Acta vs Granola: bot-free notes that turn into follow-through
Granola and Acta can both take notes without a bot in your call. Granola builds on the notes you type. Acta writes the notes for you, fills the right templates and keeps track of every action item and decision afterwards.
Acta vs Granola in short
Granola and Acta both capture meetings without a bot and let you chat across your meetings with files attached. Granola enhances notes you write yourself; its free Basic plan keeps the last 30 days of notes and Business is $14 per user per month. Acta writes the notes for you, fills 42 templates from the conversation, tracks action items to done with daily follow-up emails, keeps a decision log, and can also send a notetaker when you can't be there.
No typing needed
Stay in the conversation. Acta writes the summary, action items and decisions without you taking notes.
Bot-free, or a notetaker when you're away
Record with the desktop app or Chrome extension, or let Acta's notetaker attend the meetings you can't join.
What happens next, handled
Action items are tracked to done with daily follow-ups, and decisions are kept in a log the whole team can see.
Acta vs Granola, feature by feature
GranolaAsk across everything
After the meeting
Templates
Recording
Plans
Granola details are from their public website and reviews, checked October 2026. Products change: if something here is out of date, tell us at contact@acta.ai and we'll fix it.
What you get with Acta beyond Granola
Action item tracker
Notes are the start. Done is the goal.
Every action item from every meeting goes into one tracker with owners and due dates. Acta flags what's overdue and sends a daily follow-up email.
- Group by meeting or by person
- Overdue items flagged automatically
- Daily follow-up email to owners
Overdue
3
Due this week
4
Done
12
Daily follow-up, 9:00
Priya, 1 item is overdue: Send Acme the revised proposal.
Decision log
Every decision, across every meeting
Acta keeps a log of decisions with who made them, who owns them, the quote and the moment, and shows when a later meeting changed one.
- “Was 60 minutes, changed to 90 on Oct 8”
- The quote and the moment it was said
- Linked actions with progress
Recordings stop after 90 minutes
Discussed in 2 meetingsWas: 60 minutes · changed Oct 8
Oct 4 · Sprint review
“Recording should stop on its own after 60 minutes.” 14:11
Oct 8 · Recorder check-in
“Sixty is too short, let's make it 90 minutes.” 8:41
Actions
Every decision, from every meeting, in one log
Templates
No template to choose before the call
Acta works out what the meeting was about and fills the templates that fit, from sales frameworks to interview scorecards, and skips the rest.
- MEDDPICC, BANT, SPIN and SPICED for sales calls
- Shows what's missing and what to ask next time
- Marks a template “Not relevant” instead of making things up
From the call
“If we get each rep four hours back a week, that's the case.”
“Anything above fifty thousand goes to our CFO.”
“We need a SOC 2 report before procurement.”
Metrics
Champion
Economic buyer
Paper process
Ask next: who signs off above $50k?
OneChat
Chat with meetings, files and web links
Choose meetings by date, people or type, add PDFs, Word, Excel or web pages, and get answers with a link to every source.
- Choose meetings by date, people or type
- Contracts, price lists and playbooks in the same answer
- Click a source to play that moment
Yes. The contract allows a two-year price hold 1, and you agreed to it on the renewal call, subject to finance 2. Increases after that are capped at 5% 3.
Where Granola does well
- Bot-free notes that build on what you type.
- Chat across all meetings or a folder, with files you attach.
- Reusable recipes for common questions.
Best for: People who like writing their own notes and want AI to fill in the rest.
Choose Acta if you want
- Notes written for you, no typing
- Bot-free recording, or a notetaker when you're away
- Action items tracked to done
- A decision log across meetings
- Templates picked from the conversation
How to switch from Granola to Acta
- 1
Start your free trial
Sign up and connect your Google or Microsoft calendar. The trial is free for 15 days.
- 2
Choose how to record
Let the Acta notetaker join from your calendar, or record without a bot using the desktop app for Windows and Mac or the Chrome extension.
- 3
Turn on what happens after the call
Pick your templates and turn on the daily follow-up, so action items and decisions are tracked from the first meeting.
- 4
Coming from Granola?
Install the Acta desktop app for Windows or Mac: it records Zoom and Teams without a bot, just like you're used to, and opens by itself when a meeting starts.
Acta vs Granola: questions
Is Acta a Granola alternative?
Yes. Like Granola, Acta can record without a bot. Acta also writes the notes for you, tracks every action item to done, keeps a decision log across meetings and fills 42 templates from the conversation.
Can Acta record without a bot like Granola?
Yes. The Acta desktop app for Windows and Mac records Zoom and Teams, and the Chrome extension records meetings in your browser, both without a bot joining the call.
Can Acta also join as a bot?
Yes. Choose per meeting: the desktop app or Chrome extension without a bot, or the Acta notetaker from your calendar when you can't be there.
How much does Granola cost compared with Acta?
Reviews in October 2026 list a free Basic plan that keeps the last 30 days of notes and a Business plan at $14 per user per month. Acta is free for 15 days, then Pro is priced per user.
Can I try Acta for free?
Yes. Acta is free for 15 days with unlimited recordings and transcriptions. After that, Pro is priced per user on the pricing page.
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Switch from Granola in minutes
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