ClickUp Brain vs Granola: pricing, features and which to choose

ClickUp Brain is an embedded AI assistant rather than a standalone project tracker. Its January 2024 launch grouped AI Knowledge Manager, AI Project Manager, and AI Writer for Work, connecting answers and generation to Docs, tasks, projects, dashboards, and organizational knowledge. Current ClickUp materials describe Brain as supporting workspace questions, writing, summaries, web research, model selection, and agent features. Because context follows the user's ClickUp permissions, the product can help find decisions and produce project updates without copying information into another assistant. Output requires review: ClickUp's AI terms disclaim accuracy and say customers remain responsible for inputs, outputs, and lawful use. ClickUp was founded in 2017 and expanded Brain within its existing work management product.

ClickUp's current pricing page lists Free Forever at $0, Brain AI at $9 per user per month billed yearly, and Everything AI at $28 per user per month billed yearly. The same page displays Brain AI at $18 per user per month and Everything AI at $68 per user per month for monthly billing. These add-ons are purchased across workspace members and automatically renew. The same pricing page also presents newer workspace plans named Free, Core, Business, Enterprise, and Max, with Brain capabilities and AI credits included according to plan. Brain MAX is presented as the full Max AI engine and desktop experience. Buyers should distinguish add-on pricing from workspace pricing, confirm billing cadence, and check whether legacy workspace eligibility applies.

ClickUp's funding history provides context for Brain's product position. The company raised $35 million in Series A, $100 million in Series B, and $400 million in Series C in 2021, with reported total venture funding of $535 million and a reported $4 billion valuation. Brain extended an established all-in-one work platform rather than starting as a dedicated AI company. Compared with Granola, ClickUp Brain is broader and more closely tied to tasks and project execution, while Granola centers on meeting capture and notes. Compared with Microsoft Copilot, ClickUp is more self-contained for ClickUp workspaces, while Copilot is stronger where Microsoft 365 is the system of record. Compared with Notion AI, ClickUp offers more native task operations, while Notion often suits flexible documents and wikis better.

Granola is designed around meetings rather than a general project database. Its desktop and mobile apps capture device audio and produce transcripts, summaries, decisions, action items, and reusable note formats. It can work without a conspicuous bot joining a video call, supporting local notetaking, though organizations still need consent and recording practices. Features include AI chat across meetings, shared folders, custom templates, multilingual support, recipes, pre-meeting briefs, follow-up emails, and integrations. Basic costs $0 per user per month, Business costs $14, and Enterprise costs $35. Business adds advanced models, collaboration and CRM integrations, MCP, and API access. Enterprise adds SSO, administration, retention, analytics, support, audit API, SCIM, HIPAA-compliant workspaces, and organization-wide controls. Granola suits meeting-focused teams needing searchable notes and shared context.

Granola offers Basic, Business, and Enterprise plans. Basic is free at $0 per user per month and includes AI meeting notes, 30 days of history, AI chat, shared folders, templates, multilingual support, Slack integration, and per-user training opt-out. Business costs $14 per user per month with monthly billing, adding unlimited history, advanced AI models and features, pre-meeting briefs, follow-up emails, a workspace dictionary, integrations with Notion, Zapier, HubSpot, Affinity, and Attio, centralized billing, MCP, and API access. Enterprise costs $35 per user per month through a monthly or annual contract and adds SSO, security and administration, priority support, analytics, retention policies, sharing controls, audit API, SCIM, HIPAA-compliant workspaces, and organization-wide training opt-out. Choose it if you need meeting-focused notes, collaboration, integrations, or enterprise controls.

Granola was founded in March 2023 by Chris Pedregal and Sam Stephenson. Announcements identify a $4.25 million seed round in 2023, a $20 million Series A in October 2024, and a $43 million Series B in May 2025 led by Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross's NFDG. Reported funding reached $67 million, with a $250 million valuation reported at the Series B. Granola's 2.0 announcement described a collaborative team workspace direction. Compared with ClickUp Brain, Granola is narrower and more meeting-focused. Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai provide comparable transcription and meeting intelligence, while Notion AI begins within a broader workspace. Granola's bot-free capture and editable notepad distinguish its workflow, making it a fit for professionals and teams that need searchable meeting notes, shared context, and integrations.