# Granola vs Pocket: pricing, features, and which is better

> Granola and Pocket compared across pricing, capture, speaker labels, recordings, notes, sharing, automations, integrations, AI-agent access, and administration.

- Canonical HTML: https://circleback.ai/compare/granola-vs-pocket
- Structured JSON: https://circleback.ai/compare/granola-vs-pocket.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 is a writing-first notepad that does not retain source audio. Pocket is for people who want a saved recording, a physical capture button, mind maps, and a dedicated task list.

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.

## Pocket at a glance

Pocket combines a single-press recorder with apps for transcripts, summaries, mind maps, and follow-through. Its hardware records independently of a phone, including phone calls through a contact microphone. A separate desktop app captures online meetings without a bot. API, MCP, and webhooks let recordings and action items feed other tools.

**Best for:** People who want dedicated recording hardware for conversations and phone calls, a central task list, and unlimited base transcription.

**Less ideal for:** People who want to avoid another device for in-person recording, or teams that need recorded meeting video and clearly documented conditional workspace sharing.

**Price:** Recorder advertised at $139; optional Pro subscription

The storefront advertises a $139 hardware offer; bundles and promotions vary. Its plan table lists Pro at $19.99/month billed annually ($239.88/year). Other promotional copy uses different bundle and billing terms, so confirm the selected offer. Enterprise has custom pricing. Hardware and Pro are separate costs.

**Free option:** Free includes unlimited base transcription, summaries kept for 30 days, mind maps, tasks, text export, and audio download. Ask Pocket allows three chats per day with three messages each. Pro extends history and adds advanced features.

### Pocket strengths

- A single physical press starts offline capture, with a light and vibration for confirmation. Its contact microphone records phone calls without speakerphone.
- The Checklist gathers extracted tasks across recordings, links them to their source, and supports follow-through through calendars and task integrations.
- Public API, signed webhooks, and MCP support custom workflows. MCP can also update action-item status, due date, priority, and assignee.

### Pocket tradeoffs

- Using the dedicated recorder means buying, carrying, charging, and syncing another device. Desktop capture is a separate option and the desktop app is labeled beta.
- Longer summary history, automatic speaker names, advanced exports, and some integrations require Pro. Speaker detection is unavailable for recordings of three hours or longer.
- Desktop recording captures audio, not video, webcams, shared screens, or meeting chat.

### Choose Pocket when

- You prefer a dedicated physical recording button and offline audio capture.
- You need contact-microphone phone-call recording and unlimited base transcription.
- You want searchable recordings, mind maps, a task hub, and programmable access.

## Feature comparison

| What matters | Granola | Pocket |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 — Single-press hardware and bot-free desktop audio. The recorder captures room audio or phone calls with a physical button and mode slider, storing audio offline until upload. The desktop app records microphone and system audio from Zoom, Teams, Meet, and other calls, with optional meeting detection and Auto Record. Wi-Fi upload can send device recordings directly to the account without the phone nearby. |
| 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 — Recorder, iOS, Android, web, and desktop beta. Pocket has iOS and Android companion apps, web access, and macOS and Windows desktop apps. The desktop download guide explicitly labels the app beta. USB-C Web Sync supports Chrome, Edge, and Brave; Safari and Firefox do not support its required file-system access. No native Apple Watch recording app is documented in these guides. |
| 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. | Available with limits — Dedicated recorder with speaker management. Record in person on the Pocket device without a phone connection. Speaker Management supports naming and merging speakers and finding their other recordings. Automatic speaker detection is unavailable for recordings of three hours or longer. Automatic speaker naming is a Pro feature; detecting separate speakers and naming them are different capabilities. |
| 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, downloads, and recording exports. Pocket retains audio and supports downloads through the app and API. USB-C Web Sync transfers large recordings directly from the device. Recordings can be combined into a merged memory. Desktop capture is audio-only and does not preserve video, webcams, shared-screen content, or chat. |
| 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 — Summaries, mind maps, Ask Pocket, and a task hub. Summaries and mind maps organize recordings; Ask Pocket answers questions with date and recording filters. The Checklist consolidates extracted actions with source references and labels. MCP can search tasks and change status, priority, due date, or assignee. Pro adds unlimited chat and custom templates; free chat is limited. |
| 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 memory, speaker history, and calendar context. Ask Pocket searches conversation history, and named speaker profiles collect their recordings. Calendar Hub connects follow-up actions to calendar events. This provides useful personal context; the cited guides do not document company pages combining email threads, relationship timelines, and rolling company summaries. |
| 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. | Narrow or indirect — Exports, connected destinations, and organization access. Pocket supports exporting recordings and notes to other tools. Organization roles govern access to recordings, templates, and analytics. Its published guides do not establish meeting-level automatic sharing rules by participant, domain, title, and team; confirm those requirements for an Enterprise rollout. |
| 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. | Available with limits — Task follow-through and recording-event webhooks. Automatically add extracted tasks to the Checklist and use calendar or task integrations for follow-up. Webhooks cover completed transcripts and summaries, speaker labeling, and task updates, with personal and organization destinations. Custom backends, Zapier, Make, or n8n can consume these events; organization controls depend on Enterprise packaging. |
| 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 — Calendars, task apps, document sync, and AI tools. Pocket connects calendars and task apps; its Pro table lists Notion, Google Drive, OneDrive, Linear, Asana, and ClickUp sync. MCP connects recordings to AI assistants, while API and webhooks support custom destinations. Confirm which integrations your selected plan includes. |
| 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. | Broad support — Public API, webhooks, and MCP with task updates. The API provides recordings, transcripts, summaries, semantic search, uploads, audio downloads, and organization resources. MCP includes conversation and task search plus task updates on all plans; targeted recording retrieval and synthesized meeting queries require Pro. Recent-transcript retrieval is also available through MCP search. No first-party standalone CLI is documented. |
| 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 — Encryption and Enterprise organization controls. Pocket documents encryption at rest and in transit, US-based processing, and a no-training commitment. Its Organization API defines owner, admin, member, and viewer roles. Enterprise lists centralized billing, recording access controls, organization exports, and BAA support. Verify specific compliance reports and deployment requirements with the vendor. |
| 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 — 120+ languages advertised. Pocket advertises support for more than 120 languages. Test the required languages and mixed-language conversations on real recordings; a published language count does not establish accuracy for a particular accent, room, or specialist vocabulary. |

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

**Pocket 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).

**Pocket:** Single-press hardware and bot-free desktop audio. The recorder captures room audio or phone calls with a physical button and mode slider, storing audio offline until upload. The desktop app records microphone and system audio from Zoom, Teams, Meet, and other calls, with optional meeting detection and Auto Record. Wi-Fi upload can send device recordings directly to the account without the phone nearby.

Evidence: [Pocket recording overview](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs), [Pocket desktop recording](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/getting-started/record-zoom-teams-google-meet), [Pocket Wi-Fi upload](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/device/wifi-upload).

### 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).

**Pocket:** Recorder, iOS, Android, web, and desktop beta. Pocket has iOS and Android companion apps, web access, and macOS and Windows desktop apps. The desktop download guide explicitly labels the app beta. USB-C Web Sync supports Chrome, Edge, and Brave; Safari and Firefox do not support its required file-system access. No native Apple Watch recording app is documented in these guides.

Evidence: [Pocket apps and desktop beta](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/getting-started/download-app), [Pocket Wi-Fi upload](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/device/wifi-upload), [Pocket USB-C Web Sync](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/device/pocket-web-sync).

### In-person capture and speaker labels

**Granola has broader documented support for in-person capture and speaker labels.**

**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).

**Pocket:** Dedicated recorder with speaker management. Record in person on the Pocket device without a phone connection. Speaker Management supports naming and merging speakers and finding their other recordings. Automatic speaker detection is unavailable for recordings of three hours or longer. Automatic speaker naming is a Pro feature; detecting separate speakers and naming them are different capabilities.

Evidence: [Pocket recording overview](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs), [Pocket speaker management](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/ai/speaker-management), [Pocket product and plans](https://heypocket.com/).

### Recordings, playback, and clips

**Pocket 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).

**Pocket:** Saved audio, downloads, and recording exports. Pocket retains audio and supports downloads through the app and API. USB-C Web Sync transfers large recordings directly from the device. Recordings can be combined into a merged memory. Desktop capture is audio-only and does not preserve video, webcams, shared-screen content, or chat.

Evidence: [Pocket product and plans](https://heypocket.com/), [Pocket desktop recording](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/getting-started/record-zoom-teams-google-meet), [Pocket exports and data management](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/organization/data-management), [Pocket USB-C Web Sync](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/device/pocket-web-sync), [Pocket public API](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api).

### 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).

**Pocket:** Summaries, mind maps, Ask Pocket, and a task hub. Summaries and mind maps organize recordings; Ask Pocket answers questions with date and recording filters. The Checklist consolidates extracted actions with source references and labels. MCP can search tasks and change status, priority, due date, or assignee. Pro adds unlimited chat and custom templates; free chat is limited.

Evidence: [Pocket first-day workflow](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/getting-started/day-1), [Pocket Ask Pocket](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/ai/ask-pocket), [Pocket action items](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/productivity/tasklist), [Pocket Pro features](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/plans/pocket-pro), [Pocket MCP](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/mcp).

### 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).

**Pocket:** Recording memory, speaker history, and calendar context. Ask Pocket searches conversation history, and named speaker profiles collect their recordings. Calendar Hub connects follow-up actions to calendar events. This provides useful personal context; the cited guides do not document company pages combining email threads, relationship timelines, and rolling company summaries.

Evidence: [Pocket Ask Pocket](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/ai/ask-pocket), [Pocket speaker management](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/ai/speaker-management), [Pocket first-day workflow](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/getting-started/day-1).

### Automatic sharing and workspace defaults

**Both products cover automatic sharing and workspace defaults narrowly, indirectly, or on limited plans.**

**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).

**Pocket:** Exports, connected destinations, and organization access. Pocket supports exporting recordings and notes to other tools. Organization roles govern access to recordings, templates, and analytics. Its published guides do not establish meeting-level automatic sharing rules by participant, domain, title, and team; confirm those requirements for an Enterprise rollout.

Evidence: [Pocket exports and data management](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/organization/data-management), [Pocket organization controls](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api/organization).

### Automations

**Pocket 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).

**Pocket:** Task follow-through and recording-event webhooks. Automatically add extracted tasks to the Checklist and use calendar or task integrations for follow-up. Webhooks cover completed transcripts and summaries, speaker labeling, and task updates, with personal and organization destinations. Custom backends, Zapier, Make, or n8n can consume these events; organization controls depend on Enterprise packaging.

Evidence: [Pocket action items](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/productivity/tasklist), [Pocket webhooks](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api/webhooks), [Pocket first-day workflow](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/getting-started/day-1).

### Integrations

**Pocket 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).

**Pocket:** Calendars, task apps, document sync, and AI tools. Pocket connects calendars and task apps; its Pro table lists Notion, Google Drive, OneDrive, Linear, Asana, and ClickUp sync. MCP connects recordings to AI assistants, while API and webhooks support custom destinations. Confirm which integrations your selected plan includes.

Evidence: [Pocket product and plans](https://heypocket.com/), [Pocket webhooks](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api/webhooks).

### API, MCP, CLI, and data portability

**Pocket has broader documented support for API, MCP, CLI, and data portability.**

**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).

**Pocket:** Public API, webhooks, and MCP with task updates. The API provides recordings, transcripts, summaries, semantic search, uploads, audio downloads, and organization resources. MCP includes conversation and task search plus task updates on all plans; targeted recording retrieval and synthesized meeting queries require Pro. Recent-transcript retrieval is also available through MCP search. No first-party standalone CLI is documented.

Evidence: [Pocket public API](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api), [Pocket MCP](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/mcp), [Pocket webhooks](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api/webhooks), [Pocket organization controls](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api/organization).

### 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).

**Pocket:** Encryption and Enterprise organization controls. Pocket documents encryption at rest and in transit, US-based processing, and a no-training commitment. Its Organization API defines owner, admin, member, and viewer roles. Enterprise lists centralized billing, recording access controls, organization exports, and BAA support. Verify specific compliance reports and deployment requirements with the vendor.

Evidence: [Pocket organization controls](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api/organization), [Pocket product and plans](https://heypocket.com/), [Pocket trust and privacy](https://heypocket.com/pages/pocket-trust).

### Languages

**Pocket 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).

**Pocket:** 120+ languages advertised. Pocket advertises support for more than 120 languages. Test the required languages and mixed-language conversations on real recordings; a published language count does not establish accuracy for a particular accent, room, or specialist vocabulary.

Evidence: [Pocket product and plans](https://heypocket.com/).

## 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 Pocket?

Granola is a writing-first notepad that does not retain source audio. Pocket is for people who want a saved recording, a physical capture button, mind maps, and a dedicated task list.

### Which is less expensive, Granola or Pocket?

Granola: Free; Business $14/user/month; Enterprise from $35/user/month, billed monthly. Pocket: Recorder advertised at $139; optional Pro subscription. Compare the paid seats, included usage, recording access, and admin features you actually need.

### Can Granola and Pocket record without a bot?

Granola: Manual bot-free desktop, phone, and Apple Watch capture. Pocket: Single-press hardware and bot-free desktop audio. 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. Pocket: Exports, connected destinations, and organization access.

### Can I access and move the full meeting data?

Granola: MCP and API on Business+; material export and scope limits. Pocket: Public API, webhooks, and MCP with task updates. 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.

### Pocket sources

- [Pocket product and plans](https://heypocket.com/): Hardware offers, Free/Pro/Enterprise packaging, integrations, and language coverage.
- [Pocket recording overview](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs): Physical recording controls, capture modes, syncing, and the recording-to-task workflow.
- [Pocket desktop recording](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/getting-started/record-zoom-teams-google-meet): Microphone/system-audio capture, meeting detection, Auto Record, and audio-only limitations.
- [Pocket apps and desktop beta](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/getting-started/download-app): Supported platforms and the explicit desktop beta designation.
- [Pocket Wi-Fi upload](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/device/wifi-upload): Device uploads over saved Wi-Fi networks without the phone nearby.
- [Pocket USB-C Web Sync](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/device/pocket-web-sync): USB-C transfers and the supported browser/file-system requirements.
- [Pocket speaker management](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/ai/speaker-management): Speaker names, merged profiles, recording history, and the three-hour detection limit.
- [Pocket action items](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/productivity/tasklist): Consolidated Checklist, automatic task extraction, labels, and source references.
- [Pocket Ask Pocket](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/ai/ask-pocket): Conversation questions, recording/date filters, chat history, and usage limits.
- [Pocket first-day workflow](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/getting-started/day-1): Summary styles, mind maps, source-linked actions, and calendar follow-through.
- [Pocket Pro features](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/plans/pocket-pro): Paid chat, longer recordings, custom templates, and bulk actions.
- [Pocket exports and data management](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/features/organization/data-management): Exports, combined recordings, bulk management, and deleted-recording retention.
- [Pocket public API](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api): Recording, transcript, summary, search, upload, and audio-download endpoints.
- [Pocket MCP](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/mcp): OAuth/API-key access, read and task-update tools, and per-tool plan requirements.
- [Pocket webhooks](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api/webhooks): Recording and task events, personal/organization destinations, and signature verification.
- [Pocket organization controls](https://docs.heypocketai.com/docs/api/organization): Organization roles, API keys, templates, analytics, recordings, and membership.
- [Pocket trust and privacy](https://heypocket.com/pages/pocket-trust): Encryption, US processing, no model training, and Enterprise BAA availability.
