Arca vs Granola vs Otter: meeting notes vs getting the work done
Granola and Otter are built around meetings: they capture the conversation and turn it into notes you can search and share. Arca also takes meeting notes, but it is built around what happens afterward and outside meetings. It turns meetings and incoming email into action plans, drafts replies in context, and does routine follow-through with your approval.
If you mainly want excellent meeting notes, Granola or Otter may be all you need. If your problem is the work that piles up after the meeting, read on.
A note on sources: everything said here about Granola and Otter comes from their own websites, linked inline, as of October 27, 2026. Products change quickly, so check the current pages before you decide. I'm Minsung, and I build Arca, so read this with that in mind. I've tried to describe the other two the way they describe themselves.
Granola
Granola calls itself "The AI notepad for back-to-back meetings." Its homepage makes a clear point about how it records: "Granola doesn't join your meeting." It transcribes your computer's audio in the background, so there is no bot in the participant list. It works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, and with in-person meetings.
The idea Granola is known for is enhancing your own notes. You jot rough notes during the meeting, and Granola improves them with what was said. After the meeting, its homepage says, "notes, action items, and follow-ups are ready the moment the meeting ends," and it offers prompts like writing a follow-up email. It also has a chat that can answer questions across your meetings.
Granola has a free plan and paid plans for teams; see its pricing page for current details, including which integrations each plan includes.
Otter
Otter's headline is "Meeting AI that turns talk into action." It records in two ways. You can "schedule your AI Meeting Agent to automatically join all your Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet meetings," or you can "record conversations directly from your Mac or Windows desktop, without bots joining the call." It also runs on mobile and as a Chrome extension.
Otter does live transcription with speaker recognition, summaries and action items. "Otter AI Chat searches across your meetings and connected apps to instantly answer questions." Its homepage lists a long set of integrations, including Slack, Notion, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira and Asana.
Otter has a free tier and several paid plans; see its pricing page for current prices in your region.
Arca
Arca is an AI agent that gets ahead of your day and creates work in your voice and style. Meetings are one of its inputs, not the whole product.
Meetings. On a Mac, Arca records your microphone and the system audio as separate channels, so it knows which voice is yours without guessing, and no bot joins the call. When the meeting ends, a higher-accuracy pass separates the other speakers. Arca writes the summary, the decisions and the action items, and the action items become tasks.
Email and chat. Arca reads incoming email and, if you connect it, Slack. It ignores newsletters, receipts and automated notifications. For a message that needs something from you, it builds an action plan: the calendar event and the to-do or follow-up get created, and you see a card saying what was done. If a reply would settle it, Arca drafts that reply in the sender's language and tone. In the current beta, replies wait for your approval.
Memory. Arca remembers durable facts from your conversations and meetings, such as people, preferences, projects and commitments, and uses them when it drafts or answers questions.
Autonomy you control. You choose how much Arca does on its own, from suggestions only to full delegation.
Arca is in early access on iPhone and Mac. Plans are listed on heyarca.app at founding-member prices, and access starts with the waitlist.
Side by side
| Granola | Otter | Arca | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built around | Meeting notes | Meeting notes and conversation intelligence | Follow-through across meetings, email and chat |
| Joins the call as a bot | No | Optional (Meeting Agent); desktop app records without a bot | No |
| Enhances your own typed notes | Yes, its core idea | Not its headline feature | Not its headline feature |
| Chat over your meetings | Yes | Yes, plus connected apps | Yes, plus memory of people and projects |
| Acts on incoming email | Not described on its homepage | Not described on its homepage | Yes: action plans, drafted replies |
| Creates calendar events and tasks for you | Not described on its homepage | Not described on its homepage | Yes, from meetings and email |
| Integrations | Several, by plan | Many | Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Notion, Obsidian |
| Availability | Free plan and paid plans | Free plan and paid plans | Early access (waitlist) |
"Not described on its homepage" means exactly that. It doesn't mean the product can't do it, and features change often. Check before you rely on this table.
Where they overlap
All three will give you a transcript, a summary and action items from a meeting. All three let you ask questions about past meetings. Granola and Otter will both help you draft a follow-up email after a call. If that is the whole job, the choice comes down to how each one records, how you like to take notes, which integrations you need, and price.
Where they differ
The real difference is what each product thinks the job is.
Granola thinks the job is the notepad: you stay engaged in the meeting, write a few words, and get great notes. It is very good at that.
Otter thinks the job is capturing every conversation and making it searchable and useful for teams, including sales teams who want insights in their CRM.
Arca thinks the job is getting the work done. The meeting note is a means. What matters is that the proposal gets written, the calendar invite goes out, the document someone asked for gets sent, and the commitment you made on Tuesday doesn't slip by Friday. That's also why Arca reads email and chat, not only meetings: much of the follow-through after a meeting arrives somewhere else.
How to choose
- Choose Granola if you take your own notes in meetings and want them made better, without a bot in the call.
- Choose Otter if you want live transcription, a bot that can attend meetings for you, and broad integrations for a team.
- Choose Arca if your meetings already produce good notes but the follow-through still lands on you, and you want an assistant that also handles the requests arriving by email and chat.
You can also use them together. Nothing stops you from keeping your favorite note-taker and adding Arca for the work after the meeting.
Arca is in early access. Join the waitlist on heyarca.app. Examples on our site are product demonstrations, not customer testimonials.
FAQ
What is the main difference between Arca, Granola and Otter?
Granola and Otter are built around meeting notes. Arca also takes meeting notes, but it is built around follow-through: it turns meetings and incoming email into action plans, creates calendar events and tasks, and drafts replies for your approval.
Does Arca join my meetings as a bot?
No. On a Mac, Arca records your microphone and the system audio as separate channels, so no bot joins the call. Granola also records without a bot. Otter offers both a Meeting Agent that joins calls and a desktop app that records without a bot.
Is Arca a Granola alternative?
It can be, if what you want from a note-taker is the work that comes after the meeting. If you mainly want to enhance your own typed notes, Granola is built specifically for that, and you can use both.
Can I use Arca alongside Granola or Otter?
Yes. Arca's value is in the follow-through across meetings, email and chat, so it can sit next to whichever note-taker you already like.
Is Arca available now?
Arca is in early access on iPhone and Mac. You can join the waitlist on heyarca.app with your email. Joining is not a purchase and does not guarantee immediate access.