Syft Notes vs Granola
A free Granola alternative, made for class.
Granola is a great AI notepad for meetings. Syft Notes is made for lectures: it writes down every word on your own computer, files each lecture under its class and turns it into study notes. Here's how the two compare, honestly.
The short version
- Syft Notes is free, for good. Every lecture stays on your computer for as long as you keep it. Granola's free plan keeps 30 days of meeting history; its paid plan is $14 a month.
- Your recordings stay on your computer. Syft Notes transcribes on the computer that recorded the lecture. Granola sends the audio to a transcription service in the cloud.
- It's built round your classes. Lectures are filed by class, next to your Canvas due dates, with formulas, graphs and diagrams in the notes.
- Granola is the better pick for online meetings, for working in a team, and if you want a polished phone app today.
Side by side
| Syft Notes | Granola | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, with no paid plan | Basic $0; Business $14 per user a month; Enterprise $35. Students in the US, UK and Canada can get Business free for 12 months |
| How long you keep notes | As long as you like: they're files on your computer | 30 days of history on the free plan; unlimited on Business |
| Where it's written down | On your own computer (Whisper or Parakeet); works offline once the speech model is downloaded | In the cloud, by transcription providers such as Deepgram and AssemblyAI |
| The audio | Stays on your computer | Not stored by Granola; sent to its transcription provider while you record |
| Who writes the notes | The AI you pick: Gemini (free with a Google account), Claude or ChatGPT with your own plan, or Ollama on your computer | Granola, using AI providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic |
| Account | No Syft Notes account; there's no Syft Notes server | A Google or Microsoft account to sign in |
| Computers | Mac (macOS 15 or later), Windows 10 and 11, Linux | Mac (macOS 14 or later) and Windows |
| Phones | A web app your own library serves; iPhone and iPad app coming soon | iPhone and Android apps |
| Made for | Lectures: classes, Canvas due dates, study notes | Meetings: calendar, calls, sharing with a team |
Why it fits a class better
- Filed by class. When you stop recording, the lecture goes under the right class, worked out from what was said, so a semester of lectures doesn't end up as one long list.
- Study notes, not meeting minutes. A summary, key points, definitions and questions to review, with formulas worked through step by step, graphs you can move and diagrams you can click.
- Canvas due dates beside your notes. Syft Notes reads Canvas through your browser with your own sign-in. It only reads; nothing on Canvas changes.
- Ask your own lectures. Ask about one lecture, a class or all of them, and the answer says which lecture and which minute it came from.
- Every lecture, all semester. Nothing expires and there's no plan to run out of before finals.
- No paid AI needed. Notes are free with a personal Google account, or with an AI that runs on your own computer.
Where Granola is the better pick
- Online meetings and calls. Granola hears your microphone and your computer's sound, so it gets both sides of a Zoom or Teams call without a bot joining. Syft Notes records what your microphone hears, which suits a lecture in the room.
- Working in a team. Granola is built for sharing notes, team workspaces and your work calendar.
- Phone apps today. Granola has iPhone and Android apps now. The Syft Notes iPhone and iPad app isn't out yet.
- An older Mac. Granola runs on macOS 14; Syft Notes needs macOS 15 or later.
- A company's security review. Granola has a SOC 2 Type 2 report, which many workplaces ask for.
- If you're a student in the US, UK or Canada, Granola's student program gives you its Business plan free for 12 months. Worth knowing, if 12 months is all you need.
A note on privacy
With Syft Notes, the recording itself never leaves your computer: it's written down there, and your library is a folder you own. But be clear on one thing: to write your notes, the text of the lecture goes to the AI you picked (Gemini, Claude or ChatGPT), under your own account with them. If you'd rather nothing left your computer at all, pick Ollama, the free AI that runs on your computer, in Settings. The privacy policy has the details.
Granola says it doesn't store your audio, keeps notes in a US-hosted cloud, doesn't let AI providers such as OpenAI or Anthropic train on your data, and trains its own models on anonymised data unless you turn that off in Settings.
Questions
Is Syft Notes really free?
Yes. There's no paid plan, no trial and no limit on lectures. It's open source under the MIT licence. If it helps you, you can buy us a coffee.
Can I bring my Granola notes over?
Yes. In Syft Notes, go to Settings → Granola, press Connect and sign in on Granola's own page. Syft Notes offers each lecture it doesn't have yet. On Granola's free plan it gets the notes from the last 30 days but no transcript; on a paid plan, the transcript too. It only reads from Granola and changes nothing there.
Does it work without the internet?
Recording and writing down the lecture do, once the speech model has downloaded. Notes need the internet unless you use Ollama on your computer.
Do I need an account?
Not for Syft Notes. For free notes through Gemini you sign in with a personal Google account, on Google's own page. With Claude or ChatGPT you use the plan you already have; with Ollama, no account at all.
Can I record a Zoom or Teams class?
Syft Notes records only what your microphone hears, so it picks up a class played out loud through your speakers, but not the call's sound directly. For calls, Granola is the better fit.
Am I allowed to record my lectures?
Check first: many schools and places need everyone's consent, and some lecturers ask you not to.
Facts about Granola are from its pricing, security and student program pages and its setup and transcription guides, as they were on 8 November 2026. They may have changed since. Syft Notes isn't affiliated with Granola.