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Circleback vs Granola

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Verdict

Circleback is listed under AI Assistants and Granola under Audio & Speech AI. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Circleback is available on Web and CLI.

Best overall

Circleback

  • Sales Teams
  • Product Managers
  • Founders
  • Customer Success Teams

Choose Circleback if

  • You want a tool built for Teams that want automatic meeting notes and CRM or task-tracker updates via bot-free recording.
  • Bot-free desktop recording avoids a visible notetaker in client calls.
  • Free plan includes API, MCP and CLI access and mobile apps.

Choose Granola if

  • You want a tool built for professionals in back-to-back meetings who want notes without a visible recording bot.
  • No bot joins calls, which keeps meetings less intrusive.
  • Notes are private by default with granular sharing controls.
Best for beginners
Circleback
Best for business
Circleback

Features

19 features compared.

  • AI Meeting Notes
    Circleback
    Available
    Granola
    Not available
  • Action Items
    Circleback
    Available
    Granola
    Not available
  • Bot-Free Recording
    Circleback
    Available
    Granola
    Not available
  • Automations
    Circleback
    Available
    Granola
    Not available
  • Ask Circleback
    Circleback
    Available
    Granola
    Not available
  • Custom AI Insights
    Circleback
    Available
    Granola
    Not available
  • Transcription
    Circleback
    Available
    Granola
    Not available
  • Calendar Auto-Join
    Circleback
    Available
    Granola
    Not available
  • Developer Access
    Circleback
    Available
    Granola
    Not available
  • Bot-free capture
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available
  • Notepad with AI enhancement
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available
  • Chat across meetings
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available
  • Pre-meeting briefs
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available
  • Follow-ups and action items
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available
  • Templates and recipes
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available
  • MCP connector
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available
  • Mobile and watch apps
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available
  • Multi-language support
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available
  • Shared folders and sharing controls
    Circleback
    Not available
    Granola
    Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Circleback
    Freemium
    Granola
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Circleback
    Yes
    Granola
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Circleback
    $0
    Granola
    $0
  • Plans
    Circleback
    4 plans
    Granola
    3 plans

Circleback plans

  • Free

    $0

    Core notes and action items for individuals

    • AI meeting notes and action items
    • Ask Circleback
    • bot-free desktop app
    • mobile apps
    • limited automations
    • 30-day meeting history
    • 2 teams

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $18/user/mo

    Full automations and unlimited history

    • Automations with all integrations
    • custom AI insights
    • unlimited meeting history
    • 1 year of recording storage
    • 5 teams

  • Business

    $29/user/mo

    Team administration and retention controls

    • Everything in Pro
    • admin and member roles
    • unlimited free viewers
    • custom data retention
    • usage dashboard
    • 2 years of recording storage
    • unlimited teams

  • Enterprise

    $35/user/mo

    Security, provisioning and support for large organizations

    • Everything in Business
    • SSO (SAML or OIDC)
    • SCIM provisioning
    • invoice or PO billing
    • priority support
    • HIPAA compliance
    • unlimited recording storage

Granola plans

  • Basic

    $0

    Free tier with 30 days of meeting history

    • AI meeting notes
    • Custom templates
    • Multi-language support
    • Recipes
    • Shared folders
    • Slack integration
    • Auto model selection for chat

  • Business

    $14/user/mo

    For individuals or small teams

    • Unlimited meeting notes and history
    • Model selection in AI chat
    • Pre-meeting briefs
    • Follow-up emails
    • Workspace dictionary
    • Notion/Zapier/HubSpot/Attio/Affinity integrations
    • API access
    • MCP integration
    • Centralized billing

  • Enterprise

    $35/user/mo

    For larger companies

    • Everything in Business
    • SSO and SCIM
    • HIPAA-compliant workspaces
    • Audit API and usage analytics
    • Salesforce integration
    • Admin controls for MCP/API/integrations
    • Retention policies
    • Dedicated support

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Circleback
8.2overall
Granola
8.1overall

Circleback leads in 2 categories and Granola in 2, with 1 tied.

  • Ease of Use

    Granola leads by 0.2
    Circleback
    8.6
    Granola
    8.8

  • Feature Depth

    Circleback leads by 0.3
    Circleback
    8.3
    Granola
    8.0

  • Value for Money

    Circleback leads by 0.7
    Circleback
    8.2
    Granola
    7.5

  • Performance & Speed

    Tied
    Circleback
    8.0
    Granola
    8.0

  • Documentation & Support

    Granola leads by 0.2
    Circleback
    7.8
    Granola
    8.0

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Circleback

Pros

  • Bot-free desktop recording avoids a visible notetaker in client calls.
  • Free plan includes API, MCP and CLI access and mobile apps.
  • Broad integration list covering Slack, Notion, Linear, HubSpot, Salesforce and Zapier.
  • Unlimited free viewers on Business, so non-participants do not need a seat.
  • Releases page shows frequent updates, with entries in October 2026.

Cons

  • Free plan keeps only 30 days of meeting and recording history and 2 teams.
  • Most integrations, including Notion, HubSpot and Salesforce, require Pro at $18 per user per month.
  • SSO, SCIM and HIPAA compliance are limited to the Enterprise plan.
  • The desktop app covers macOS and Windows only; no Linux app was found.

Granola

Pros

  • No bot joins calls, which keeps meetings less intrusive
  • Notes are private by default with granular sharing controls
  • Broad integration set including HubSpot, Attio, Notion, Salesforce and Zapier
  • MCP connector and REST API make notes usable in AI assistants and custom workflows
  • Documented SOC 2 Type 2 compliance and an Enterprise tier with SSO, SCIM and HIPAA workspaces
  • Desktop, mobile and Apple Watch apps cover in-person meetings

Cons

  • Free plan limits viewing to 30 days of meeting history and excludes pre-meeting briefs, follow-up emails and API access
  • API and most integrations require the $14 Business plan or higher
  • Reviewers report AI summaries can compress nuance or overstate decisions, so notes need review
  • Relies on device audio, so some meeting-room hardware setups may not work well
  • Granola trains its own models on anonymized user data unless users opt out in Settings

Platforms

  • Web
    Circleback
    Supported
    Granola
    Not supported
  • Windows
    Circleback
    Supported
    Granola
    Supported
  • macOS
    Circleback
    Supported
    Granola
    Supported
  • iOS
    Circleback
    Supported
    Granola
    Supported
  • Android
    Circleback
    Supported
    Granola
    Supported
  • API
    Circleback
    Supported
    Granola
    Supported
  • Browser Extension
    Circleback
    Not supported
    Granola
    Not supported
  • CLI
    Circleback
    Supported
    Granola
    Not supported

Integrations

Circleback

22 integrations
  • Google Calendar
  • Gmail
  • Outlook
  • Slack
  • Notion
  • Linear
  • HubSpot
  • Salesforce
  • Attio
  • Asana
  • PostHog
  • Ashby
  • Intercom
  • Plain
  • Zoho
  • Monday
  • Zapier
  • Make
  • Zoom
  • Google Meet
  • Microsoft Teams
  • WebEx

Granola

15 integrations
  • Slack
  • Notion
  • HubSpot
  • Attio
  • Affinity
  • Salesforce
  • Zapier
  • Google Calendar
  • Outlook
  • Gmail
  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Gemini
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot
  • Cursor

Company

  • Company
    Circleback
    Circleback
    Granola
    Granola
  • Founded
    Circleback
    2023
    Granola
    2023
  • Headquarters
    Circleback
    San Francisco, CA
    Granola
    London, United Kingdom
  • Listing
    Circleback
    Claimed
    Granola
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Circleback better than Granola?

It depends on your workflow. Circleback is built for Teams that want automatic meeting notes and CRM or task-tracker updates via bot-free recording. Granola is built for professionals in back-to-back meetings who want notes without a visible recording bot.

What are the key feature differences between Circleback and Granola?

Circleback: AI meeting notes, action items and automations that work with or without a bot. Granola: AI notepad that turns your own meeting notes into polished summaries without a bot.

Does Circleback or Granola have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Circleback is freemium and Granola is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Circleback or Granola?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.