Granola and Superwhisper alternative for Windows.

Noted’s free plan is a free Granola and Superwhisper alternative on Windows: unlimited dictation, meeting transcripts and a monthly quota of AI meeting notes, no card. Granola’s free Basic plan also runs on Windows, with voice typing (beta, read 14 November 2026) and a 30-day history. Superwhisper’s free plan dictates on Windows, but its Meetings feature is Mac-only. Checked 12 November 2026.

This is for anyone on a Windows PC who wants dictation, meeting notes or both without paying first. You get what each free plan includes, the limits each vendor states, a 30-minute test you can run tonight, and where each app wins.

Does Granola run on Windows, and is it free?

Yes. Its own Windows article (read 12 November 2026; dated “October 16” with no year) calls it a native release for Windows 10 or later and says there is no meeting bot: it records your microphone and system audio on your computer.

The free plan. Granola’s pricing page (same day) names no operating system, so these are its terms for all plans: Basic is $0 with AI meeting notes and a 30-day history window; Business is $14 and Enterprise $35 per user per month. Its free vs paid article says Basic runs on Windows with no Windows-specific plan differences. So Basic on Windows also has voice typing (beta): Granola’s voice typing help page (read 14 November 2026) says voice typing in any app is free in every plan and in beta on Windows, where you hold Left Ctrl and the Windows key to talk.

Windows limits Granola names: no audio playback, the video watermark works only on Windows 11, no step-by-step guidance yet for managed deployment tools, and capture depends on Windows using the same default microphone and output device as your meeting app.

Does Superwhisper’s free plan work on Windows?

Dictation does. Superwhisper’s Windows docs (read 12 November 2026, no date shown) list Windows 10 and 11 on x64 and ARM, no GPU required. Its plans page (same day) says Free gives unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, custom vocabulary, text replacements and up to two modes without AI processing. One Pro licence covers unlimited Macs and Windows PCs.

Not in Free: cloud voice models, file transcription, AI modes, realtime transcription, system audio recording, speaker separation and your own API keys.

Not on Windows yet, per the docs: Meetings (they point to Meeting mode with system audio instead), Filesync, Simulate Keypresses, and coding agent integrations and the CLI. Its Meetings page says Meetings is available on Mac only. So on Windows, free Superwhisper is a dictation app.

Pro is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year (about 17% off) or $249.99 once. New users get 3,000 words of free Pro access first.

What does Noted’s free plan include on Windows?

From our pricing section, read 12 November 2026: $0, no card. Free has unlimited dictation in any app, meeting transcripts where no bot joins the call, a monthly quota of Polish (dictation cleanup) and AI meeting notes that resets on the 1st (UTC), and Ask across your notes and documents, with sources. The plan list says it works on Mac and Windows. Pro is $14.99 a month or $149 a year, makes AI notes, Polish and Ask unlimited, and adds Live Answers and screen answers.

Our home page gives the requirement as Windows 10 (version 1903) or later, 64-bit. Speech turns into text on your computer; cloud features such as Polish, AI meeting notes and Ask send the text they need to our AI providers (see the privacy page).

Is Windows’ own voice typing enough?

For plain dictation, maybe. Microsoft’s voice typing page (read 12 November 2026) says you press the Windows key and H in a text box, it works on Windows 10 and 11, and it needs an internet connection because it uses online speech recognition. It does not write meeting notes. We did not test it.

How do the free plans compare on Windows?

Where is Noted better?

Some of what the two rivals charge for is free in Noted. Their pricing pages re-read 14 November 2026.

• Dictation and meeting transcripts, both free. Noted Free has dictation with no word limit, and meeting recording and transcripts with no bot in the call. Superwhisper’s plans page puts system audio recording in Pro, and its Windows docs say Meetings isn’t on Windows yet.
• Every note, for as long as you keep it. Your notes stay on your computer, with no cloud copy unless you share a note by link, and none is hidden after 30 days. Granola’s pricing page lists Basic’s meeting history as 30 days, and unlimited history on Business.
• Your documents, free. Add your documents to Knowledge once, and Ask answers from them and your notes, with sources, on Free.

Noted’s Pro is for answers during the call: Live Answers answers questions on your call from your documents and past meetings, and screen answers answer from a capture of your screen. Only you see them.

Which one fits you?

What we ran and checked, and what we did not

On 12 November 2026 we read Noted’s Windows code and the live download, and we read the rivals’ pages again. This is what that gave us:

• Tested by hand by our founder on Windows, November 2026: Noted’s dictation, meeting recording and transcripts.
• The dictation key. The Windows default in voice_shortcuts.rs is Ctrl Alt Space, and a unit test in that file asserts it. Mac uses Control Shift Space. The file notes that Ctrl Shift Space belongs to Word, Excel, VS Code and Slack on Windows. We did not run the test for this post.
• How call audio is taken. The Windows code records system audio through WASAPI loopback, which needs no Windows permission prompt. If the loopback has not started within 10 seconds, the note falls back to microphone only. It follows your output device, and uses the communications device during a call in a call app.
• The installer. The Windows setup file on our downloads domain answered a header request with HTTP 200 and a last-modified date of 10 November 2026. Our founder installed it and used Noted on a Windows PC.

Not tested by anyone here: Granola or Superwhisper on Windows, any Windows speed or accuracy number, Windows ARM for Noted, or how any app behaves on your headset. Treat the rest of this post as vendor statements, dated.

Try all three tonight in 30 minutes

1. Install the three free plans. Granola, Superwhisper and Noted each start free. Only Noted and Granola can transcribe a call on Windows without paying; Superwhisper needs Pro for system audio.
2. Match your audio devices. In Windows Sound settings, set the same default microphone and output your meeting app uses. Granola names this as a capture dependency; it is a good habit for any of them.
3. Dictate the same paragraph in each. Use a real email draft in the app you live in. Note the hotkey, the delay before text appears and what you fix by hand.
4. Record one real 15-minute call. Tell people you are taking notes first. Compare what each app gives you at the end, not what it promises.
5. Check the limit that bites. Granola: is 30 days enough? Superwhisper: do you need meetings at all? Noted: does the monthly quota of AI notes cover your calls?
6. Decide by what you did twice. Keep the one you opened again on day two.

Our point of view

A free plan should do a whole job. That is why Noted’s Free covers dictation and meeting transcripts with no card, and puts the cloud-made parts, AI notes and Polish, behind a quota. We would rather you finish one real call than hit a paywall on the first.

Windows is a first-class platform. Our rule is that every desktop feature ships on both Mac and Windows, so the Windows build has its own call capture and its own default hotkey rather than a copy of the Mac one. The cost is that we publish no Windows benchmark yet, so we do not claim one.

No bot, but still tell people. Noted does not announce itself on the call. That is a reason to be upfront, not a feature to hide behind: see meeting notes without a bot.

Limitations, honestly

• Granola is better for teams. Shared folders, Slack, and Notion, Zapier and CRM links on Business per its own pages (which disagree on Slack), and SSO and SCIM on Enterprise. Its pages state no meeting cap; ours has a monthly quota. It documents Windows capture and IT controls; we have no equivalent guide.
• Superwhisper is better for dictation on a budget or off the cloud. $8.49 a month against $14.99, a $249.99 lifetime option, one licence for all your devices, ARM Windows, several local models and your own API keys on Pro. Its Windows page says dictation works with local models and no internet. Noted’s dictation, recording and transcripts also need no connection once the voice is downloaded; its Polish and AI notes need one.
• Noted falls short here: no one-time purchase, no stated ARM support, no integrations like Granola’s in our pricing section, and the free AI notes quota is finite.
• This post is a snapshot. Prices and limits change; check each page before you pay. Noted is not affiliated with Granola, Superwhisper or Microsoft.

On a Mac? Read the Mac version of this comparison.

Only weighing Granola? See Noted and Granola compared, row by row.

Only weighing Superwhisper? See Noted and Superwhisper compared, row by row.

FAQ

Is there a free Granola alternative for Windows?

Noted’s free plan runs on Windows 10 (1903) or later with meeting transcripts, a monthly quota of AI meeting notes and dictation, at $0 with no card. Granola’s free Basic plan also runs on Windows; its trade-off is the 30-day history.

Is there a free Superwhisper alternative for Windows?

Noted’s free dictation is unlimited in any app on Windows, with a monthly quota of Polish cleanup. Superwhisper’s free plan has no AI processing and, on Windows, no meeting feature; Noted adds meeting transcripts and AI notes.

Does Superwhisper Meetings work on Windows?

No. Its Meetings page says Meetings is Mac-only. The Windows docs point to Meeting mode with system audio instead, and the plans page puts system audio recording in Pro.

What happens to Granola notes after 30 days on the free plan?

Per Granola, they are stored but not visible in the app until you upgrade.

Can I try Noted Pro before paying?

Your first month of Pro is free with no card needed, and two months with a work email.

Want to compare on a real call? Try Noted Notetaker, free to start.