Read AI vs Granola: the desktop app that captures more than notes
Read AI vs Granola

Granola takes the notes. Read AI captures the meeting.

A native macOS and Windows app that captures meetings as you join them, with no bot in the room. Where Granola stores notes only, Read AI keeps the recording and tells you who said what.

Download on desktop →

Free for macOS and Windows. Also on web and mobile.

5 free meetings/mo No credit card SOC 2 & HIPAA compliant

What the desktop app does

It runs quietly alongside your work and captures from your computer's own audio.

1

Bot-free capture

Captures through your computer's audio across Meet, Teams, Zoom and more, including calls that never hit your calendar.

2

In-person too

Hit start for a desk-side chat or a whiteboard session. Room capture is built in, not bolted on.

3

Hear it back

Recording and playback with speaker-attributed transcripts, so every decision ties to an owner.

Your desktop is the front door, not the ceiling

Start on the desktop app. Everything you capture is waiting wherever you sign in next.

Desktop · macOS & Windows

Where you'll spend your day

The full capture experience: bot-free meeting capture, in-person recording, quick notes, and recaps the moment a call ends.

Web

Not on your own machine

Open any recap in a browser and search across meetings, email, messages and documents with Ask Read.

Mobile · iPhone & Android

Away from a desk

Capture an in-person conversation on your phone, then read the recap before the next meeting starts.

Read AI vs Granola, side by side

How the two desktop apps line up on the questions Granola users ask most.

Audio & playback
Read AI: Recording + playback (video on Enterprise plans)
Granola: No audio stored; notes only
In-person capture
Read AI: Desktop plus iPhone and Android
Granola: Desktop plus iPhone only
Search across everything
Read AI: Meetings, email, Slack & documents
Granola: Meeting notes only
HIPAA out of the box
Read AI: HIPAA compliant
Granola: No HIPAA timeline

Granola claims sourced from granola.ai (reviewed 2026-05-22). See the full comparison →

"With Read AI, we spend less time managing information and more time driving outcomes."

Director of Customer Success, SmartPM
SOC 2 Type 2 GDPR HIPAA No training by default

Put Read AI on your desktop

Download on desktop →

macOS · Windows · free, no credit card

Download on desktop → Free for macOS & Windows · We'll help you install it on your computer