Is Anarlog really free?

Yes. Anarlog is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Granola, on the other hand, costs €12 a month.

Do I need to code to install Anarlog?

No. The level is beginner and the install takes about 5 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.

How is it different from Granola?

Anarlog does most of what Granola does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.

Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.

Free alternative

Free alternative to Granola

Granola costs €12 a month. Here are the 3 open source tools that replace it for free, best one first.

Public entry price, taken from Granola’s website (granola.ai). Over a year, that is €144 that stays in your pocket.

What replaces Granola

The main alternative

Anarlog

🟢 Beginner⏱️ ~5 min to installSave €12/mo

Anarlog is Granola without the cloud. Same starting idea: no bot barging into your call, the app listens to your computer's audio, transcribes, and hands you a clean note you rework like a document. The difference is where it happens. Your transcripts and notes live in a SQLite database on your machine, recordings are plain local files, and on a recent Mac transcription runs on the device. For summaries you plug in what you want: a local model through Ollama or LM Studio, your own API key, or their hosted AI if you choose it. The project used to be called Hyprnote, it changed names, and the community app remains MIT-licensed with over 9,000 stars on GitHub. You can read it, fork it, or build it yourself.

Loucash’s verdict on Anarlog

8/10

If you like Granola, this is the one. Same philosophy, no bot in the call, a note that writes itself while you listen, but everything stays on your machine and it costs nothing. The Mac version is the most polished: on-device transcription, zero setup. Two things to know. The team launched another product, and Anarlog is presented as the community meeting notepad they keep maintaining in open source. It runs, it is clean, but keep an eye on the update pace. And on Windows or Linux, transcription goes through a local model to install or a provider to pick: that is where the install prompt saves you time. Against Meetily, the line is clear. Meetily is local by construction, with no cloud option at all. Anarlog is closer to Granola in daily use, with notes you actually edit, and the cloud stays an option you can simply never turn on.

Who it is for: You use Granola, or wanted to, and you want the same experience with no subscription and without your meetings leaving for a third party.

See the full page →See the tool ↗

Also in the library
Meetily
🟡 Intermediate⏱️ ~15 min to installSave €15/mo
Meetily listens to your meetings, transcribes them as they happen and writes you a summary. You leave a one-hour call with the minutes already written. The difference with Otter, Fireflies or Granola comes down to one sentence: everything happens on your machine. Transcription runs locally with Whisper or Parakeet, the summary is written by a model installed on your own computer through Ollama, and absolutely nothing goes to a server. When you record a client call, a partners' meeting or a medical appointment, that is the only guarantee that actually counts.
See the full page →See the tool ↗
Also in the library
OpenWhispr
🟢 Beginner⏱️ ~5 min to installSave €13/mo
OpenWhispr turns your voice into text, everywhere: press a key, speak, and the text appears exactly where your cursor is. Email, WhatsApp, a Claude prompt, a doc: any app. It also transcribes your meetings (Zoom, Teams, FaceTime detected automatically, with who said what) and files everything into searchable notes. The difference with Wispr Flow: it is open source, has no word cap, and offers a fully local mode where your audio never leaves your machine. Your choice: everything on-device with Whisper or Parakeet, or the cloud with your own API key.
See the full page →See the tool ↗

Anarlog versus Granola: the match

Price
Anarlog
€0, forever
Granola
€12 per person per month
Bot in the call
Anarlog
None, it listens to your computer
Granola
None either, that is their strength
Your notes and transcripts
Anarlog
On your machine, as readable files
Granola
On their servers

Granola ↗

VS	Anarlog	Granola ↗
Price	€0, forever	€12 per person per month
Bot in the call	None, it listens to your computer	None either, that is their strength
Your notes and transcripts	On your machine, as readable files	On their servers
The model writing summaries	Yours: Ollama, LM Studio or your API key	Theirs, no choice
Platforms	Mac, Windows, Linux	Mac, Windows, iPhone
Code	MIT, to read and fork	Closed

The prompt that installs Anarlog

Paste this prompt into Claude: it checks the repository, asks you its questions and installs the tool step by step.

Installe Anarlog sur ma machine (le bloc-notes de réunion open source et local, repo GitHub fastrepl/anarlog) : télécharge la dernière version depuis anarlog.so/download ou depuis les releases du repo pour mon système d'exploitation, installe-la, et guide-moi pour autoriser le micro et l'audio du système. Ensuite, dans les réglages, mets la transcription en local si ma machine le permet, puis branche un modèle local via Ollama ou LM Studio pour les résumés, adapté à la puissance de ma machine (ou ma propre clé API si je préfère). Vérifie sur un court test que la transcription et le résumé fonctionnent. Explique chaque étape simplement, je débute.

Review the GitHub repository and check whether it is safe to install given my machine and my infrastructure. Ask me as many questions as possible, using widgets, to clarify my request and be as precise as you can.

Frequently asked questions

Is Anarlog really free?: Yes. Anarlog is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Granola, on the other hand, costs €12 a month.
Do I need to code to install Anarlog?: No. The level is beginner and the install takes about 5 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.
How is it different from Granola?: Anarlog does most of what Granola does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.
Do I own my data?: Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.