Smalt vs Granola
A Granola alternative that keeps your meetings on your Mac
Smalt is a Mac app for meeting notes, dictation and live answers. Like Granola, no bot joins the call. Unlike Granola, the speech is transcribed on your Mac, the notes are files on your Mac, and it is free.
The short version
Granola is a cloud notetaker built for teams: shared notes, integrations, every platform. Smalt is a single-person Mac app: nothing leaves your Mac unless you turn on a feature that needs it, and it also types for you and answers questions during calls.
Side by side
| Smalt | Granola | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, all your Macs | Free (30 days of history), $14 or $35 per user per month |
| Bot joins the call | No | No |
| Where speech is transcribed | On your Mac | In the cloud, through providers like Deepgram and AssemblyAI |
| Where notes are kept | Markdown files on your Mac | Granola's servers (AWS, US) |
| Account | None | Google or Microsoft sign-in |
| Dictation into any app | Yes | Not offered |
| Answers during the call, from your own folders | Yes, optional | Chat over your meeting history |
| Sharing and team workspaces | No | Yes |
| Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Zapier | No | On paid plans |
| Platforms | macOS 14.4+, Apple Silicon | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Languages | 25 European languages | 10 on desktop |
Choose Granola if
- Your team reads and edits the same notes.
- You want notes pushed into Notion, Slack or HubSpot automatically.
- You take calls on Windows or on your phone.
Choose Smalt if
- You'd rather your calls weren't transcribed or stored on someone else's server.
- You want notes as plain files you own, in a folder you choose to sync or not.
- You also want dictation: hold ⌥, talk, and the text appears in any app.
- You'd like answers from your own documents to pop up while the question is still being asked.
- You would rather not add another monthly plan.
Cost
One person on Granola Business pays $168 a year. Smalt is free. If you turn on cloud summaries or built-in live answers, you pay those providers directly with your own keys, usually cents per meeting.
Questions
Is Smalt a good Granola alternative?
If you work alone on a Mac and want your calls transcribed on the Mac instead of in the cloud, yes. If your team shares notes, or you use Windows or a phone, Granola fits better.
Does Smalt join the call like a bot?
No. Like Granola, Smalt records your microphone and system audio. Nothing joins the call.
Can I share Smalt notes with my team?
Smalt has no sharing feature. Notes are Markdown files on your Mac, so you can send or sync them yourself, but there is no shared workspace.
What does Smalt cost next to Granola?
Smalt is free, on all your Macs. Granola's Business plan is $14 per user per month; its free plan keeps 30 days of meeting history.
Granola facts checked on 21 October 2026 from granola.ai/pricing, granola.ai/security and Granola's language docs. Spot something out of date? Write to feedback@getsmalt.com.