Off Grid AI is the only one of these five that keeps your calls on your own computer. Granola, Otter, Fathom and Fireflies all send the audio, the transcript or the notes to a cloud. Off Grid AI records with no bot, writes the notes with local models, and costs $79.99 once.
We make Off Grid AI. Rival facts come from their own pages, checked 30 October 2026.
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Five meeting notetakers side by side
| Off Grid AI Pro | Granola | Otter | Fathom | Fireflies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bot joins the call | No | No | OtterPilot bot, or the desktop app without one | Yes, by default | Notetaker bot, or the desktop app without one |
| Where transcription runs | On your computer (Whisper) | Deepgram and AssemblyAI | Otter's cloud (AWS) | Not listed; recordings go to Fathom's cloud | Not listed; notes go to your Fireflies account |
| Where summaries are written | On your computer, with a local model | Third parties such as OpenAI or Anthropic | Otter's cloud | Not listed | Not listed |
| Where notes are stored | Your disk | US-hosted AWS | Otter's cloud (AWS) | Fathom's cloud, in the US | Your Fireflies account; Enterprise can pick a private location |
| Works offline after setup | Yes, transcription and summaries | Not listed | No | Not listed | Not listed |
| Trains on your data | No | Anonymised data by default; opt out | De-identified data is used | De-identified content may be used; opt out | "We don't train on it by default" |
| Free plan | Free app; Meetings need Pro | 30 days of history | 300 minutes a month, 30 per conversation | Unlimited recordings; limited AI | 400 minutes of storage per team; limited AI summaries |
| Minute or storage cap | None; your disk | Not listed | Free: 300 minutes a month | Not listed | Pro: 8,000 minutes per seat |
| Price per month | $7.99, or $79.99 once | Business $14 per user | Pro $16.99, or $8.33 billed yearly | Premium $20, or $16 billed yearly | Pro $18, or $10 a seat billed yearly |
| Price over 3 years | $79.99 (lifetime) | $504 | About $300 | $576 | $360 |
| Account needed | No; Pro uses a key | Not listed | Not listed | Yes; opt-out is in account settings | Yes, a Fireflies account |
| Computers | Mac (Apple silicon), Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows | Mac and Windows apps, plus web | Not listed | Mac and Windows apps, plus web |
| Phones | iPhone and Android apps, with Sync | iOS and Android | Not listed | Not listed | iOS and Android |
| What else is included | Memory, actions you approve, God, Reflect, Vault, Clipboard, Sync, dictation | Team Spaces | Shared team workspaces | Team plans with CRM sync | Team analytics, integrations, conversation intelligence |
Sources: Granola's pricing and security pages; Otter's pricing and privacy and security pages; Fathom's pricing and privacy pages; Fireflies' pricing and security pages and desktop app guide. All checked 30 October 2026. "Not listed" means the rival's own pages don't say. Off Grid AI's price is a limited-time lifetime offer, down from $119.
What each one costs over three years
| 1 year | 3 years | |
|---|---|---|
| Fathom Premium, billed yearly | $192 | $576 |
| Granola Business | $168 | $504 |
| Fireflies Pro, billed yearly | $120 | $360 |
| Otter Pro, billed yearly | $100 | $300 |
| Off Grid AI Pro, monthly | $95.88 | $287.64 |
| Off Grid AI Pro, lifetime | $79.99 | $79.99 |
Rival prices are per person or per seat. One Off Grid AI key covers up to 5 of your devices.
Pick Granola if…
You want no bot and shared Team Spaces for a whole company, and you are fine with Deepgram, AssemblyAI and an AI company reading your calls. It also runs on any laptop, because its servers do the heavy work.
Pick Otter if…
You want transcripts in a browser tab with nothing to install, and shared team workspaces. Watch the free plan's 300 minutes a month.
Pick Fathom if…
You want to pay nothing. Fathom's free plan has unlimited recordings. You accept a bot in your calls by default and limited AI on the free plan.
Pick Fireflies if…
You run a sales team that needs shared call libraries, team analytics and many integrations, plus phone apps. Its desktop app can record without the bot.
Pick Off Grid AI if…
Your calls carry client, legal, medical or deal details. You want no bot, no cap and no cloud, on Mac, Windows or Linux, paid once.
Why Off Grid AI wins here
This page is about privacy. Look at the table's top rows.
- Where the work runs. Off Grid AI is the only app that transcribes and summarises on your own computer. The other four send the call to a cloud for that work.
- No bot. Only Off Grid AI and Granola never join the call. Granola still sends the audio to two transcription companies.
- Offline and no training. With the models downloaded, Off Grid AI writes notes with Wi-Fi off. It does not train on your meetings.
- No cap, one price. Your disk is the limit. $79.99 once beats every rival's three-year cost.
- More than notes. The same key adds Memory, actions you approve in Gmail, Linear, Jira and Notion, and God, a chief of staff that preps your next call.
Honest limits. Off Grid AI needs a computer that can run a speech model. Most Apple silicon Macs and recent PCs can, and the app shows which models fit. The call itself still uses Zoom's or Teams's network. Tell people you're recording, as with any notetaker.
FAQ
Which meeting notetaker keeps my calls private?
Off Grid AI Desktop Pro. It records your computer's audio and microphone with no bot, and with local models selected it writes the transcript and summary on your own computer. Granola, Otter, Fathom and Fireflies process or store your calls in their cloud.
Which of these notetakers joins my call as a bot?
Fathom sends a bot by default. Otter and Fireflies use a bot unless you record with their desktop apps. Granola and Off Grid AI never join the call.
Which meeting notetaker is cheapest over three years?
On 30 October 2026, Off Grid AI Pro costs $79.99 once for lifetime access, a limited-time price. Over three years, Otter Pro billed yearly is about $300, Fireflies Pro billed yearly is $360, Granola Business is $504 and Fathom Premium billed yearly is $576.
Do Granola, Otter, Fathom or Fireflies train on my meetings?
Granola uses anonymised data by default, with an opt-out. Otter trains on de-identified data. Fathom may use de-identified content, with an opt-out. Fireflies says it does not train on customer meeting data by default. Off Grid AI does not train on your meetings.
Which meeting notetaker works on Linux?
Off Grid AI. Its meeting notes work on Mac (Apple silicon), Windows and Linux. Granola, Otter and Fireflies list Mac and Windows. Fathom's own pages do not list its computers.
Get Off Grid AI Pro and keep your next call on your own computer.
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