COMPARISONEvery claim sourced · verified Jun 2026

FluidVoice vs Hedy: the honest comparison.

FluidVoice is the free Mac dictation pick; Hedy is the meeting coach with broad device coverage. Ottex is our product, and it belongs here when you want dictation, meetings, and finished work in one Mac/iOS-first tool.

Ottex

Mac, iOS · Free tier · $14/mo · PAYG

Ottex is unusually broad for a young Mac/iOS-first tool: it turns dictation and meetings into emails, tickets, CRM updates, notes, and docs, but it is not the pick if you need Windows, Android, web, browser extension, or compliance paperwork.

Choose if

You want one tool for system-wide dictation, meeting recording, and finished written outcomes like follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, and docs
You want a real free path: unlimited local dictation, file transcription, and meetings on Mac with Whisper/Parakeet, or BYOK instead of a forced subscription
You need multilingual dictation with 100+ languages, auto-detection, mixed-language speech, personal vocabulary, and per-app output rules

Look elsewhere if

You need Windows, Android, Linux, web access, or a browser extension
You need mature team infrastructure such as a shared workspace, API/webhooks, third-party note destinations, or assistant chat over transcripts today.

FluidVoice

Mac · Limited free

FluidVoice is a free, open-source macOS dictation tool with local model options and system-wide insertion, but it is not a meeting assistant and its public claims are thin on formatting, collaboration, and enterprise controls.

Choose if

You want a free, GPLv3 macOS dictation app with no paid tiers.
You use macOS 15 Sequoia or later and want voice input that works across text fields with a global hotkey.
You want control over speech models, including local options and Whisper support for up to 99 languages.

Look elsewhere if

You need Windows, web, iOS, Android, Linux, or browser-extension support.
You need meeting recording, summaries, action items, speaker identification, calendar integration, or shared team memory.

Hedy

Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web · Limited free · $12.99/mo · $299 one-time

Hedy is strongest as a bot-free live meeting coach and searchable conversation memory, with local/offline options and broad platform support, but it is not a system-wide dictation tool and lacks proven speaker labels, hotkeys, snippets, or

Choose if

You want real-time coaching during meetings, with questions, blind-spot alerts, talking points, summaries, to-dos, and follow-up recaps after the session.
You need bot-free capture for Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, in-person conversations, or imported audio/video, with apps across iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and web
You value privacy controls: local speech recognition by default, optional local AI, optional cloud sync, GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type I claims.

Look elsewhere if

You need system-wide dictation that inserts polished text into any app; Hedy explicitly does not support system-wide insertion or context-aware dictation.
You need meeting transcripts with publicly claimed speaker identification, timestamp exports, or speaker labels; those claims are not present here.

The evidence

What actually differs, claim by claim.

Each section opens with the takeaway. The table underneath is the receipt — every cell carries its source and the date we checked it.

Pricing

FluidVoice wins pure cost because it is free forever with no paid tiers. Hedy gives a real meeting free tier at $0 for up to 5 hours per month, then costs $12.99/mo or $299 one-time for Pro. Ottex has the broadest pricing ladder: free local AI or BYOK, PAYG at $0.2/hour, Pro at $14/mo, Team at $24/seat/mo, and Enterprise custom.

See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	FluidVoice	Hedy
Free tier	YesForever free with local models and BYOK providers.	PartialFree forever, no paid tiers	PartialUp to 5 hours per month; Real-time AI insights (first 30 min/session)
Subscription	$14/mo$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.	NoNo subscription plan	$12.99/moPro adds unlimited sessions, recording import, cross-session organization, Zapier, and API integrations.
Pay-as-you-go / one-timeEscape the flat subscription	$0.2/hourHosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).	NoSubscription only	$299 one-timeAll future updates included
Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman	YesOpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers.	YesOptional AI provider API keys can be added for enhanced transcription.	No public claim
Education discount	NoSame pricing for everyone.	No public claim	No public claim

Platforms

Hedy wins platform coverage with Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web. FluidVoice is Mac-only, which is fine for a focused macOS dictation workflow but a hard stop for Windows, mobile, web, or Linux buyers. Ottex sits between them with Mac and iOS only, so it is stronger than FluidVoice for Apple mobile use but not a Hedy replacement for cross-platform teams.

See the evidence — 6 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	FluidVoice	Hedy
Platforms	Mac, iOS	Mac	Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke	YesNative Swift app, ~50MB RAM.	YesThe vendor describes FluidVoice as a native macOS app.	YesVendor describes a native macOS application.

Meetings & team memory

Hedy wins meeting capture among FluidVoice and Hedy because it supports meetings, bot-free capture, imported audio/video, and live coaching across Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, and in-person conversations. FluidVoice does not cover meetings at all. Ottex also supports meetings and adds the same product surface as dictation, but Hedy has the broader platform reach while neither Hedy nor FluidVoice publicly claims speaker-

See the evidence — 17 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	FluidVoice	Hedy
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all	YesWith speaker separation.	NoNot supported.	YesHedy records live sessions and meeting conversations.
Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call	YesSystem-audio capture, no bot joins the call.	NoNot supported.	YesFeature page says no bot joins calls.
Speaker separation	Yes	NoNot supported.	No public claim
Calendar detection	YesCalendar-based meeting detection.	NoNot supported.	YesGoogle Calendar is listed in the help center and news page.
Cross-meeting search	Yes	NoNot supported.	YesPro users can group sessions and ask questions across conversations weeks ago.
Shared team memory	PartialPublic share links, not a full team workspace.	NoNot supported.	YesSharing sessions and topics is listed in the help center.

From meeting to finished work

Hedy beats FluidVoice for meeting intelligence because it provides real-time insights, questions, blind-spot alerts, summaries, to-dos, and follow-up recaps, while FluidVoice is not a meeting assistant. Ottex is the stronger choice when the desired output is finished work, because its stated scope includes follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, docs, and notes. Hedy is the live meeting coach; Ottex is a

See the evidence — 11 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	FluidVoice	Hedy
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear	YesDecisions with owners extracted.	NoNot supported.	YesGoogle Play listing says Hedy can find decisions across past conversations.
Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized	YesDrafted from templates or your own.	NoNot supported.	YesAuto-recap emails are listed for sharing insights.
CRM update / ticket draft	YesStructured for the target app.	NoNot supported.	No public claim
Your rough notes steer the result	YesRough notes and instructions steer the result.	NoNot supported.	YesHedy 3 added in-meeting note-taking that powers AI suggestions.

Dictation & transcription AI

FluidVoice wins the FluidVoice-vs-Hedy dictation choice because it is a true dictation app with BYOK, file transcription, model control, and 99 languages, while Hedy explicitly is not system-wide dictation. Ottex is broader for dictation than both on paper, with BYOK, local options, file transcription, 100 languages, mixed-language speech, personal vocabulary, and per-app output rules. Hedy’s strength is local/off

See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	FluidVoice	Hedy
Engines	Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.	Nemotron Speech 3.5, Parakeet Flash, Parakeet TDT v3, Parakeet TDT v2, Cohere Transcribe, Apple Speech, Whisper Tiny/Base/Small/Medium/LargeThe README lists these supported speech models.	Two local and two cloud speech recognition providersUsers can choose between private on-device transcription and cloud-based speech recognition.
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine	YesWhisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.	PartialLocal speech models are supported, while Cohere and AI enhancement use optional cloud providers.	YesLocal speech recognition and local AI processing can run on-device and offline.
Model selection per task	YesChoose the model per task and per provider.	YesUsers can choose among multiple supported speech models.	YesSpeech recognition provider can be changed in Settings > Speech & AI.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence	Yes100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.	No public claim	Yes30+ languages · App Store listing says Hedy supports multilingual conversations while returning insights in the preferred language.
Per-app output rules	YesPer-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email.	No public claim	No public claim

Cost

What a year actually costs at your volume.

Personal or team — switch tabs. Subscriptions are flat; usage-based pricing depends on how much you speak and meet.

You dictate about 3 h a week≈ 23,400 words at ~130 wpm

0 h5 h10 h

and sit in 4 h of meetings a weekhours you'd want captured and turned into follow-ups

0 h7.5 h15 h

Fill the gaps with:

Dictation appadded to meetings-only toolsMeetings appadded to dictation-only tools

OttexOttex Provider — PAYG$135/yrHosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).

OttexSubscription - Pro$168/yr$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.

Estimates, not quotes. Striped bar segments are the cost of the second app you picked above to cover the gap — rankings use that combined total. PAYG uses hosted at-cost estimates ($0.2/h dictation, $0.5/h meetings); BYOK is estimated at about a third of that because you pay the model provider directly. Bring-your-own-key plans still pay the model provider per use. One-time licenses are amortized over 2 years. Subscriptions use published pricing, checked Jun 2026.

FAQ

Questions people actually ask.

FluidVoice vs Hedy: which should I pick?

Pick FluidVoice if you want free Mac dictation that works across text fields and supports 99 languages. Pick Hedy if you want bot-free meeting capture, real-time coaching, and apps across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web. If you need one tool for both dictation and meetings, consider Ottex because it supports dictation, file transcription, and meetings.

Is FluidVoice free?

Yes. FluidVoice is listed as free forever with no paid tiers, so it is the cheapest path for Mac dictation in this comparison. The tradeoff is scope: it is Mac-only and does not do meeting recording, summaries, action items, or shared team memory.

Is Hedy free?

Hedy has a free plan at $0 with up to 5 hours per month and real-time AI insights for the first 30 minutes per session. That can work for occasional meetings, but the unlimited path is Pro at $12.99/mo or the $299 lifetime plan.

How much does FluidVoice cost compared with Hedy?

FluidVoice costs $0 and has no paid tiers. Hedy costs $0 for up to 5 meeting hours per month, $12.99/mo for Pro, or $299 one-time for Lifetime. FluidVoice is cheaper for dictation; Hedy is the paid choice when meetings are the job.

Is FluidVoice or Hedy better for privacy?

Hedy is the stronger privacy pick from the stated claims because it uses local speech recognition by default, offers optional local AI, has optional cloud sync, and claims GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type I. FluidVoice is open-source and supports BYOK, which is attractive for control, but it does not have the same stated compliance and meeting privacy package here.

Does FluidVoice or Hedy work on Windows or Android?

Hedy works on Windows and Android, plus Mac, iOS, and Web. FluidVoice is Mac-only. If you need Windows, Android, or web access, Hedy is the plain answer.

Does FluidVoice or Hedy work offline?

Hedy is the clearer offline/local option here because it has local speech recognition by default and optional local AI. FluidVoice has BYOK and model control for Mac dictation, but Hedy is the safer pick if offline meeting use is the priority. Ottex is also a local option for Mac/iOS users because it supports free local AI.

More FluidVoice alternatives Hedy icon

More Hedy alternatives