If your workflow ends at reading the note, Granola is excellent. If your next step is asking Claude Code what you promised, how the deal changed, or what to raise before the next call, Second is built for that.
$19 one-time payment
This is where Second does something Granola doesn't. Second ships with a built-in CLI that gives Claude Code, Codex, or any AI agent direct access to your meeting history.
Your notes become a queryable knowledge base your agent can search, summarise, and act on. Granola has no equivalent — notes live in their interface and nowhere else.
Granola stores your meetings in the cloud and sends audio to third-party transcription providers. That works great until you're dealing with sensitive conversations — investor calls, client negotiations, HR discussions — where you'd rather your audio never left your Mac.
Second stores everything locally. Your notes are plain markdown files in ~/Documents/Second. No server, no upload, no account needed to open your own notes. If Second disappeared tomorrow, you'd still have every meeting you ever recorded.
Granola is $18/month — $216/year, every year. Second is $19 once. It pays for itself almost immediately.
Granola discards audio after transcription to keep things lightweight. Most of the time that's fine. But when a number gets mangled or an action item is unclear, there's no way to go back and check.
Second keeps your local audio file alongside every note. If something's off, you can always verify.
| Feature | Second | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19 one-time | $18/month ($216/year) |
| Audio stays on your Mac | ||
| AI training opt-out | Always | Enterprise only ($35/mo) |
| No bot joins calls | ||
| CLI for AI agents | ||
| Cross-meeting search | ||
| Audio playback | ||
| Works offline | ||
| Notes survive if app disappears | ✓ local files |
Download Second — $19 one-time payment · No cloud meeting archive