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A Granola alternative that keeps everything on your Mac
A Granola alternative that keeps your audio on your Mac. On-device transcription, no bot, no cloud notebook.
Granola is a slick meeting notepad. It listens to your call and turns your rough notes into a clean writeup, with the processing happening in its cloud. If you live in that workflow it feels great.
Trace is for people who want the same "just record the meeting" simplicity but without the audio leaving their machine. It captures system audio and your mic locally, transcribes on-device (Whisper by default, with faster Parakeet options), and saves plain files you own. No cloud notebook sits in the middle.
You still get the in-meeting niceties. A live recap runs as you talk (its own on-device streaming model, following the meeting’s language across 40 of them), it can translate the call into your language live, and you can flag a key moment mid-call with a hotkey and a short note. Trace can summarise the meeting on-device when it ends, using its own local model and always folding in those key moments, or you can hand the transcript to your own LLM instead. The difference from Granola is where it all happens, on your Mac rather than on someone’s server.
How they compare
| Feature | Trace | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Where audio goes | Stays on your Mac. | Notes processed in its cloud. |
| Bot in the call | No bot; captures audio locally. | No bot; captures audio locally. |
| Live in meeting | Live recap plus flag key moments. | Enhances your typed notes during the call. |
| Transcription | On-device. | Cloud-based note generation. |
| Summary | Optional, from Trace’s own on-device model; always keeps your starred moments. | Cloud note generation from your typed notes. |
| Pricing | One-time purchase (from £29). | Subscription-based. |
| Output | Raw .wav, .json and .md files. | Notes kept in the app. |
| Best for | Private transcripts you keep, with an optional on-device summary. | AI-polished shared notes. |
FAQ
Does Granola use a bot? Does Trace?
Neither one adds a bot to the call. Both capture audio on your Mac. The real difference is what happens next: Granola sends note processing to its cloud, Trace keeps transcription on-device.
Does Trace generate AI summaries like Granola?
Yes, with a difference. On any Apple silicon Mac, Trace can write a summary on-device with one click using its own local model, and it always folds in the key moments you starred. Nothing goes to a cloud summary service, and you can still hand the transcript to your own LLM if you prefer.
Does Trace work with Apple Shortcuts?
Yes. Trace exposes actions to the Shortcuts app and Spotlight (start, stop, capture a key moment, get the last transcript or summary), and it can run a Shortcut of your choice automatically when a transcription finishes.
Is Trace cheaper than Granola?
Trace is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, so over time it usually costs less for a single user.
Can I use Trace fully offline?
Yes, after the one-time model download on first use. From then on transcription runs with no network.
Get Trace
Keep your meetings on your Mac. One-time purchase, no subscription.
Compare
- Otter alternative: Record on your Mac with no bot in the call, transcribed on-device.
- Offline transcription for Mac: Everything stays on your machine, and it works with the network off.
- No-bot transcription: Capture system audio with no extra participant in Zoom, Meet or Teams.
- MacWhisper alternative: Both stay on your Mac. Trace is shaped around meetings first.
- Fireflies alternative: No notetaker joining your calls, and nothing sent to a cloud.
- Record Zoom meetings: A hotkey instead of recording permissions, transcribed on-device.
- Transcribe Teams meetings: No admin policies, no notification banner, transcribed on your Mac.
- Transcribe Google Meet: Works on any Meet call, any plan, straight from the browser tab.
Related guides
- Minutes without typing: Record the call, flag the moments that matter, and write the minutes afterwards.
- Transcript to summary: Go from a raw transcript to a short summary with clear action items.
- All guides: the full library of how-tos and explainers.