At a glance
Both are bot-free Mac notepads that delete the raw audio after transcribing. Where they diverge is who can read what, and where your data lives.
- Bot in the call — Nod: none · Granola: none. Both capture your device's audio.
- Stored audio — Nod: never — held in memory ~5s, then discarded · Granola: deletes raw audio after transcribing.
- Model training — Nod: none, with Zero Data Retention upstream · Granola: its security page describes training controls and an opt-out.
- Teams — Nod: organizations where joining shares nothing, teammates see only what you share, and admins cannot open private meetings · Granola: team Spaces with shared folders and access controls.
- Cross-meeting recall — Nod: 'Ask Nod' across your whole history, plus whatever colleagues shared with you · Granola: chat across a shared folder (2.0).
- Platforms — Nod: macOS only · Granola: Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. If you need Windows or mobile, Granola wins here.
- Pricing — Nod: free 14-day trial, then paid · Granola: free plus paid tiers.
Team memory without an admin who can read it
Granola and Nod both let a team ask across shared meetings. In Nod, joining an organization shares nothing. You share a folder or a single meeting, colleagues can read and ask across it, and you can take the share back. Admins manage membership but cannot open, export or search anyone's private meetings. See team context.
Where your data lives — and who can train on it
Both delete the raw audio, so on that axis they're close. The difference is region and verifiability. Capture is local on your Mac; transcription isn't. Each audio segment is sent through a European proxy to hosted transcription, and Nod discards it when the text returns. No model trains on the data. Groq may retain transient error or abuse logs for up to 30 days unless Zero Data Retention is enabled. Only the transcript and summary are saved by Nod, encrypted at rest in the EU (AWS eu-west-1). See the security page.
For people who need EU data residency, or who want plain first-party guarantees they can read rather than infer, that's the axis to weigh.
Switching from Granola
Already have history in Granola? Nod imports it. From Settings, Import from Granola reads Granola's own offline cache file on your Mac and brings your past transcripts in. It reads a local file only — no Granola account, no password, no network call to Granola, and nothing is ever sent to Granola. Only transcript text, speaker side, and timestamps are imported; Granola's own notes aren't. Details on the security page.
Who each is for
Choose Nod if you want a private, EU-hosted meeting memory with no bot, no stored audio, and recall across every call.
Choose Granola if you need Windows or mobile, single sign-on, or its note-enhancement workflow.
Still shopping the whole category? See our Granola alternatives roundup, with Jamie, Krisp, Tactiq, and others.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nod a good Granola alternative?
It can be. Both are bot-free and do not retain meeting audio. Choose Nod for macOS, EU-hosted notes, no training on user data, and working memory across captured conversations. Choose Granola when Windows, mobile, single sign-on, or its note-enhancement workflow is the better fit.
Can I import my Granola notes into Nod?
Yes. From Settings, 'Import from Granola' reads Granola's offline cache file on your Mac and imports your past transcripts — locally and offline, with no Granola account and no data ever sent to Granola. Only transcript text, speaker side, and timestamps come across.
What's the real difference between Nod and Granola?
Who can read what. Granola combines personal notes with team Spaces, administration, and broader platform coverage. Nod is macOS-only, stores notes in the EU, uses no user data for model training, and keeps every meeting private until you share it — with no admin able to open it.
Is Granola or Nod better for teams?
Both support teams. Choose Nod if people should share meetings deliberately and no admin should be able to read private ones. Choose Granola if you need single sign-on or admin-controlled access across the organization.
Where is my data stored with each?
Nod stores transcripts and summaries in the EU (AWS eu-west-1, Ireland), encrypted with AES-256 under per-user Row-Level Security, with no model training; audio is discarded from memory after transcription. Check Granola's current security and privacy documentation directly for storage regions, subprocessors, and plan-specific controls.