One table, checked against each app’s own pricing and privacy pages. Then a page for each, saying plainly who should buy theirs instead of ours.
| App | Best for | Platforms | Where it runs | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talkloom | Dictating into any app, offline, without a subscription | macOS 13+, Apple silicon | On your device | $39 once |
| Wispr Flow | Dictating across Mac, Windows and phones, with a meeting notetaker | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | Their servers | $12/month |
| Superwhisper | Power users who want modes, prompts and their own API keys | Mac, Windows, iOS and Android | Your device, or theirs | $8.49/month |
| MacWhisper | Transcribing files, meetings and podcasts, not only dictating | macOS | Your device, or theirs | €64 once |
| Aqua Voice | Cloud dictation with custom instructions and a team plan | macOS, Windows, iOS, Android | Their servers | $8/month |
| VoiceInk | People who want the source code and one small payment | macOS, iOS | On your device | $25 once |
| Spokenly | Windows and Linux users who want a free local option | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone | Your device, or theirs | Free |
| Apple Dictation | Short, casual dictation when you would rather install nothing | Built into macOS, iOS and iPadOS | On your device | Free |
Talkloom is our app, so it is the first row. Every other figure comes from the vendor’s own pages, linked on each comparison.
macOS 13+, Apple silicon · On your device
Ours. One hotkey — double-tap Ctrl, talk, double-tap again — and the text lands where your cursor already was, with your clipboard put back the way you left it. The whole speech model runs on your Mac’s GPU, so nothing is uploaded and nothing needs a connection. It transcribes audio files you already have too. It does not record meetings or run on Windows. $39 once, with every future update included. First ten dictations free.
Mac, Windows, iOS, Android · Their servers
The best known of these, and the one most people are leaving when they search. It transcribes on Wispr’s servers, which is how it stays fast on a phone, and it bills monthly. The free tier is capped by words per week. If you dictate across a Mac, a Windows machine and a phone, and you want a meeting notetaker in the same subscription, it is a coherent product and nothing here replaces all of it.
Mac, Windows, iOS and Android · Your device, or theirs
The serious local-first alternative, and the closest thing to a power-user toolkit in this list: per-app modes, custom prompts, your own API keys, cloud models when you want them. The free tier is real and unlimited for the built-in models. What you pay for is the toolkit, and the lifetime licence is priced accordingly.
macOS · Your device, or theirs
Not really a dictation app first. It transcribes files you already have — interviews, lectures, podcasts, YouTube links — and records Zoom, Teams and Webex calls in the background, with speakers separated. Dictation is one feature among many. Pro is a single payment and includes lifetime updates — the same policy as ours.
macOS, Windows, iOS, Android · Their servers
Cloud dictation aimed at people who want the text shaped as well as transcribed: custom instructions, an expanded dictionary for names and jargon, a realtime mode, and team plans with centralised billing. The free tier is a fixed word allowance rather than a recurring one, so it is a trial. Privacy Mode turns off transcript storage; it does not make the transcription local.
macOS, iOS · On your device
Open source under GPL, macOS and now iOS, one small payment or build it yourself from the repository. Everything runs on the machine. If you want to read the code that handles your microphone, this is the only entry here where you can.
Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone · Your device, or theirs
The widest platform coverage in this list — Mac, Windows, Linux and iPhone — with free local models and a local-only mode that blocks network requests outright. If you move between a Mac and a Linux box, or you want something free that still runs on the machine, start here.
Built into macOS, iOS and iPadOS · On your device
Already installed, costs nothing, and on a recent Mac most general text is processed on the device. It is genuinely good enough for short things: a message, a note, a search box. Where it gives way is long sentences, technical vocabulary, and languages that are not well supported in your region — Apple says as much in its own documentation.
How this was checked: every price, platform list and processing claim above comes from the vendor’s own pricing, privacy or documentation pages on September 23, 2026, linked from each comparison page. Where a claim is unflattering we quote their wording rather than ours. We have not scored accuracy, because a fair accuracy test needs the same microphone, the same room and the same voice, and we have not run one we would be willing to publish.
Dictating across Mac, Windows and phones, with a meeting notetaker
Power users who want modes, prompts and their own API keys
Transcribing files, meetings and podcasts, not only dictating
Cloud dictation with custom instructions and a team plan
Short, casual dictation when you would rather install nothing
macOS 13+, Apple silicon · $39 one-time · first ten dictations free
Figures checked on September 23, 2026. Prices change; if something here is out of date, email support@talkloom.app and we will fix it. Product names are trademarks of their owners and are not affiliated with Feelians.