COMPARISONEvery claim sourced · verified Jun 2026

Hedy vs Superwhisper: the honest comparison.

Hedy is the better choice for live meeting coaching and broad device coverage. Superwhisper is the better choice for private system-wide dictation on Mac, Windows, and iOS. Ottex is our product, and it sits between them by combining dictation, meetings, and finished written outputs on Mac and iOS.

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.

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.

Superwhisper

Mac, Windows, iOS · Limited free · $7/mo · $249.99 one-time

Superwhisper is a strong pick if you want private, system-wide dictation with local processing, 100+ languages, and a reasonably priced Pro plan, but it is less convincing as a full meeting-workflow system because calendar capture, shared w

Choose if

You want system-wide voice-to-text in native macOS, Windows, or iOS apps rather than a browser-first workflow.
You care about privacy: local transcription, no Superwhisper server retention, no AI training on user data, and BYO API keys are all publicly claimed.
You want dictation plus basic meeting recording in one personal tool, with Pro at $8.49/month, $84.99/year, or $249.99 once.

Look elsewhere if

You need a mature team meeting hub with calendar integration, shared workspaces, cross-meeting search, CRM updates, or automatic follow-up drafts.
You need Android, Linux, or a browser extension as a primary platform; those are not publicly claimed in the dossier.

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

Superwhisper is the cheapest paid subscription: $8.49/mo or $84.99/yr, with a $249.99 lifetime plan. Hedy costs $12.99/mo or $299 once, and its free tier is capped at 5 hours/month with real-time AI insights only for the first 30 minutes per session. Ottex has the most flexible free path with free local AI or your own key, plus PAYG at $0.2/hour, Pro at $14/mo, and Team at $24/seat/mo.

See the evidence — 13 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	Hedy	Superwhisper
Free tier	YesForever free with local models and BYOK providers.	PartialUp to 5 hours per month; Real-time AI insights (first 30 min/session)	PartialPro features for 15 minutes of recording for free; free tier available forever
Subscription	$14/mo$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.	$12.99/moPro adds unlimited sessions, recording import, cross-session organization, Zapier, and API integrations.	$7/moAnnual Pro is listed as $84.99/year.
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).	$299 one-timeAll future updates included	$249.99 one-timeAll Pro billing options include the same features and work on all platforms.
Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman	YesOpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers.	No public claim	YesPro includes use of your own AI API keys.
Education discount	NoSame pricing for everyone.	No public claim	YesThe pricing section advertises 40% off for students.

Platforms

Hedy wins platform coverage with Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web. Superwhisper covers Mac, Windows, and iOS, which is enough for many dictation users but misses Android and Web. Ottex is narrower at Mac and iOS, so it is not the pick if Windows or Android is required.

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

	Ottex	Hedy	Superwhisper
Platforms	Mac, iOS	Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web	Mac, Windows, iOS
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke	YesNative Swift app, ~50MB RAM.	YesVendor describes a native macOS application.	YesVendor distributes platform-specific macOS, Windows, and iOS apps.

Meetings & team memory

Hedy wins meeting capture for this trio because it supports bot-free capture for Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, in-person conversations, and imports, with a 5-hour/month free cap and $12.99/mo Pro. Superwhisper can record and transcribe, but its free path is only 15 minutes of recording and its notes are more personal than team-oriented. Ottex records meetings on Mac and iOS with free local or BYOK options and $0.2/hour.T

See the evidence — 14 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	Hedy	Superwhisper
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all	YesWith speaker separation.	YesHedy records live sessions and meeting conversations.	YesMeeting Mode records meeting audio and produces summaries with action items.
Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call	YesSystem-audio capture, no bot joins the call.	YesFeature page says no bot joins calls.	YesDocs describe local recording by starting Superwhisper rather than adding a meeting bot.
Speaker separation	Yes	No public claim	YesSpeaker separation can be enabled in Advanced Settings.
Calendar detection	YesCalendar-based meeting detection.	YesGoogle Calendar is listed in the help center and news page.	No public claim
Cross-meeting search	Yes	YesPro users can group sessions and ask questions across conversations weeks ago.	No public claim
Shared team memory	PartialPublic share links, not a full team workspace.	YesSharing sessions and topics is listed in the help center.	No public claim

From meeting to finished work

Ottex wins when the goal is finished work, because it turns meetings into follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, docs, and notes at $14/mo or $0.2/hour. Hedy wins for live meeting intelligence with questions, blind-spot alerts, talking points, summaries, to-dos, and recaps at $12.99/mo. Superwhisper is the weakest here despite its $8.49/mo Pro plan, because it is not positioned as a mature team meeting,

See the evidence — 8 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

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

Dictation & transcription AI

Superwhisper and Ottex both beat Hedy for dictation because Hedy is not a system-wide dictation tool. Superwhisper offers dictation, BYOK, local processing, and 100+ languages for $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr, or $249.99 once. Ottex also offers dictation, BYOK, local models, and 100+ languages, while Hedy has local options and 30 languages but no system-wide insertion.

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

	Ottex	Hedy	Superwhisper
Engines	Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.	Two local and two cloud speech recognition providersUsers can choose between private on-device transcription and cloud-based speech recognition.	Local voice models, cloud voice models, Anthropic, OpenAI, Groq, and user-connected API tokensDocs describe local and cloud voice models and cloud language models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Groq.
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine	YesWhisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.	YesLocal speech recognition and local AI processing can run on-device and offline.	YesVendor says offline speech recognition runs on Mac, Windows, and iOS with no upload.
Model selection per task	YesChoose the model per task and per provider.	YesSpeech recognition provider can be changed in Settings > Speech & AI.	YesUsers can pick voice models and select cloud or local AI models during setup.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence	Yes100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.	Yes30+ languages · App Store listing says Hedy supports multilingual conversations while returning insights in the preferred language.	No public claim
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.

Hedy vs Superwhisper: which should I pick?

Pick Hedy if your main job is live meeting coaching across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web. Pick Superwhisper if you want private system-wide dictation with local AI, BYOK, and 100+ languages on Mac, Windows, and iOS.

Is Hedy free?

Hedy has a free plan, but it is limited to 5 hours per month and real-time AI insights only for the first 30 minutes of each session. That is useful for trying the product, not for heavy meeting use. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex — unlimited with local models or your own key.

Is Superwhisper free?

Superwhisper has a forever free tier, but it includes only 15 minutes of recording with Pro features. That is a trial-sized allowance, not a real long-term dictation or meeting plan. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex — unlimited with local models or your own key.

How much does Hedy cost compared with Superwhisper?

Hedy Pro is $12.99/mo, and Hedy Lifetime is $299 once. Superwhisper is cheaper at $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr, or $249.99 once, so it wins on paid price if both products fit your workflow.

Is Hedy or Superwhisper safer for privacy?

Both have strong privacy claims, but Superwhisper is the cleaner pick for private dictation because it supports local transcription, BYOK, no Superwhisper server retention, and no AI training on user data. Hedy is better for private meeting coaching because it claims local speech recognition by default, optional local AI, optional cloud sync, GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type I.

Is it worth switching from Hedy to Superwhisper?

Switch from Hedy to Superwhisper if you mainly need system-wide dictation, 100+ languages, local processing, and text insertion into other apps. Stay with Hedy if you rely on live meeting coaching, bot-free meeting capture, Android, Web, or real-time prompts during calls.

Does Hedy or Superwhisper work on Windows or Android?

Hedy works on Windows and Android, as well as Mac, iOS, and Web. Superwhisper works on Windows, Mac, and iOS, but Android is not listed. Ottex is Mac and iOS only, so it is not the Windows or Android answer.

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