Compared · 2 October 2026
A private Granola alternative.
Like Granola, Quern takes meeting notes with no bot. Unlike Granola, nothing is uploaded: the transcript, who said what and the summary are made on your own device. Quern for iPhone is out now, and Quern for Mac is coming soon.
I make Quern. Everything about Granola is from Granola's own website on 2 October 2026, linked on this page. For prices next to Otter and Notta, see Quern and cloud notetakers.
Side by side.
Things change: follow the links for today's.
| Compared | Quern | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 once (£19.99 in the UK), after 30 days free | Free with limited history, or $14 a month |
| A bot in the call | No | No |
| Where it’s transcribed | On your device | Online, by services such as Deepgram |
| Where it’s summarised | On your device, by Apple Intelligence | Online, by AI such as OpenAI’s |
| The audio | Kept, so you can hear any point again | Not kept |
| Devices | iPhone now. Mac soon | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
Granola's side is from its own pages on 2 October 2026: home page, security, pricing.
On your iPhone, now.
Put the iPhone on the table and tap Record. Quern writes the words as people speak, then works out who said what and summarises it, without a connection.
Nothing is uploaded
Apple's on-device speech recognition, speaker models that come with Quern, and Apple Intelligence, all on the iPhone. No account, and it works in Airplane Mode.
The audio stays with the notes
Each point in the summary has the time it was said. Tap it to hear the moment, and check the summary against what was really said.
Who said what
Each voice is labelled. Name a speaker once and the transcript and summary both use the name.
Paid once
£19.99 once, after a 30-day free trial. How that compares
Step by step: how to record a meeting on iPhone.
Quern for Mac · Coming soon
On your Mac, soon.
Quern for Mac records your Zoom, Teams and Meet calls with no bot, like Granola, and makes the transcript and summary on the Mac. It isn't allowed to use the network at all.
Tell me when Quern for Mac is out.
The plan: free for 30 days, then £19.99 once, with one purchase covering iPhone and Mac. Requires a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.4 or later. More about Quern for Mac
No bot, and no upload, are different things.
Granola and Quern for Mac both record from your computer, so nothing joins the call. Where the audio is transcribed is a separate question. Meeting notes without a bot sets out who does what, with sources.
Questions
Anything else: support, or [email protected]
Is there a Granola alternative that doesn’t send my meetings to the cloud?
Quern. On the iPhone, the transcript, who said what and the summary are all made on the phone, with no upload and no account. Quern for Mac, coming soon, does the same for calls on your Mac.
When is Quern for Mac out?
Soon. Leave your email on the Mac page and we'll tell you the day it's out. Quern for iPhone is out now.
Can I find something said in an old meeting?
Yes. Search finds any word said, in every recording, with who said it and when. Moments finds the passages about what you mean, even when different words were used, and plays you the moment itself.
Can I share notes with my team?
Yes: share a PDF or plain text, or export Markdown with the audio, or subtitles with speaker names, and send it to anyone. The recording itself stays on your device until you choose to share it.
What does each version need?
Quern for iPhone needs iPhone 15 Pro or later. Quern for Mac will need a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.4 or later. Both need Apple Intelligence for summaries.
- First 30 days
- Free, everything works
- Then
- £19.99, once
- Subscription
- None
- Family Sharing
- Included
- If you don't unlock it
- Your recordings stay yours to play, read and export