COMPARISONEvery claim sourced · verified Jun 2026

Granola vs Hedy: the honest comparison.

Granola is the stronger pick for shared meeting memory and polished AI notes. Hedy is better if you want live coaching, web access, file import, local options, and a $299 lifetime path. We make Ottex, which is the Mac/iOS option when dictation and finished written output matter too.

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.

Granola

Mac, Windows, iOS, Android · Limited free · $18/mo

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.

Hedy

Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web · Limited free · $12.99/mo · $299 one-time

Hedy is strongest as a bot-free live meeting coach and searchable conversation memory, with local/offline options and broad platform support, but it is not a system-wide dictation tool and lacks proven speaker labels, hotkeys, snippets, or

Choose if

You want real-time coaching during meetings, with questions, blind-spot alerts, talking points, summaries, to-dos, and follow-up recaps after the session.
You need bot-free capture for Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, in-person conversations, or imported audio/video, with apps across iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and web
You value privacy controls: local speech recognition by default, optional local AI, optional cloud sync, GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type I claims.

Look elsewhere if

You need system-wide dictation that inserts polished text into any app; Hedy explicitly does not support system-wide insertion or context-aware dictation.
You need meeting transcripts with publicly claimed speaker identification, timestamp exports, or speaker labels; those claims are not present here.

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

Hedy beats Granola on paid pricing: Hedy Pro is $12.99/mo with unlimited meeting length and sessions, plus a $299 lifetime option, while Granola Business is $18/seat/mo for unlimited meetings. Granola’s free plan is useful if 25 meetings/month is enough, while Hedy’s free plan is capped at 5 hours/month and real-time AI insights only for the first 30 minutes/session. Ottex is the surprise on cost if Mac/iOS works for

See the evidence — 11 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Granola	Hedy
Free tier	YesWhisper & Parakeet run on your Mac. Dictation and meetings, $0.	Partial25 meetings/month	PartialUp to 5 hours per month; Real-time AI insights (first 30 min/session)
Subscription	$14/mo$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.	$18/moBusiness is $18 per member/month or $14 per member/month billed annually.	$12.99/moPro adds unlimited sessions, recording import, cross-session organization, Zapier, and API integrations.
Pay-as-you-go / one-timeEscape the flat subscription	$0.2/hourHosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).	NoSubscription only	$299 one-timeAll future updates included
Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman	YesOpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers.	No public claim	No public claim
Education discount	NoSame pricing for everyone.	No public claim	No public claim

Platforms

Hedy has the broadest platform coverage with Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web across 5 surfaces. Granola covers 4 platforms with Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android, so it only loses the web surface here. Ottex is much narrower at 2 platforms, Mac and iOS, so it is not the pick if Windows, Android, or web access matters.

See the evidence — 5 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Granola	Hedy
Platforms	Mac, iOS	Mac, Windows, iOS, Android	Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke	YesNative Swift app, ~50MB RAM.	No public claim	YesVendor describes a native macOS application.

Meetings & team memory

Granola wins if the meeting system is a team memory: it offers bot-free capture from mic and computer audio, shared workspaces, folders, cross-meeting Q&A, and Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar support. Hedy wins capture breadth with bot-free Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, in-person conversations, and imported audio/video, but the input does not support proven speaker labels. Ottex also records meetings and transcribes

See the evidence — 16 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Granola	Hedy
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all	YesWith speaker separation.	YesGranola records and transcribes meetings without joining as a bot.	YesHedy records live sessions and meeting conversations.
Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call	YesSystem-audio capture, no bot joins the call.	YesGranola does not send a bot to meetings.	YesFeature page says no bot joins calls.
Speaker separation	Yes	No public claim	No public claim
Calendar detection	YesCalendar-based meeting detection.	YesGranola surfaces calendar events and can start notes from upcoming meetings.	YesGoogle Calendar is listed in the help center and news page.
Cross-meeting search	Yes	YesAsk Granola can answer across past meetings.	YesPro users can group sessions and ask questions across conversations weeks ago.
Shared team memory	PartialPublic share links, not a full team workspace.	YesBusiness workspaces include shared notes and folders for teams.	YesSharing sessions and topics is listed in the help center.

From meeting to finished work

Granola is strongest for meeting notes that become action items, decisions, follow-up emails, reusable prompts, and shared team memory. Hedy is strongest during the meeting, with real-time coaching, questions, blind-spot alerts, talking points, summaries, to-dos, and follow-up recaps after the session. Ottex goes further into finished work with follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, and docs, but it

See the evidence — 11 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Granola	Hedy
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear	YesDecisions with owners extracted.	YesGranola can extract decisions from meetings through templates and AI notes.	YesGoogle Play listing says Hedy can find decisions across past conversations.
Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized	YesDrafted from templates or your own.	YesRecipes can generate follow-up emails from meetings.	YesAuto-recap emails are listed for sharing insights.
CRM update / ticket draft	YesStructured for the target app.	YesGranola lists Attio as an integration for sending meeting notes to CRM records.	No public claim
Your rough notes steer the result	YesRough notes and instructions steer the result.	YesUser notes are used to guide the generated meeting notes.	YesHedy 3 added in-meeting note-taking that powers AI suggestions.

Dictation & transcription AI

Neither Granola nor Hedy is a system-wide dictation tool: Granola has no dictation, and Hedy explicitly does not support system-wide insertion or context-aware dictation. Hedy still has the stronger AI/transcription base of the two with local speech recognition by default, optional local AI, file transcription, and 30 languages, while Granola has no local option, no file transcription, and no stated language count. O

See the evidence — 11 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Granola	Hedy
Engines	Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.	No public claim	Two local and two cloud speech recognition providersUsers can choose between private on-device transcription and cloud-based speech recognition.
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine	YesWhisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.	NoGranola states it requires an internet connection to transcribe and generate notes.	YesLocal speech recognition and local AI processing can run on-device and offline.
Model selection per task	YesChoose the model per task and per provider.	No public claim	YesSpeech recognition provider can be changed in Settings > Speech & AI.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence	Yes100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.	No public claim	Yes30+ languages · App Store listing says Hedy supports multilingual conversations while returning insights in the preferred language.
Per-app output rules	YesPer-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email.	NoNot supported	No public claim

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.

You dictate about 3 h a week≈ 23,400 words at ~130 wpm

0 h5 h10 h

and sit in 4 h of meetings a weekhours you'd want captured and turned into follow-ups

0 h7.5 h15 h

Fill the gaps with:

Dictation appadded to meetings-only toolsMeetings appadded to dictation-only tools

OttexOttex Provider — PAYG$135/yrHosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).

OttexPro$168/yr$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.

GranolaBusiness$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.

Granola vs Hedy: which should I pick?

Pick Granola if your priority is polished AI meeting notes and team memory across shared workspaces, folders, and cross-meeting Q&A. Pick Hedy if you want live coaching, file import, local/offline options, Web access, and a lower $12.99/mo Pro plan.

Is Granola free?

Granola has a Basic free plan capped at 25 meetings/month. That can be enough for occasional meeting notes, but unlimited meetings require Business at $18/seat/mo or Enterprise custom pricing.

Is Hedy free?

Hedy has a Free plan with up to 5 hours/month and real-time AI insights only for the first 30 minutes/session. That is a real trial of the workflow, but frequent users will need Pro at $12.99/mo or the $299 lifetime plan.

How much does Granola cost compared with Hedy?

Granola Business is $18/seat/mo for unlimited meetings, while Hedy Pro is $12.99/mo for unlimited meeting length and sessions. Hedy also has a $299 one-time Lifetime plan, so it is the cheaper paid path if its coaching workflow fits.

Is Granola or Hedy safer for privacy?

Hedy wins if privacy is the deciding factor because it states local speech recognition by default, optional local AI, optional cloud sync, GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type I claims. Granola’s provided notes emphasize bot-free capture and team memory, not local or offline processing.

Does Granola or Hedy work on Windows or Android?

Both Granola and Hedy work on Windows and Android, and both also support Mac and iOS. Hedy adds Web access, so it has broader coverage across 5 surfaces.

Does Granola or Hedy use a bot to record?

Both are bot-free. Granola records from your mic and computer audio without joining calls, while Hedy supports bot-free Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, in-person conversations, and imported audio/video.

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