Skip to content
AppDuo
ReviewsComparisonsBest ofCollections

Yogurt vs Granola: on-device or cloud AI meeting notes?

By Official AppDuo editorial team · Updated

Yogurt logoYogurt6.8/10Open source · FreeGranola logoGranola7.4/10Freemium · Free

Quick verdict

Both take AI meeting notes without a bot joining the call: the app captures audio on your own device, then merges the notes you type with the transcript into a summary. The real difference is where the AI runs and where the data lives.

Yogurt: a free, open-source (MIT) desktop app from Frigade. Per its docs, audio, transcripts and notes are processed locally, nothing is uploaded and there is no telemetry. The trade-offs: its first release came out on 11 November 2026, there is no phone app, it needs at least 8 GB of memory and its largest model is about 63 GB.

Granola: a cloud service launched in 2024, with apps for macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and Apple Watch, working with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and in-person meetings. Basic is free but limited to 30 days of history; transcripts are kept in the cloud indefinitely unless you delete them, and Granola trains on anonymized data by default unless you opt out.

If meeting data must stay on your computer, Yogurt fits better. If you need mobile capture, team sharing or a product with a longer track record and many user ratings, Granola fits better.

Head-to-head

Yogurt leads on 3, Granola on 6, 1 even

FeatureYogurtGranola
Where the AI runs[3],[5],[9]On your computer. Per the author on Hacker News, transcription uses whisper.cpp (plus Apple's SpeechAnalyzer where supported) and summaries and Q&A use an open-weight model via llama.cpp.In the cloud (US-hosted AWS). The security page names Deepgram, Assembly, OpenAI and Anthropic as processors.
→ Per Yogurt's docs, meeting content passes through no one else's servers; with Granola, transcripts go through the named third-party AI providers.
How audio and transcripts are kept[3],[9]Data sits in a local folder and can be exported as a ZIP backup; per the docs, nothing is uploaded.No audio is stored: desktop transcribes in real time and mobile caches audio only until the transcript exists. Transcripts and notes stay in the cloud indefinitely unless you delete them.
→ Yogurt keeps everything under your control but backups are your job; Granola keeps no audio to replay, while the text lives on its servers.
Telemetry and training on your data[2],[3],[9]The docs say there is no telemetry; the app only connects to Hugging Face (models), Apple (optional, Mac) and GitHub (updates). The code is open for anyone to inspect, but there is no independent audit.Trains on anonymized data by default, with an opt-out in Settings; Enterprise defaults to off. OpenAI and Anthropic may not train on your data. The company reports SOC 2 Type 2 since July 2025.
→ On Granola, anyone who does not want their data used for training has to switch it off in Settings (except on Enterprise); Yogurt has nothing to opt out of. Both rest on the vendors' own statements.
Cost for an individual[1],[8]Entirely free under the MIT license; no paid plan is published.Basic is free with unlimited notes but a 30-day history, Slack only and no API. No paid personal plan is listed. Business plans are $14/user/month (Business) and $35/user/month (Enterprise).
→ Only Yogurt lets you work with notes older than 30 days for free; with Granola, removing that limit means moving to Business. Yogurt's cost is the hardware it needs.
Supported devices[1],[3],[7],[10]Desktop only: macOS 14.4+ (Apple silicon only), 64-bit Windows 10 version 2004+, 64-bit Ubuntu 22.04+.macOS, Windows, iOS, Android (since July 2026) and Apple Watch; no Linux app is listed.
→ Only Granola covers phones; of the two, only Yogurt has a Linux build.
Which meetings it can capture[1],[3],[7],[12]Records on the computer itself with no bot. No specific meeting apps are named. Calendar and speaker names are Mac-only for now.Uses system audio and the microphone with no bot; works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and in-person meetings. Calendar sync starts transcription automatically.
→ Granola names the supported meeting platforms and has a phone app for in-person meetings; with Yogurt, check it against the meeting app you use.
Hardware requirements[1],[3]At least 8 GB of memory. The best model is about 14 GB on a 64 GB Mac and about 63 GB with 96 GB or more. On Windows and Linux, setup stops if the machine cannot transcribe fast enough.The AI runs in the cloud; no specific hardware requirement is listed.
→ Machines under 8 GB of memory and Intel Macs cannot run Yogurt, and better models need more memory and disk; with Granola, the AI processing happens on its servers.
Integrations and teamwork[3],[8],[10]Calendar (Mac) and a local MCP server, off by default, that lets other AI apps read meetings. No team sharing or sync.Basic has shared folders and Slack. Business adds Attio, Notion, HubSpot, Affinity, Zapier, MCP and API; Enterprise adds Salesforce, SSO and SCIM.
→ Teams pushing notes into a CRM or shared workspace need Granola (most integrations start at Business); Yogurt currently serves one person on one machine.
Meeting languages[3],[5],[10]The docs list no supported languages; on Hacker News the author only replied "Other languages yep". The interface and docs are English-only.The company announced 32 languages in September 2026; the record does not list them. The interface is English-only.
→ If your meetings are not in English, try both first; Granola at least publishes an official language count.
Maturity and track record[1],[4],[5],[11],[13],[14]First released on 11 November 2026, with no independent reviews yet. The Windows build is unsigned, so Windows shows a "Windows protected your PC" warning.Launched May 2024; 4.96/5 on the US App Store from 14,692 ratings; raised a $125M Series C (March 2026).
→ Granola has more than two years of history and a large rating base to go on; Yogurt has just launched, so today's users are its earliest ones.

Choose Yogurt if…

  • You do not want audio, transcripts or notes to leave your computer
  • You want to keep meeting notes long-term without a subscription
  • You run an Apple-silicon Mac, Windows or Linux with at least 8 GB of memory and are fine with brand-new open-source software

Choose Granola if…

  • You need meeting notes on your phone too, including in-person meetings
  • Your team wants to share notes and send them to Slack, Notion, HubSpot or Salesforce
  • You want a product that has been around since 2024 with a large base of App Store ratings

Both skip the bot; they differ on where the AI runs

Yogurt and Granola take the same approach: no bot joins the call; the app captures audio on your device, you type a few points during the meeting, and AI merges them with the transcript into a summary with next steps. Yogurt's own Show HN launch post pitched it as a free, private, open-source alternative to Granola.

The difference is behind the scenes. Yogurt runs the transcription and language models on your machine, picking a model to suit the hardware. Granola sends transcription and AI processing to the cloud, through processors including Deepgram, Assembly, OpenAI and Anthropic. Granola has phone apps and shared folders for teams; Yogurt has neither, but per its docs the data never leaves the computer.

Recording privacy and telling participants

Per Yogurt's help page, audio, transcripts, notes and questions are processed locally, with no telemetry. If you enable MCP, a connected AI app may send what it reads to its own online model, and a Hacker News question on whether the local MCP server requires authentication went unanswered.

Granola stores no audio, but transcripts and notes sit on US-hosted AWS indefinitely unless you delete them, and the company trains on anonymized data by default (opt-out in Settings, off by default on Enterprise). It reports SOC 2 Type 2; AppDuo has not reviewed the audit report. Both sets of claims come from the vendors themselves. With no bot to signal recording, both Yogurt's website and Granola's blog advise telling participants yourself, and Granola notes local law may require consent.

The real cost: subscription or hardware

Yogurt is free under the MIT license and publishes no paid plan. The cost is the machine: at least 8 GB of memory, an Apple-silicon chip on Mac, and a best model of about 14 GB on a 64 GB Mac or about 63 GB with 96 GB or more. On Windows and Linux, setup stops if the machine cannot transcribe fast enough.

Granola's Basic plan is free for individuals, with unlimited notes but a 30-day history, Slack as the only integration and no API. No paid personal plan is listed; removing the 30-day limit means Business at $14/user/month, and Enterprise is $35/user/month. The pricing page shows monthly prices only. At launch in 2024, per TechCrunch, Granola was free for the first 25 meetings then $10/month, so its pricing has changed since launch.

Brand new versus established

Yogurt's first GitHub release (v0.3.1) landed on 11 November 2026, followed by several more releases the same day. There are no independent reviews or performance tests yet; the Windows build is unsigned, and a Hacker News commenter worried the Electron app will eat memory. Support is mainly docs and GitHub issues.

Granola launched in May 2024, holds 4.96/5 on the US App Store from 14,692 ratings, added Android and Apple Watch in 2026 and raised a $125M Series C. Support covers docs and email, with dedicated support on Enterprise. If you want a tool with a longer track record and more ratings, weigh that gap; if privacy comes first, Yogurt is an option to adopt while watching later releases.

Frequently asked questions

Is Yogurt a free version of Granola?

No. Yogurt is a separate product from Frigade; its Show HN launch post calls it an alternative to Granola. The note-taking flow is similar, but Yogurt runs locally, is desktop-only and has no team sharing.

Which one keeps meeting content off the internet?

Per Yogurt's docs, audio, transcripts and notes are processed locally and not uploaded, unless you enable MCP for another AI app. Granola stores no audio but keeps transcripts and notes in the cloud.

Which one works on a phone?

Only Granola, with iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps. Yogurt runs on macOS, Windows and Linux only.

Do I need to tell other participants?

It is advised. Neither sends a bot, so others cannot see they are being recorded; Yogurt's website and Granola's blog both advise telling them, and Granola notes local law may require consent.

Sources

Numbers in the table refer to these sources, read on the dates shown.

  1. 1.Official website · Vendor-provided · Nov 12, 2026
  2. 2.GitHub repository FrigadeHQ/yogurt · Vendor-provided · Nov 12, 2026
  3. 3.Official help docs (GitHub) · Vendor-provided · Nov 12, 2026
  4. 4.GitHub releases · Vendor-provided · Nov 12, 2026
  5. 5.Show HN thread (168 points, 76 comments) · Community-reported · Nov 12, 2026
  6. 6.Frigade website · Vendor-provided · Nov 12, 2026
  7. 7.Official homepage · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  8. 8.Official pricing page · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  9. 9.Official security page · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  10. 10.Blog index · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  11. 11.Blog: Series C · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  12. 12.Blog: Why Granola doesn't use a bot · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  13. 13.App Store listing · store · Nov 10, 2026
  14. 14.TechCrunch (2024-05-22) · press · Nov 10, 2026

Prepared by the AppDuo Editorial Team from the sources cited in this article. AI assists with organising and cross-checking data; editorial responsibility remains with AppDuo.

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to share your experience.

Comments are readers’ opinions, not content from the AppDuo Editorial Team.