Granola calls itself 'the AI notepad for back-to-back meetings.' You type rough notes during the call; Granola captures audio from your computer (no bot joins), and when the meeting ends it enhances your notes into a polished summary using the transcript. It's a genuinely elegant tool for people who like taking their own notes.
Cluely shares Granola's no-bot architecture — audio is captured on-device, nothing appears in the participant list — but flips the purpose. Instead of polishing notes afterward, Cluely helps during the meeting: live suggested answers with your screen as context, automatic notes without typing anything, and an AI-drafted follow-up email when the call ends.
At a glance
| Feature | Cluely | Granola |
|---|---|---|
No bot joins the call | ||
Real-time answers while you talk Suggested responses during the live conversation | In-meeting chat about the conversation; no suggested live answers | |
Sees your screen for context | ||
Notes without typing | Notes generated automatically | You take notes; AI enhances them after |
AI follow-up email drafts | ||
Ask AI across past meetings | ||
Hidden from screen share & recordings | Yes, on the Pro + Undetectability plan | |
Free tier | 3 meetings + limited AI responses | Notes limited to a rolling 30-day history |
Paid plans | Pro $11.99/mo billed annually ($19.99 monthly) | Business $14/user/mo (monthly billing only) |
Platforms | macOS, Windows, iOS | macOS, Windows, iOS (no web app) |
Comparison based on publicly available information as of April 2026. See Granola's site for their latest pricing and features.
Same architecture, opposite philosophy
Granola and Cluely made the same foundational choice: capture meeting audio from your computer instead of sending a bot into the call. Nothing announces itself, nothing sits in the participant list, and both work with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or anything else that plays audio through your machine.
From there they diverge completely. Granola is a notepad first — it assumes you're the note-taker and AI is your editor. You jot fragments during the call and click enhance when it's over. Cluely assumes you'd rather focus on the conversation: notes happen automatically, and the AI's real job is feeding you answers when a technical question, objection, or curveball lands mid-call.
What Granola doesn't do
Granola's in-meeting chat can answer questions about the conversation — 'what did I miss?' — but it doesn't suggest what to say next, and it has no visibility into your screen. It also generates its polished notes on demand rather than helping in the moment, keeps no audio replay to double-check a mishearing, and its transcripts don't carry named speaker labels.
Granola's free plan limits you to a rolling 30-day note history — your older notes are stored but inaccessible until you upgrade. Its Business plan is $14 per user per month with monthly billing only. Cluely's free Starter plan gives you 3 meetings with limited AI responses; Pro is $11.99/month billed annually for unlimited meetings and responses.
Which should you pick?
Choose Granola if…
- You genuinely like taking your own notes and want AI to polish rather than replace them
- You want a lightweight notepad with team features like shared folders and Notion/Slack/HubSpot integrations
- You don't need help during the call itself — just clean notes afterward
Choose Cluely if…
- You want live suggested answers during high-stakes conversations, not just better notes after
- You want your notes fully automatic — no typing during the call
- You want AI that can see your screen for context
- You want AI-drafted follow-up emails and per-person meeting history
Related: Cluely vs Otter.ai · The best Otter.ai alternatives · What is an AI notetaker?
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