A Granola AI alternative with on-device transcription

By Harshit Maurya, maker of Cued · Updated 16 October 2026

Cued is a Granola AI alternative for Mac if you want the same no-bot AI meeting notes with transcription that stays on your device. Like Granola, nothing joins the call; unlike Granola, which sends audio to cloud transcription providers and doesn't keep it, Cued transcribes and summarises on your Mac and keeps the recording there. It is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, and it adds a teleprompter in the notch for what you want to say.

Cued's meeting summary with a short summary, action items with owners, and key points — After the call: summary, action items with owners, and key points.

Why people look for a Granola AI alternative

The audio leaves your computer. Granola's help says audio goes from your microphone and system audio to its transcription provider, and its security page names providers like Deepgram and Assembly, with OpenAI and Anthropic writing the summaries.
There is no recording to go back to. Granola says it does not record or save audio or video at any point; only the transcript and your notes are kept.
Training on your data. Granola's security page says it trains on anonymised data to improve Granola unless you opt out in Settings; Enterprise has training off by default.
A Google or Microsoft account. Granola's help lists Google, Microsoft and enterprise SSO as the ways to sign in, and Gmail users may have to join a waitlist.
The free plan's 30-day history, and a subscription after that: Business is $14 per user a month.

Cued and Granola AI compared

From Granola's pricing, security and help pages, checked 16 October 2026. Two-year cost is list price times 24 months, for one user.
	Cued	Granola AI
Joins the call as a bot	No	No
Where audio is transcribed	On your Mac	Cloud transcription providers
Where summaries are written	On your Mac	Cloud AI providers (it names OpenAI and Anthropic)
Where notes are stored	On your Mac	In your Granola account, on AWS in the US
Saves the recording	Yes, screen and audio, each transcript line linked to its moment	No; audio is deleted after transcription
Trains AI on your data	No; nothing is uploaded	On anonymised data unless you opt out
Account needed	No Cued account. It asks you to connect Google for calendar and Meet links, and you can continue without it	Yes: Google, Microsoft or enterprise SSO
Works offline	Yes: recording, transcripts and summaries	Not stated; transcription is done by a cloud provider
Free plan	No	Yes, with 30 days of meeting history
Price	One-time: $9 for the first 50 founding members, then $29 with a year of updates	Business $14 per user a month; Enterprise $35
Cost over 2 years	$29 or $29, once	$336 on Business
Teleprompter for what you want to say	Yes, in the notch	No
Platforms	Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 15+)	Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Apple Watch; web to view notes

When Granola AI is the better fit

Granola's notepad blends your own typed notes with the transcript, and it supports sharing with a team. It runs on Windows and phones, and has a free plan. If you take notes as you go and work across devices, it does that well, and its security page says it holds a SOC 2 Type 2 report.

When Cued is the better fit

You want the transcript and summary to be made on your Mac, not in the cloud, and to work offline.
You want the video of the call, with each transcript line linked to its moment.
You want to pay once instead of a monthly subscription.
You want your talking points under the camera while you speak.

How to move from Granola AI to Cued

Cued cannot import Granola notes or transcripts, and Granola has no audio to bring across. Your Granola history stays in Granola.

Keep what you need from Granola. Copy the notes you will want later, especially on the free plan, where history is limited to 30 days.
Install Cued and allow its permissions. Screen Recording and Microphone. Connect Google Calendar or your Mac's Calendar to see your calls.
Write your talking points. Each meeting has a Teleprompter tab; the points show in the notch during the call.
Take your next call. Cued records when the call starts and writes the summary on your Mac after you hang up.

Other Granola AI alternatives

Anarlog (Mac, formerly Hyprnote/Char): the closest local match, an open-source AI notepad with no bot and on-device transcription on the free plan; Pro $14 a month.
MacWhisper (Mac): records meetings with no bots, transcribes on your Mac with local models; free version, Pro €64 once.
Meetily: free, open-source (MIT) local meeting transcription for Mac and Windows.
Jamie: bot-free on Mac and Windows, with data processed and stored in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK; free plan with 10 notes a month.
Fathom: bot or bot-free capture, now on Mac; free plan, Premium $20 a month or $16 yearly.
Otter: a desktop app that records without a bot, though its Notetaker can also join calls; free plan with 300 minutes a month.

Questions

Does Granola AI save audio?

No. Granola says it does not record or save audio or video at any point during the call; only the transcript and your notes are kept.

Does Granola AI work offline?

Granola's help doesn't say it does, and its audio goes to a cloud transcription provider. Cued records, transcribes and summarises offline on your Mac.

Does Granola train AI on my notes?

Granola's security page says it trains on anonymised data to improve Granola, with an opt-out in Settings, and does not let OpenAI or Anthropic train on your data.

Is there a Granola alternative without a subscription?

Yes. Cued is a one-time purchase: $9 for the first 50 founding members, then $29 with a year of updates. MacWhisper Pro is also pay-once, and Anarlog and Meetily have free local options.

Does Cued work like Granola's notepad?

Cued has a Notes tab for each meeting, and its focus is the teleprompter, the recording and the summary.

Can I import my Granola notes?

No. Cued records new calls; it can't import Granola notes or transcripts.

Is Cued available on Windows?

No. Cued is a Mac app for Apple silicon and macOS 15 or later.

Try Cued on your next call. Your script in the notch, your call recorded and summarised on your Mac.

Download for Mac