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Productivity · head to head

Granola vs Microsoft OneNote

Granola logo

Granola

Productivity

AI notepad that transcribes meetings and merges transcripts with user notes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft OneNote logo

Microsoft OneNote

Productivity

Microsoft's free-form notebook, free with a Microsoft account and synced through OneDrive

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Granola free plan limits note access to 30 days; older notes become inaccessible unless upgraded; Microsoft OneNote notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Granola and Microsoft OneNote actually diverge.

Attributes where Granola and Microsoft OneNote differ
AttributeGranolaMicrosoft OneNote
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft TeamsWeb, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows
FoundedUnknown1975

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Granola

Nothing recorded that Microsoft OneNote does not also cover.

Only in Microsoft OneNote

  • Free-form page canvas
  • Notebook hierarchy
  • Indexed handwriting
  • Audio recording
  • Web clipper and Outlook capture
  • Shared notebooks
  • Cross-platform clients
  • Tags and cross-notebook search

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Granola

  • Automatic meeting documentation without dedicated note-takernot Microsoft OneNote
  • Action item extraction and task assignmentnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Meeting context retrieval via AI agent queriesnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Multi-language meeting transcriptionnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Compliance-friendly note generation for regulated industriesnot Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote

  • Handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote.not Granola
  • Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not Granola
  • A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not Granola
  • Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not Granola

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Granola

  • Free plan limits note access to 30 days; older notes become inaccessible unless upgraded
  • Premium pricing not published on main website; requires account signup or sales contact
  • Requires local computer audio; not suitable for purely phone-based calls via traditional phone lines
  • Note retention limits may affect long-term project documentation

Microsoft OneNote

  • Notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • Personal notebooks consume OneDrive quota, which is 5 GB on a free Microsoft account, so a notebook full of scans, images and recordings quietly exhausts the whole account including the space Outlook needs for mail.
  • Sync happens at section level and conflicts are resolved by placing both versions on the page, so simultaneous edits to a large or media-heavy section produce duplicated content that somebody has to merge by hand.
  • Search behaves differently across clients, so what the Windows desktop app finds inside handwriting, images and attachments is not necessarily what the browser or mobile version finds, and the same query gives different answers on different devices.
  • There is no relational structure, no database and no properties, so anything that needs a table of records with fields has to be maintained by hand or moved elsewhere, and OneNote's own tables cannot be queried or filtered.

Pricing, plan by plan

Granola

Free
  • BasicFree
    • AI meeting notes with limited history
    • AI chat and shared folders
    • Customized templates
  • Business$14/month
    • Unlimited meeting notes and history
    • Advanced AI models
    • Integrations with Notion, Slack, HubSpot
  • Enterprise$35/month
    • Everything in Business plus
    • Enterprise security features
    • Single sign-on (SSO)

Microsoft OneNote

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Granola if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.
Granola review

Choose Microsoft OneNote if

  • You need free-form page canvas.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
  • You also want notebook hierarchy.
Microsoft OneNote review

Questions people ask

Is Granola or Microsoft OneNote better?
Neither clearly leads. Granola starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Granola or Microsoft OneNote?
Granola starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free.
Does Granola or Microsoft OneNote run on more platforms?
Granola runs on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams. Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
Can I use Granola for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Granola best used for?
Granola is most often used for automatic meeting documentation without dedicated note-taker, action item extraction and task assignment, meeting context retrieval via ai agent queries, multi-language meeting transcription. Of those, automatic meeting documentation without dedicated note-taker and action item extraction and task assignment are not what Microsoft OneNote is typically brought in for.
What can Granola do that Microsoft OneNote cannot?
Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Granola: What is Granola's pricing model?

Granola offers a freemium model with a free Basic tier, Business tier at 14 USD per user per month, and Enterprise tier at 35 USD per user per month.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: Is OneNote really free?

Yes. The application is free with a Microsoft account, with no time limit and no feature gate. What you may end up paying for is the OneDrive storage the notebooks consume.

Granola: What features are included in the free tier?

The free Basic tier includes AI meeting notes with limited history, AI chat, shared folders, customized templates, and multi-language support.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: Can I keep notebooks off Microsoft's cloud?

The Windows desktop app can keep local notebooks, but they will not sync to other devices and any shared access requires OneDrive or SharePoint.

Granola: What integrations does Granola support?

Granola Business tier and above support integrations with Notion, Slack, HubSpot, and includes API access with MCP integration capabilities.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: How do I get my notes out?

Section by section as a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document. A OneNote package preserves a whole notebook but only for another copy of OneNote. Third-party converters exist and the page layout usually does not survive them.

Granola: What enterprise security features are included?

Enterprise tier includes single sign-on (SSO), priority support, admin controls, org-wide data deletion policies, and enterprise-grade security features.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: Which version should I install?

Microsoft consolidated onto a single OneNote application on Windows after retiring the Store version, so install the one distributed with Microsoft 365 rather than looking for an alternative.

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