FluidVoice and Granola solve different jobs. FluidVoice is a Mac dictation app; Granola is a bot-free meeting notes tool. Ottex is our tool, and it sits between them with dictation, meetings, and finished writing outputs.
Ottex
Mac, iOS · Free tier · $14/mo · PAYG
Ottex is unusually broad for a young Mac/iOS-first tool: it turns dictation and meetings into emails, tickets, CRM updates, notes, and docs, but it is not the pick if you need Windows, Android, web, browser extension, or compliance paperwork.
Choose if
You want one tool for system-wide dictation, meeting recording, and finished written outcomes like follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, and docs
You want a real free path: unlimited local dictation, file transcription, and meetings on Mac with Whisper/Parakeet, or BYOK instead of a forced subscription
You need multilingual dictation with 100+ languages, auto-detection, mixed-language speech, personal vocabulary, and per-app output rules
Look elsewhere if
You need Windows, Android, Linux, web access, or a browser extension
You need mature team infrastructure such as a shared workspace, API/webhooks, third-party note destinations, or assistant chat over transcripts today.
FluidVoice
Mac · Limited free
FluidVoice is a free, open-source macOS dictation tool with local model options and system-wide insertion, but it is not a meeting assistant and its public claims are thin on formatting, collaboration, and enterprise controls.
Choose if
You want a free, GPLv3 macOS dictation app with no paid tiers.
You use macOS 15 Sequoia or later and want voice input that works across text fields with a global hotkey.
You want control over speech models, including local options and Whisper support for up to 99 languages.
Look elsewhere if
You need Windows, web, iOS, Android, Linux, or browser-extension support.
You need meeting recording, summaries, action items, speaker identification, calendar integration, or shared team memory.
Granola is a strong bot-free meeting notes tool with polished AI summaries and team memory, but it is not a general dictation or file-transcription app.
Choose if
You want bot-free meeting capture that records from your mic and computer audio without joining calls.
You want AI meeting notes shaped by your own notes, with action items, decisions, follow-up emails, and reusable prompts.
You want a team meeting memory with shared workspaces, folders, cross-meeting Q&A, and Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar support.
Look elsewhere if
You need system-wide dictation, hotkeys, voice commands, auto-formatting, snippets, or text insertion into other apps.
You need imported audio or video file transcription, batch processing, timestamps, or export controls with public vendor claims behind them.
The evidence
What actually differs, claim by claim.
Each section opens with the takeaway. The table underneath is the receipt — every cell carries its source and the date we checked it.
Pricing
FluidVoice is the cheapest path if you only need Mac dictation: Free is free forever with no paid tiers. Granola has a real meeting free tier at 25 meetings/month, then Business is $18/seat/mo for unlimited meetings. Ottex has the broadest pricing shape with free local AI, free BYOK, PAYG at $0.2/hour, Pro at $14/mo, and Team at $24/seat/mo.
See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026
Ottex
FluidVoice
Granola
Free tier
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Whisper & Parakeet run on your Mac. Dictation and meetings, $0.
PartialSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Free forever, no paid tiers
PartialSource: granola.ai/pricing — checked Jun 202625 meetings/month
Subscription
$14/moSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.
NoNo subscription plan
$18/moSource: granola.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Business is $18 per member/month or $14 per member/month billed annually.
Pay-as-you-go / one-timeEscape the flat subscription
$0.2/hourSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Hosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).
NoSubscription only
NoSubscription only
Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026OpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers.
YesSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Optional AI provider API keys can be added for enhanced transcription.
No public claim
Education discount
NoSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Same pricing for everyone.
No public claim
No public claim
Platforms
Granola wins platform coverage with Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. FluidVoice is Mac-only, which is fine for a single macOS 15 Sequoia-or-later dictation workflow but excludes Windows, web, iOS, Android, and Linux users. Ottex covers Mac and iOS, so it beats FluidVoice on mobile but loses to Granola on Windows and Android.
See the evidence — 5 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026
Ottex
FluidVoice
Granola
Platforms
Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
MacSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026
Mac, Windows, iOS, AndroidSource: granola.ai/download — checked Jun 2026
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Native Swift app, ~50MB RAM.
YesSource: altic.dev/fluid — checked Jun 2026The vendor describes FluidVoice as a native macOS app.
No public claim
Meetings & team memory
Granola wins meeting capture because it is built for bot-free meetings, records from mic and computer audio, and supports team memory. FluidVoice has meetings marked false, so it does not compete on recording, speaker separation, calendar, or shared memory. Ottex has meetings marked true and adds recording to a dictation product, but Granola is the clearer meeting-first pick today.
See the evidence — 17 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026
Ottex
FluidVoice
Granola
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026With speaker separation.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
YesSource: help.granola.ai/article — checked Jun 2026Granola records and transcribes meetings without joining as a bot.
Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026System-audio capture, no bot joins the call.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
YesSource: granola.ai — checked Jun 2026Granola does not send a bot to meetings.
Speaker separation
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
No public claim
Calendar detection
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Calendar-based meeting detection.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
YesSource: help.granola.ai/article — checked Jun 2026Granola surfaces calendar events and can start notes from upcoming meetings.
Cross-meeting search
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
YesSource: help.granola.ai/article — checked Jun 2026Ask Granola can answer across past meetings.
Shared team memory
PartialSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Public share links, not a full team workspace.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
YesSource: granola.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Business workspaces include shared notes and folders for teams.
From meeting to finished work
Granola wins classic meeting intelligence with AI notes, action items, decisions, follow-up emails, reusable prompts, shared workspaces, folders, cross-meeting Q&A, and calendar support. FluidVoice has meetings false and dictation true, so it is not built for meeting follow-through. Ottex is the surprise because it connects dictation and meetings to finished work like follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PR
See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026
Ottex
FluidVoice
Granola
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Decisions with owners extracted.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
YesSource: help.granola.ai/article — checked Jun 2026Granola can extract decisions from meetings through templates and AI notes.
Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Drafted from templates or your own.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
YesSource: help.granola.ai/article — checked Jun 2026Recipes can generate follow-up emails from meetings.
CRM update / ticket draft
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Structured for the target app.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
YesSource: help.granola.ai/article — checked Jun 2026Granola lists Attio as an integration for sending meeting notes to CRM records.
Your rough notes steer the result
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Rough notes and instructions steer the result.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
YesSource: help.granola.ai/article — checked Jun 2026User notes are used to guide the generated meeting notes.
Dictation & transcription AI
FluidVoice beats Granola for dictation because FluidVoice has dictation true, file transcription true, BYOK true, and 99 languages, while Granola has dictation false and file transcription false. Ottex is strongest overall for dictation AI with dictation true, file transcription true, BYOK true, localOption true, and 100 languages. Granola should not be chosen for system-wide text insertion, voice input, imported-a
See the evidence — 10 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026
Ottex
FluidVoice
Granola
Engines
Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Source: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.
Nemotron Speech 3.5, Parakeet Flash, Parakeet TDT v3, Parakeet TDT v2, Cohere Transcribe, Apple Speech, Whisper Tiny/Base/Small/Medium/LargeSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026The README lists these supported speech models.
No public claim
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Whisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.
PartialSource: altic.dev/fluid — checked Jun 2026Local speech models are supported, while Cohere and AI enhancement use optional cloud providers.
NoSource: help.granola.ai/article — checked Jun 2026Granola states it requires an internet connection to transcribe and generate notes.
Model selection per task
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Choose the model per task and per provider.
YesSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Users can choose among multiple supported speech models.
No public claim
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.
No public claim
No public claim
Per-app output rules
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Per-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email.
No public claim
NoSource: granola.ai — checked Jun 2026Not supported
Cost
What a year actually costs at your volume.
Personal or team — switch tabs. Subscriptions are flat; usage-based pricing depends on how much you speak and meet.
OttexPro$168/yr$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.
GranolaBusiness+ Dictation Daddy Free for dictation — $0/yr$168/yr$168 + $0Business is $18 per member/month or $14 per member/month billed annually. · Unlimited meetings
Estimates, not quotes. Striped bar segments are the cost of the second app you picked above to cover the gap — rankings use that combined total. PAYG and BYOK usage are estimated at provider at-cost rates ($0.2/h dictation, $0.5/h meetings) — bring-your-own-key plans still pay the model provider per use. One-time licenses are amortized over 2 years. Subscriptions use published pricing, checked Jun 2026.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
FluidVoice vs Granola: which should I pick?
Pick FluidVoice if you want free Mac dictation with BYOK, file transcription, and 99 languages. Pick Granola if you want bot-free meeting notes across Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android with 25 free meetings/month or $18/seat/mo Business. Pick Ottex if you want one Mac/iOS tool for dictation, meetings, files, and finished outputs.
Is FluidVoice free?
Yes. FluidVoice lists Free as free forever with no paid tiers, so it is the simplest no-subscription choice for Mac dictation. It is not a meeting assistant, and it is Mac-only.
Is Granola free?
Granola has a Basic free plan with 25 meetings/month. That is a real meeting-note allowance, but unlimited meetings require Business at $18/seat/mo or Enterprise custom pricing. For a genuinely free option that also covers local dictation, file transcription, and meetings, consider Ottex.
How much does FluidVoice cost compared with Granola?
FluidVoice costs $0/year because its only listed plan is Free forever. Granola costs $0 on Basic for 25 meetings/month, then $18/seat/mo for Business with unlimited meetings. Ottex adds cheaper flexible paths for broader use: free local AI, free BYOK, PAYG at $0.2/hour, and Pro at $14/mo.
Is FluidVoice or Granola better for privacy?
FluidVoice is the better pick if privacy means using your own key, because BYOK is true for FluidVoice and false for Granola. The digest does not make either FluidVoice or Granola a fully local option. Ottex is the privacy-first option here because it has BYOK true and localOption true.
Does FluidVoice or Granola work on Windows or Android?
Granola works on Windows and Android, plus Mac and iOS. FluidVoice is Mac-only, so it is the wrong pick if you need Windows, Android, Linux, web, or browser-extension support. Ottex is also not the Windows or Android answer because it covers Mac and iOS.
Does FluidVoice or Granola work offline?
Neither tool is listed with localOption true in the digest, so do not choose either as the clear fully on-device option. FluidVoice is still stronger than Granola for dictation because it has BYOK, file transcription, and 99 languages, while Granola has none of those dictation flags. Ottex is the offline/local option here because localOption is true.
