Tyll vs. Granola
Granola listens to your meeting and uses AI to tidy up the notes you typed. Tyll writes the full word-for-word transcript with speaker names — all on your Mac. Two different ways of working for two different needs.
Already type notes during meetings and want AI to polish them? Granola. Need the real word-for-word transcript with speaker names, and nothing can touch the cloud? Tyll.
| Tyll | Granola | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on your Mac | ● | ○ Cloud-based |
| Full transcript | ● | ◐ More of a summary |
| Tells who's speaking | ● | ◐ |
| AI tidies up your notes | ○ | ● |
| Works offline | ● | ○ |
| No account required | ● | ○ |
| Captures your Mac's audio | ● | ● |
| Templates per meeting type | ○ | ● |
| One-time purchase, not a subscription | ● | ○ |
- The full word-for-word transcript, not just an AI summary
- Everything on your Mac — audio and content never leave it
- You confirm the speakers yourself; nothing is guessed silently
- Works offline
- One-time purchase instead of a monthly subscription
- AI cleans up the notes you typed, automatically
- Templates for each meeting type (1:1, standup, customer call)
- A nicer flow if you take notes anyway
- Browser plugin and mobile app
- Faster search and browsing in the web dashboard
What each one really is
Granola flips the usual note-taking around: you jot down rough notes — keywords are enough — Granola listens along, and afterwards its AI blends your notes with what was actually said. The result is a clean summary, put together in the cloud.
Tyll doesn’t summarize or tidy anything by default. Tyll gives you the full transcript with every speaker, your microphone track and your Mac’s audio track kept apart, and a clear read on who said what. What you do with it next — summarize, export, search — is up to you.
When Granola is the right call
You already type notes during meetings and the AI polish genuinely helps. A tight AI summary serves you better than the full transcript. You’re fine with your meeting being processed in the cloud.
When Tyll is the right call
You need the real, word-for-word transcript with speaker names — maybe to quote it later. You can’t or won’t put data in the cloud. You also work offline. And subscriptions just grind you down.
Why doesn't Tyll tidy up notes with AI? +
By default, Tyll keeps everything on your Mac. There is an optional AI cleanup you can turn on yourself — using your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or fully-local account — but it's off unless you choose it. Nothing leaves your Mac unless you say so.
Does Tyll have meeting templates like Granola? +
No. You get a full transcript with speaker names, timestamps, and the original audio you can click to play. How you structure it on export is up to you.
Can I run Tyll transcripts through Granola? +
Indirectly — export from Tyll as Markdown and drop it into your notes workflow. There's no direct connection between the two.