Notion Meeting Recorder excels within the Notion ecosystem by providing seamless AI transcription and note-taking that integrates directly with existing workspaces, eliminating context switching between tools. The tool automatically generates summaries and action items while supporting both virtual and in-person meetings through local audio capture. However, it requires teams to already use Notion heavily to realize its full potential, comes with an additional $10 monthly cost per user, and offers limited customization beyond Notion's standard capabilities.

Granola positions itself as a privacy-focused AI notepad that transcribes meetings locally without requiring meeting bots, making it work seamlessly across any meeting platform. The tool combines user-typed notes with AI transcription to create enhanced meeting summaries and offers customizable templates for different meeting types. Its main limitations include audio-only recording with no playback capability, the requirement for Google Workspace emails, and relatively high pricing starting at $18 monthly after a 25-meeting trial.

Notion Meeting Recorder is best suited for teams already invested in the Notion ecosystem who want to centralize their meeting notes with project management and documentation workflows. Granola targets individual professionals or small teams who prioritize privacy and flexibility across multiple meeting platforms but don't need deep workflow integrations.

Both tools ultimately function more as enhanced note-taking solutions rather than comprehensive meeting management platforms, offering limited third-party integrations and minimal automation capabilities to help users act on meeting outcomes. While they excel at capturing and organizing meeting content, users must still manually follow up on action items and sync information with other business tools.

Comparison table

What users say about Notion Meeting Recorder and Granola

Notion's AI Meeting Notes feature receives mixed feedback from users, with many appreciating its integration within the Notion ecosystem but questioning its capabilities as a comprehensive solution. Users find it to be a clever, lightweight feature, making it useful for basic recording and note-taking within Notion workspaces. However, reviewers consistently point out that this is not a serious meeting assistant, suggesting it lacks the advanced functionality needed for professional meeting management.

Granola receives significantly more positive user feedback, with reviewers praising its reliability and ease of use for meeting transcription and follow-up tasks. Users consistently highlight that Granola makes transcriptions and follow ups "a breeze", indicating a smoother user experience compared to other solutions. The platform is particularly commended for producing clean, reliable meeting transcripts that users can depend on for their workflow needs.

Users switch away from Notion Meeting Recorder primarily due to its requirement for deep Notion ecosystem adoption. While the tool excels for teams already embedded in Notion's workspace, it presents a significant learning curve for users who don't heavily utilize Notion for their daily operations. The feature isn't plug-and-play outside of Notion's environment, and users often find themselves caught in a "build your setup" trap where they need to configure various Notion pages and databases to extract maximum value from the meeting recorder. This creates friction for teams that simply want a straightforward meeting transcription solution without committing to restructuring their entire workflow around Notion.

The additional cost burden represents another major reason for user departure. Notion's AI meeting notes require a separate paid add-on costing $10 per member per month (or $8 monthly if billed annually), which sits on top of existing Notion plan fees. Users find it difficult to justify this extra expense, especially when they may only need basic meeting transcription capabilities. Unlike standalone meeting tools that offer comprehensive features at a single price point, Notion's approach of layering AI functionality as an expensive add-on creates sticker shock for budget-conscious teams and individuals.

Technical limitations and dependency on existing Notion workflows also drive users to seek alternatives. Unlike dedicated meeting tools that offer features like meeting bots or comprehensive audio/video recording capabilities, Notion's solution relies entirely on the user's device audio setup, creating potential failure points where meetings could be missed if audio capture fails. Additionally, the tool assumes users want to manage all their tasks, notes, and follow-ups within Notion's ecosystem, which doesn't align with teams that prefer specialized tools or have established workflows in other platforms. The lack of robust third-party integrations means users can't easily export or sync their meeting data with external CRMs, calendars, or project management tools without manual effort.

Users switch away from Granola primarily due to its restrictive account requirements and limited accessibility. The platform currently requires a Google Workspace email to sign up, excluding users with personal Gmail accounts or other email providers. This barrier prevents many potential users from even trying the service, forcing them to seek alternatives to Granola that offer more flexible registration options.

The lack of a sustainable free plan creates another significant hurdle for users. While Granola offers a 25-meeting free trial, there is no free forever plan available. Once users exhaust their trial meetings, they must commit to paid subscriptions starting at $18 per month for individuals. Many users find this pricing structure less appealing compared to competitors that offer ongoing free tiers, especially when they're still evaluating whether the tool meets their needs.

Granola's limited platform support and integration capabilities also drive users to seek more comprehensive solutions. The service currently lacks mobile apps, restricting users to desktop-only usage on Mac and Windows systems. Additionally, it offers no native integrations with popular tools like CRM systems or Slack, requiring users to manually export and share notes. For teams that need seamless workflow integration or mobile accessibility, these limitations make Granola unsuitable for their requirements, prompting them to switch to more feature-complete alternatives.

Using Notion Meeting Recorder

Does Notion Meeting Recorder work for in-person meetings?

Yes, Notion Meeting Recorder works for in-person meetings. It can capture in-person discussions using your device's microphone, since it analyzes audio directly without requiring a meeting bot. You can use your phone or laptop in a conference room to transcribe the conversation. The feature works with both online and offline meetings, though you'll want to ensure your device's microphone can pick up all speakers clearly.

Does Notion Meeting Recorder require a meeting bot to join the meeting?

No, Notion Meeting Recorder does not require a meeting bot to join the meeting. Unlike some dedicated meeting tools, it captures audio locally from your device by recording system output and microphone input directly. This means it can transcribe any virtual meeting or live conversation without needing to insert a bot participant into the call.

What do users say about the quality of Notion Meeting Recorder transcriptions?

Users report positive feedback about the transcription quality. Early users mention that Notion's AI does a good job extracting key points from dense conversations and making them accessible and actionable for teams. Users appreciate the swift summaries and action-item generation, which allows them to focus on discussions instead of taking notes manually while ensuring nothing gets forgotten.

How does Notion Meeting Recorder help users follow up on action items?

After a meeting ends, Notion automatically generates a summary with key points and action items. These action items can be converted into checkboxes, assigned to owners, or moved into your task database within Notion with minimal manual effort. The AI is pre-trained to identify decisions and tasks from transcripts, and since everything stays within Notion, you can easily link action items to task boards and relate notes to projects in one integrated system.

Does Notion Meeting Recorder integrate with software like Hubspot, Salesforce, or Linear?

No, Notion Meeting Recorder does not directly integrate with external software like Hubspot, Salesforce, or Linear out-of-the-box. The focus is on keeping everything within Notion rather than pushing data to third-party CRMs or external systems. However, you could potentially route Notion pages containing meeting notes to other systems using Notion's API or tools like Zapier, but there are no native integrations with external business software.

Using Granola

Does Granola work for in-person meetings?

Partially. Granola can transcribe any audio your computer captures, so if you play an in-person meeting's audio through your computer using a microphone and speakers, it will work. However, it's not specifically designed for non-virtual settings and doesn't have a mobile recorder for physical rooms yet.

Does Granola require a meeting bot to join the meeting?

No. Granola works seamlessly without meeting bots by capturing system audio directly from your device. It can transcribe meetings from any app like Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Slack calls, or Webex without needing a bot to join the call.

What do users say about the quality of Granola transcriptions?

Users praise Granola's high transcription accuracy, even for meetings conducted in other languages without manual language settings. The tool features auto-language detection and can handle multilingual meetings easily, with one example noting it successfully handled Russian without requiring any configuration changes.

How does Granola help users follow up on action items?

Granola combines your typed notes with AI transcription to produce enhanced meeting notes after the call. The AI augments your notes with key points, decisions, and action items. It also supports an AI Q&A chat feature that lets you query meeting content. However, it doesn't have automation capabilities to automatically update other apps or create tasks - follow-up actions must be done manually by copying the notes.

Does Granola integrate with software like Hubspot, Salesforce, or Linear?

No. Granola currently has no external integrations at launch. Like Apple Notes, you can copy and share the final notes, but there are no native CRM or other software integrations yet. Data can be exported manually, but there's no automated connection to external platforms.

Another alternative: Circleback

Circleback provides best-in-class AI-powered meeting notes and automations. We support over 100 languages and automatic participant identification in both in-person and online meetings.

• Automatically-identified and assigned action items

• AI-enabled search across all meetings

• Automations with 100+ app integrations

• Industry-leading security with SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and HIPAA compliance

• Ability to capture both online and in-person meetings with desktop and mobile apps