EarshotEarshot vs the big notetakers
Otter, Fireflies, Fathom and Granola are all capable tools, and most now offer some form of bot-free capture. So the honest comparison isn't "bot vs no bot" any more — it's where your data lives, whether the code is inspectable, and who controls the AI. Here's how Earshot stacks up, fairly, as of July 2026.
At a glance
| Earshot | Otter | Fireflies | Fathom | Granola | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bot-free capture | Always (Windows) | Yes + bot | Yes + bot | Mac only — Windows uses the bot | Always |
| Windows desktop app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (bot-only) | Yes |
| Where transcripts live | Your PC | US cloud | US cloud | US cloud | US cloud (audio deleted) |
| Trains its own AI on your data | No | De-identified, opt-out | No (0-day) | De-identified, opt-out | Anonymized, opt-out |
| Open source | Yes (MIT) | No | No | No | No |
| Self-host / own keys | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Free tier | Full app, self-hosted | 300 min/mo | ~400 min stored/team | Unlimited rec; basic summaries | 30-day history |
| Entry paid tier | US$9/mo flat | ~$8.33/user/mo* | ~$10/seat/mo* | ~$16/user/mo* | $14/user/mo (monthly only) |
*Lowest advertised paid tier, billed annually, per vendor pricing pages as of 13 July 2026. All of these vendors revise plans frequently — treat the table as a snapshot and check the live pages for current figures.
The two questions that actually separate these tools
1. Where does the record of your meetings accumulate? With all four cloud tools, transcripts build up in US-hosted vendor infrastructure, tied to an account. Granola deserves credit for deleting the audio after transcription — but the transcript still lives in its cloud. Earshot is the only one where the recording and the notes stay on your own machine, full stop.
2. Can you check, and can you leave? Earshot is the only open-source option (MIT, full app on GitHub) and the only one you can self-host with your own AI keys — including a fully local pipeline where nothing leaves your PC. The others are policies you trust; Earshot is code you can read.
The head-to-heads
- Earshot vs Granola — the closest philosophical rival: both bot-free, but cloud transcripts vs local everything, closed vs open source.
- Earshot vs Otter — live cloud transcription and cross-device reach vs local storage and no default model-training on your calls.
- Earshot vs Fireflies — the team/CRM cloud workspace vs the private personal notetaker.
- Earshot vs Fathom — the generous free cloud tier vs bot-free capture that actually works on Windows.
Where the others are genuinely better
Fair is fair: Otter's live transcription is excellent and its platform coverage is the broadest. Fireflies' CRM sync and conversation intelligence are the real deal for sales teams. Fathom's free tier is the most generous in the category and its UX is consistently top-rated. Granola's typed-notes-plus-transcript workflow is lovely, across Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. If those are the features your work turns on, pick accordingly — the head-to-head pages above say so plainly.
What none of them offer is the combination Earshot exists for: bot-free on Windows, open source, your data on your machine, your choice of AI, US$9 flat or free self-hosted. If that's the shape of tool you've been looking for, download it free or start the 7-day Plus trial — and see local vs cloud transcription for the deeper privacy reasoning.
The one you can read the source of.
Bot-free on Windows, open source, and every meeting stored on your machine. Free self-hosted, or Plus at $9/month.