At a glance
Both are bot-free Mac notepads that delete the raw audio after transcribing. Where they diverge is who they're built for, where your data lives, and whether you can take your meetings into your own AI.
- Bot in the call — Nod: none · Granola: none. Both capture your device's audio.
- Stored audio — Nod: never — held in memory ~5s, then discarded · Granola: deletes raw audio after transcribing (verify current policy).
- Where data lives — Nod: EU (AWS eu-west-1, Ireland), AES-256, per-user isolation · Granola: cloud AI, US (verify).
- Model training — Nod: none, Zero Data Retention upstream · Granola: check their current policy.
- Built for — Nod: the individual first — personal Gmail, no Workspace plan, nothing to roll out; team support is in the works · Granola 2.0: teams and orgs — shared folders, seats, org-wide Browse today.
- Your own AI — Nod: read your meetings inside ChatGPT or Claude via an official read-only connection · Granola: not offered (verify).
- Cross-meeting recall — Nod: 'Ask Nod' semantic search across your whole history · Granola: chat across a shared folder (2.0).
- Platforms — Nod: macOS only · Granola: Mac and Windows. (If you're on Windows, Granola wins here.)
- Languages — Nod: 14, including Serbian; notes return in the meeting's language · Granola: verify current list.
- Pricing — Nod: free 14-day trial, then paid · Granola: free plus paid tiers.
Built for one vs built for the org
This is where they split. Granola 2.0 leaned into the team: shared folders by function, chat across a folder of meetings, an org-wide Browse view, and seats. That's useful when a company is paying and wants shared context. Nod assumes the opposite — no company, no Workspace, no IT ticket. You sign in with a personal Gmail, it works on your first call, and your meetings stay yours instead of becoming a shared org asset.
The one case that points to Granola is a company rolling out admin-controlled, org-wide meeting intelligence across seats. For everyone else, the individual who picks and pays for their own tools, Nod is built for exactly that, and that is most people reading this.
Where your data lives — and who can train on it
Both delete the raw audio, so on that axis they're close. The difference is region and verifiability. Capture is local on your Mac; transcription isn't. Each audio segment is sent through a European proxy to a hosted transcription service and discarded the instant the text returns, under Zero Data Retention and with no model training. No audio is stored at either end. Only the transcript and summary are saved, encrypted at rest in the EU (AWS eu-west-1). See the security page.
For people who need EU data residency, or who want plain first-party guarantees they can read rather than infer, that's the axis to weigh.
Your meetings, inside your own AI
Nod exposes your meetings, read-only, to the AI clients you already use: the ChatGPT plugin and Claude connector can list your meetings, pull a transcript, and answer across them — scoped to just your account. So instead of chatting only inside the notepad, you can bring your recall into whichever assistant fits the work. See Nod for ChatGPT and Nod for Claude.
Switching from Granola
Already have history in Granola? Nod imports it. From Settings, Import from Granola reads Granola's own offline cache file on your Mac and brings your past transcripts in. It reads a local file only — no Granola account, no password, no network call to Granola, and nothing is ever sent to Granola. Only transcript text, speaker side, and timestamps are imported; Granola's own notes aren't. Details on the security page.
Who each is for
Choose Nod if you want a private, EU-hosted meeting memory with no bot, no stored audio, recall across every call, and the option to read it all inside your own AI. For an individual who owns their own tools, this is the default pick.
Consider Granola only if you specifically need to roll out shared team workspaces across an organization, or you're on Windows.
Still shopping the whole category? See our Granola alternatives roundup, with Jamie, Krisp, Tactiq, and others.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nod a good Granola alternative?
For an individual who wants privacy and EU hosting, yes, and for most people it is the better pick. Both are bot-free Mac notepads that delete the raw audio, but Nod is built for one person (personal Gmail, no Workspace), hosts data in the EU with no model training, adds cross-meeting 'Ask Nod' search, and lets you read your meetings inside ChatGPT or Claude. Granola fits better only if you specifically need shared team workspaces or Windows.Can I import my Granola notes into Nod?
Yes. From Settings, 'Import from Granola' reads Granola's offline cache file on your Mac and imports your past transcripts — locally and offline, with no Granola account and no data ever sent to Granola. Only transcript text, speaker side, and timestamps come across.What's the real difference between Nod and Granola?
Direction. Granola 2.0 moved toward teams and org-wide intelligence — shared folders, seats, Browse. Nod stays a personal meeting memory: built for one, EU-hosted, no stored audio, no model training, with recall across every meeting and a connector to read your meetings inside your own AI.Is Granola or Nod better for teams?
If you need shared folders, seats, and an org-wide Browse view right now, Granola ships those today and Nod does not. Nod starts with the individual — no Workspace plan, no seats, no IT ticket — which is why it is the better pick if you choose and pay for your own tools. Team support is being built; talk to us if that is what you are waiting for.Where is my data stored with each?
Nod stores only the transcript and summary in the EU (AWS eu-west-1, Ireland), encrypted with AES-256 under per-user Row-Level Security, with no model training; audio is discarded from memory about five seconds after capture. Granola runs its AI in the cloud, commonly documented as US-hosted — verify the current region on its privacy page.