Granola is a beautiful post-meeting notes app. Sway is a real-time AI assistant that speaks up during the conversation — before it's too late.
Granola excels at turning your post-meeting chaos into clean, organized notes — ideal for teams that need solid documentation after the fact. Sway operates entirely in the moment: it listens live, surfaces talking points as questions hit you, and keeps audio on your device. If your problem is not knowing what to say right now, Granola cannot help you.
Feature comparison
How Sway and Granola stack up on the features that matter most.
| Feature | Sway | Granola |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time AI suggestions during the call | ✓ | ✗ |
| Post-meeting notes and summaries | Planned | ✓ |
| Audio stays on your device (no cloud recording) | ✓ | ✗ |
| private, with no meeting bot (Zoom, Meet, Teams) | ✓ | ✗ |
| No bot joins the call | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works during live sales calls | ✓ | Notes only |
| Works during sales calls | ✓ | Notes only |
| Coaching and talking points surfaced live | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free tier available | ✓ — 7-day trial | Trial available |
| macOS native app | ✓ | ✓ |
Where Sway wins
Post-meeting notes are useful. But they can't help you answer the question that just blindsided you or close the objection that's on the table right now.
Sway listens to the conversation and surfaces relevant talking points, responses, and context as the dialogue unfolds — not 20 minutes after the call ends.
Granola needs to process your audio in the cloud to generate notes. Sway processes audio locally. Only the text of a specific query is sent to an AI provider — never the full recording.
Sway's private mode hides its window from Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and screen recorders. The participants you're meeting with see only you — not the assistant.
If your core need is clean, organized notes from meetings — especially team sync calls, client calls you need to document, or any meeting where you'd otherwise rely on scattered handwritten notes — Granola is excellent. It has a polished note editor and a strong meeting history interface. If you need post-meeting documentation more than live AI coaching, Granola is the right call.
When to use Sway
Sway is designed for the conversations where what you say right now matters.
Surface talking points, answer behavioral questions, recall your experience — in real time as questions are asked.
Respond to objections on the spot, reference pricing, surface proof points — without breaking your flow.
Keep key terms and constraints in view. Surface relevant precedents when the conversation shifts unexpectedly.
Handle live Q&A with confidence. Let Sway surface the right answer as questions come in from the audience.
Pricing
Sway starts with a 7-day free trial — no credit card required. Upgrade when you need unlimited sessions and full private mode.
7-day free trial. Full access to real-time suggestions. No credit card required to start.
Unlimited sessions, private mode (private, with no meeting bot), and priority AI response speed.
Frequently asked questions
Granola is a post-meeting notes app — it records the audio, transcribes it after the meeting ends, and organizes your notes. Sway is a real-time AI assistant that listens during the meeting and surfaces suggestions, talking points, and responses as the conversation happens. Granola helps you remember what was said. Sway helps you say the right thing in the moment.
No. Granola processes audio after the meeting ends to generate notes and summaries. It does not surface suggestions or coaching during a live conversation. Sway operates in real time — it listens continuously and responds to what's being said right now.
No. Sway uses macOS private mode to render its window below the OS capture layer used by Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. It is completely private, with no meeting bot and screen recording. The people you are meeting with never see it.
No. Sway processes audio locally in real time to generate suggestions. It does not record, store, or upload your meeting audio. Only the text of a specific prompt is sent to an AI provider to generate a response. Your conversations stay on your device.
Sway and Granola serve different purposes. If you need post-meeting notes and transcription, Granola is built for that. If you need real-time suggestions and AI assistance during a live call — a sales conversation, a discovery call, a client meeting — Sway is the right tool. Many users find they want both: Sway for the live moment, and notes for afterward.
Sway offers a 7-day free trial. Sway Plus is $30/month or $216/year. Granola's pricing is separate and not controlled by Sway. Check each product's pricing page for current rates.
Sway starts with a 7-day free trial. No credit card required. Download and run your first real-time AI session in under two minutes.