Meeting apps for MacHead to head
Granola vs MacWhisper
Granola ranks #1 and MacWhisper ranks #2 in our guide to the best meeting apps for Mac. Granola is our pick for most people.
GranolaPick Granola if you're on calls most of the day and want notes written for you with no bot in the room.Free to start#2 in the guide
MacWhisperPick MacWhisper if your recordings must stay on your Mac, like client calls or research interviews.Free to startWhat decides it
- On price: Granola is free with 30 days of meeting history. Business is $14 a user a month. MacWhisper is free. Pro is a one-time €65 license with lifetime updates.
- Both run on Mac. Only Granola runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Side by side
Prices are checked every day.
| At a glance | Granola | MacWhisper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free with 30 days of meeting history. Business is $14 a user a month | Free. Pro is a one-time €65 license with lifetime updates |
| How you pay | Free, with paid upgrades | Free, with paid upgrades |
| Free trial | Free to start | Free to start |
| Runs on | Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | Mac |
| Where to buy | App Store, Developer | Developer |
| Rating | 5 15K ratings | Too few ratings |
| Features | Widgets | None flagged |
| Made by | Granola inc | Not listed |
| Last updated | 1 Nov 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 |
Who should get which
Get Granola if
You are on calls most of the day and want clean notes without a recording bot in the meeting.
Get MacWhisper if
You record interviews, lectures or client calls and want a transcript without sending the audio to a cloud service.
Skip Granola if
You need to look up notes from months ago but won't pay $14 a month to keep that history.
Skip MacWhisper if
You just want to talk instead of type now and then; the Mac's built-in dictation handles that free.
Our verdicts
Granola
Free for AI meeting notes with 30 days of history, Granola listens through your computer's audio instead of sending a bot into the call, then writes up decisions and action items. The iPhone app does the same for phone calls and in-person chats, and you can chat with your notes to draft a follow-up. Anything older than 30 days needs Business at $14 a user a month, which adds up fast for a team.
MacWhisper
Apple's built-in dictation types what you say, but it can't turn a 2-hour interview file or a Zoom call into a transcript; MacWhisper does both on your Mac without uploading the audio. The free version already handles files, call recordings and subtitle exports. Pro is a one-time €65, charged in euros, and it is worth it mainly for automatic speaker labels and batch transcription.
What each one helps you do
Granola
- Get meeting notes without typing during calls
- Skip the bot that joins your video call
- Find what was decided in last week's call
- Draft a follow-up from your meeting notes
MacWhisper
- Transcribe hours of audio without uploading it
- Record and transcribe Zoom and Teams calls
- Make subtitle files for your videos
- Dictate into any app on your Mac
Where to get them
Granola
Free with 30 days of meeting history. Business is $14 a user a month
MacWhisper
Free. Pro is a one-time €65 license with lifetime updates
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From the developerPro is a one-time €65 license, charged in eurosFree downloadGet it
Neither one quite right?
The other picks in our guide to the best meeting apps for Mac.
KrispPick it if people on your calls hear kids, cafe chatter or echo behind you.From $8
LoomPick this if a 2-minute video would replace half the meetings on your calendar.Free to start
Read the full guideAll Granola alternativesAll MacWhisper alternatives
