacy/sharing-controls), [Granola note sharing](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/sharing-notes). **Plaud:** Personal sharing, Team member access, and Routines. Personal plans include sharing and exports. Team files are private until shared with workspace members, with member-restricted links rather than public external links. Routines can deliver notes through connected tools, but this does not grant access to the source recording or establish workspace-wide sharing defaults. Evidence: [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing), [Plaud Team sharing](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57138357578649-Sharing-content-in-Plaud-Team), [Plaud Intelligence Team update](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/get-ready-new-plaud-intelligence-for-team), [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines). ### Automations **Plaud has broader documented support for automations.** **Granola:** Zapier triggers from folders or manually shared notes. Paid users can trigger Zapier when a note is added to a chosen folder or manually shared, then create tasks in Linear, Asana, Trello, Monday, and thousands of other apps. This is useful, but there is no automatic every-meeting trigger in the documented integration and Granola does not center conditional custom extraction and multi-action workflows in the product itself. Evidence: [Granola integrations](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/integrations/integrations-with-granola), [Granola spaces and folders](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/folders/spaces-and-folders), [Granola Zapier](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/integrations/zapier). **Plaud:** Conditional Routines, Skills, and connected actions. Plaud Intelligence replaces AutoFlow with Routines, which can run on schedules or conditions such as a completed recording. Skills define reusable tasks and can be shared on Team. Existing AutoFlows do not carry over automatically. Running Skills and Routines consumes Plaud Credits, separate from transcription minutes. Evidence: [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines), [Plaud Agent credits](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/piplcrinto). ### Integrations **Plaud has broader documented support for integrations.** **Granola:** Notion, Slack, Attio, HubSpot, Affinity, Zapier, API, and MCP. Business includes integrations for sending notes to connected tools. Zapier can turn folder notes into tasks across 8,000+ apps; more complex workflows require setup in the destination or automation tool. Evidence: [Granola integrations](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/integrations/integrations-with-granola), [Granola Zapier](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/integrations/zapier). **Plaud:** Agent connectors, Zapier, and developer tools. Agent lists Slack, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Outlook, Notion, Linear, and Zapier connectors. More Microsoft 365 integrations and a Salesforce note-sync connector are described as upcoming. Connected Agent actions use credits. MCP and CLI provide another route for assistants and custom workflows. Evidence: [Plaud Intelligence Team update](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/get-ready-new-plaud-intelligence-for-team), [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines). ### API, MCP, CLI, and data portability **Both products support API, MCP, CLI, and data portability, with different scope and plan limits.** **Granola:** MCP and API on Business+; material export and scope limits. Personal API keys are beta on Business/Enterprise and can return transcripts for notes the key owner may access; Enterprise organization keys can cover Team-space notes. MCP also has a transcript tool, but uses OAuth, has no service-account key, and cannot directly access Team-space folders. Bulk CSV export excludes transcripts and admins cannot export every member’s notes, so programmatic access exists but workspace portability is not complete. Evidence: [Granola MCP](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/integrations/mcp), [Granola API](https://docs.granola.ai/introduction), [Granola data export](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/exporting-notes). **Plaud:** MCP and CLI retrieval; separate Embedded SDK/API. Plaud MCP and CLI retrieve recording metadata, speaker-labeled transcripts, summaries, and audio links. CLI search matches recording names across up to 500 recent files, rather than semantic transcript search. The Embedded device SDK and transcription API are separate offerings; the cited docs do not establish a full REST API for the consumer workspace. Evidence: [Plaud MCP](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/mcp), [Plaud CLI](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/cli), [Plaud developer platform](https://docs.plaud.ai/overview). ### Security, privacy, and admin **Both products support security, privacy, and admin, with different scope and plan limits.** **Granola:** User management on Business; retention and organization controls on Enterprise. SSO, retention, enforced sharing/API controls, participant notification, and organization training defaults require Enterprise; Granola documents SSO for organizations with at least 50 seats. There is no native password or MFA system—authentication delegates to Google, Microsoft, or Enterprise SSO. Notes and transcripts persist indefinitely unless deleted or covered by Enterprise retention, and admins do not get a one-click workspace export. Evidence: [Granola pricing](https://www.granola.ai/pricing), [Granola subscriptions and billing](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/managing-your-account/subscriptions-and-billing), [Granola security and data FAQ](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/consent-security-privacy/security-privacy-data-faqs). **Plaud:** Security certifications and Team administration. Plaud lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001/27701, GDPR, and HIPAA support. Team adds billing, seat and device management, secure offboarding, and workspace-level data residency. Content remains private until shared. The Team FAQ says SSO is not yet supported; a workspace has a two-seat minimum. Evidence: [Plaud Team requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57466295856537-What-is-Plaud-Team), [Plaud Team administration](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-team), [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing). ### Languages **Plaud has broader documented support for languages.** **Granola:** Multilingual transcription. Granola supports multiple languages, but it does not publish the same 100+ headline count as several rivals. Test switching, accents, and domain vocabulary on real calls. Evidence: [Granola transcription](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription). **Plaud:** 112 transcription languages. Plaud documents transcription in 112 languages with speaker labeling and custom vocabulary. Validate performance on the languages, accents, and specialized terminology you use; the supported-language count is not an independent accuracy comparison. Evidence: [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing). ## A third option to consider: Circleback Circleback records online meetings with a meeting bot or bot-free desktop app, then turns them into detailed notes, speaker-labeled transcripts, and automatically assigned action items. Automatic sharing, search, and automations turn those meetings into shared company memory. People and AI agents can use the same complete record through the app, API, MCP, and CLI. In-person conversations captured on mobile or Apple Watch, plus imported recordings, flow through the same system. Circleback can also search connected apps and take action in them. It is built for people and AI agents: the same complete meeting data available to a person is available programmatically to ChatGPT, Claude, other agents, and internal tools through the API, MCP, and CLI. Free; Pro from $15/user/month annually; Business from $25/user/month annually; Enterprise $35/user/month, billed annually. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which is better: Granola or Plaud? Granola keeps the workflow close to a personal notepad and deletes source audio. Plaud keeps recordings and adds dedicated capture devices, reusable templates, and credit-based Agent workflows. ### Which is less expensive, Granola or Plaud? Granola: Free; Business $14/user/month; Enterprise from $35/user/month, billed monthly. Plaud: Devices list at $159–$189; AI plans priced separately. Compare the paid seats, included usage, recording access, and admin features you actually need. ### Can Granola and Plaud record without a bot? Granola: Manual bot-free desktop, phone, and Apple Watch capture. Plaud: Dedicated recorders, bot-free desktop, and imports. Check whether your preferred recording method preserves video and speaker labels. ### Which is better for a whole company? Compare automatic sharing, permissions, retention, and the defaults admins can enforce. Granola: Private by default; sharing starts with a note or folder. Plaud: Personal sharing, Team member access, and Routines. ### Can I access and move the full meeting data? Granola: MCP and API on Business+; material export and scope limits. Plaud: MCP and CLI retrieval; separate Embedded SDK/API. Check the selected plan, authentication model, transcript scope, export format, and retention window for the workflow you need. ### How was this comparison researched? We use first-party pricing pages, product pages, help docs, and release notes for both products. Links appear in each feature comparison and in the Sources section. ## Methodology Circleback reviews first-party pricing pages, product pages, help docs, and release notes. Prices and features change; confirm the details that matter to your decision in the linked sources. Every feature dimension links to the exact first-party documents used for that claim. Ratings describe documented breadth, not an overall score or winner. This page is a neutral competitor-to-competitor comparison. There are no paid placements or affiliate rankings. ## First-party sources ### Granola sources - [Granola pricing](https://www.granola.ai/pricing): Basic, Business, and Enterprise prices and feature gates. - [Granola subscriptions and billing](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/managing-your-account/subscriptions-and-billing): 30-day free history, workspace privacy, plan uniformity, and removal behavior. - [Granola integrations](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/integrations/integrations-with-granola): Notion, Slack, CRM, Zapier, MCP, and API integrations. - [Granola Zapier](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/integrations/zapier): Paid-plan manual and folder triggers, note payload, workspace sharing, and task handoff across Zapier destinations. - [Granola action-item extraction](https://www.granola.ai/blog/meeting-action-items-ai-extraction): Automatic extraction of source-linked commitments, owners, and due dates from the transcript and human notes. - [Granola workspaces](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/workspaces): Private-by-default notes and team-space collaboration behavior. - [Granola sharing controls](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/consent-security-privacy/sharing-controls): Personal link defaults and Enterprise-enforced workspace link restrictions. - [Granola note sharing](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/sharing-notes): No attendee auto-sharing, note and integration sharing, and limited transcript visibility on public note links. - [Granola spaces and folders](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/folders/spaces-and-folders): Shared folders, recurring-meeting auto-add, and automatic posting to connected tools. - [Granola feature requests](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/feature-requests): Current product-request status, including automatic meeting start. - [Granola iOS](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/ios/getting-started): In-person/outbound calls and mobile limitations. - [Granola Android launch](https://www.granola.ai/blog/introducing-granola-for-android): Android in-person capture and cross-device note access. - [Granola Apple Watch launch](https://www.granola.ai/blog/granola-for-apple-watch): One-tap in-person capture, reminders, syncing, availability, and watchOS requirement. - [Granola transcription](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription): Desktop “Me/Them” behavior, iPhone diarization, transcript copying, segment deletion, and lack of prerecorded-file support. - [Granola data export](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/exporting-notes): Individual and bulk exports, CSV transcript omission, and the absence of workspace-wide admin export. - [Granola MCP](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/sharing/integrations/mcp): OAuth access, plan gates, transcript tool, 30-day Basic history, and Team-space folder limitation. - [Granola API](https://docs.granola.ai/introduction): Personal beta keys, Enterprise keys, permitted-note scope, transcripts, and meeting data. - [Granola security and data FAQ](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/consent-security-privacy/security-privacy-data-faqs): Model-improvement defaults, individual opt-out, and Enterprise organization-wide enforcement. ### Plaud sources - [Plaud devices](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-device-comparison): Model-specific controls, phone-call/in-person capture, charging, storage, and list prices. - [Plaud recording controls](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/55643286546329-How-to-Record): Press-and-hold recording and model-specific highlight controls. - [Plaud plans](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing): Individual and Team prices, transcription allowances, launch offers, and included features. - [Plaud desktop](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-desktop): Bot-free capture, meeting detection, recording modes, screenshots, highlights, and typed notes. - [Plaud desktop requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/53795026112409-Device-binding-required-notice-on-Plaud-Desktop): Individual Starter activation requires a device bound to the account. - [Plaud Team requirements](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57466295856537-What-is-Plaud-Team): Two-seat minimum, roles, privacy, and Team desktop capture without hardware. - [Plaud Team administration](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-team): Team management, data residency, and the FAQ stating SSO is not yet supported. - [Plaud Team sharing](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/57138357578649-Sharing-content-in-Plaud-Team): Private-by-default recordings and member-only file sharing and links. - [Plaud cross-recording questions](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51041335681689-Ask-Across-All-Files-Ask-Plaud): Questions across transcribed recordings and source-file references. - [Plaud Skills and Routines](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/plaud-intelligence-skills-routines): Conditional automation, shared Skills, Agent credit costs, and AutoFlow migration limits. - [Plaud Intelligence Team update](https://www.plaud.ai/blogs/news/get-ready-new-plaud-intelligence-for-team): Shared Agent context, launch connectors, forthcoming integrations, and account updates. - [Plaud Agent credits](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/piplcrinto): Transcription versus Agent usage, nonrenewing launch grants, and paid credit top-ups. - [Plaud MCP](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/mcp): Recording, summary, transcript, and audio-link retrieval through authenticated MCP. - [Plaud CLI](https://docs.plaud.ai/plaud-mcp-cli/cli): Command-line retrieval and name-based search limited to 500 recent recordings. - [Plaud developer platform](https://docs.plaud.ai/overview): Distinguishes the Embedded device SDK/transcription API from access to Plaud account data.