Granola
Small (~50)
OpenAI
Large (~3,500)
Best For
Granola
Best for: Craft-focused generalists who love native macOS development and want to build a consumer-quality AI product people genuinely love
OpenAI
Best for: Engineers who want to build frontier AI models at the company defining the industry, with elite compensation
Ratings
GranolaOpenAI
4.8
4.5
Overall
4.5
3.6
Work-Life Balance
5.0
4.6
Culture & Values
4.5
4.5
Comp & Benefits
5.0
4.3
Senior Mgmt
4.7
4.3
Career Opps
👍 100% Recommend
👤 100% CEO Approval (Sam Stephenson)
👍 90% Recommend
👤 95% CEO Approval (Sam Altman)
Culture Values
Granola only
🧩 Wears Many Hats
OpenAI only
🌱 Learning & Growth
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate💎 Strong Comp & Equity🎯 Direct Product Impact
Pros & Cons
Granola
- Users absolutely love the product — everyone at Granola genuinely cares about quality
- Plenty of opportunities to work on things that make a real difference on a small team
- 5 days in office by default (with flexibility for life circumstances)
- Small team, so things can be busy — you'll wear many hats
OpenAI
- Cutting-edge frontier AI research with world-class colleagues
- Elite compensation — top-tier TC and equity packages
- High-intensity environment — long hours and intense pace are the norm
- Internal politics and rapid org changes as the company scales
Bottom Line
Granola
Choose Granola if you want to work on one of the most loved AI products with a small, London-based, in-office team obsessed with craft — but note the 5-days-in-office policy is explicit and non-negotiable.
OpenAI
High-intensity, mission-driven culture with world-class colleagues and top-tier comp — but expect long hours, rapid org changes, and internal politics as the company scales.
Open Roles
Granola — 16 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
6
💻 Engineering
4
📣 Marketing
2
🎨 Design
1
👤 HR / People
1
⚖️ Legal
1
⚙️ Operations
1
OpenAI — 655 jobs
💻 Engineering
317
💼 Sales / GTM
57
📋 Product
30
📊 Data
28
🧠 ML / AI
28
📣 Marketing
24
⚙️ Operations
17
⚖️ Legal
13
🎨 Design
10
👤 HR / People
9
💰 Finance
7
🎧 Support
4
Summary
Granola scores 4.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.5 work-life balance rating. OpenAI scores 4.5/5.0 overall with a 3.6 WLB. That’s a 0.3-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Ship Fast & Iterate, Strong Comp & Equity, Direct Product Impact. Granola also emphasizes Wears Many Hats. OpenAI also emphasizes Learning & Growth.
On the hiring front, Granola has 16 open roles and OpenAI has 655 open roles.