Hedy is the meeting coach: bot-free capture, real-time prompts, and broad Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and web support. VoiceInk is the Mac-first dictation app with local/offline transcription and a $25-$49 one-time license. Ottex is our Mac/iOS tool for buyers who want dictation, meeting capture, and finished outputs in one place.
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 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.
VoiceInk
Mac, iOS · $25 one-time
VoiceInk is a strong pick for Mac-first, privacy-conscious dictation with local/offline transcription and a $25-$49 one-time license, but it is not a meeting assistant and has no Windows, web, Android, or team workflow story.
Choose if
You want native macOS dictation on Apple Silicon with local models that can run offline.
You prefer a one-time lifetime license: $25 for 1 Mac, $39 for 2 Macs, or $49 for 3 Macs.
You want power-user dictation controls like global hotkeys, personal dictionary, snippets, filler-word removal, per-app rules, and searchable transcription history.
Look elsewhere if
You need meeting recording, summaries, action items, speaker identification, calendar detection, or follow-up drafts.
You need Windows, Android, Linux, browser, or web support instead of a Mac/iPhone/iPad setup dominated by macOS use.
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
VoiceInk wins on price if you only need Mac dictation: $25, $39, or $49 one-time is far cheaper than Hedy at $12.99/mo or $299 lifetime and Ottex Pro at $14/mo. Hedy has a $0 tier, but it is capped at 5 meeting hours/month and real-time AI insights only for the first 30 minutes per session. Ottex is the surprise if you can use local AI or your own key, because its free paths cover dictation, file transcription, and.m
See the evidence — 13 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
VoiceInk
Free tier
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Forever free with local models and BYOK providers.
PartialSource: hedy.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Up to 5 hours per month; Real-time AI insights (first 30 min/session)
NoNo free plan
Subscription
$14/moSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.
$12.99/moSource: hedy.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Pro adds unlimited sessions, recording import, cross-session organization, Zapier, and API integrations.
NoNo subscription plan
Pay-as-you-go / one-timeEscape the flat subscription
$0.2/hourSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Hosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).
$299 one-timeSource: hedy.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026All future updates included
$25 one-timeSource: tryvoiceink.com/buy — checked Jun 2026Lifetime of updates
Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026OpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers.
No public claim
YesSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Cloud and custom models may require adding the provider API key.
Education discount
NoSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Same pricing for everyone.
No public claim
PartialSource: tryvoiceink.com/faq — checked Jun 2026Student discount is available by contacting the vendor with student ID; no public percentage is listed.
Platforms
Hedy wins platform coverage with Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and web. VoiceInk is narrow by design with Mac and iOS, while Ottex is also Mac and iOS only. Pick Hedy if Windows, Android, or web access matters; pick VoiceInk or Ottex only if your workflow is Apple-first.
See the evidence — 6 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
VoiceInk
Platforms
Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, WebSource: hedy.ai/downloads — checked Jun 2026
Mac, iOSSource: tryvoiceink.com/faq — checked Jun 2026
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Native Swift app, ~50MB RAM.
YesSource: hedy.ai/post — checked Jun 2026Vendor describes a native macOS application.
YesSource: github.com/Beingpax — checked Jun 2026The GitHub README describes VoiceInk as a native macOS application.
Meetings & team memory
Hedy wins meeting capture among Hedy and VoiceInk because it supports bot-free capture for Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, in-person conversations, and imported audio/video. VoiceInk is not a meeting recorder at all, so it cannot compete on summaries, action items, or team memory. Ottex also covers meetings on Mac/iOS, but Hedy has the broader platform story and the clearer live-meeting coaching position.
See the evidence — 17 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
VoiceInk
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026With speaker separation.
YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Jun 2026Hedy records live sessions and meeting conversations.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026System-audio capture, no bot joins the call.
YesSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Jun 2026Feature page says no bot joins calls.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Speaker separation
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
No public claim
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Calendar detection
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Calendar-based meeting detection.
YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Jun 2026Google Calendar is listed in the help center and news page.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Cross-meeting search
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
YesSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Jun 2026Pro users can group sessions and ask questions across conversations weeks ago.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Shared team memory
PartialSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Public share links, not a full team workspace.
YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Jun 2026Sharing sessions and topics is listed in the help center.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
From meeting to finished work
Hedy wins live meeting intelligence with real-time questions, blind-spot alerts, talking points, summaries, to-dos, and follow-up recaps. VoiceInk is built for dictation and transcription, not meeting follow-ups, CRM updates, or tickets. Ottex goes further on finished work than both by turning dictation and meetings into follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, and docs.
See the evidence — 11 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
VoiceInk
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Decisions with owners extracted.
YesSource: play.google.com/store — checked Jun 2026Google Play listing says Hedy can find decisions across past conversations.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Drafted from templates or your own.
YesSource: hedy.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Auto-recap emails are listed for sharing insights.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
CRM update / ticket draft
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Structured for the target app.
No public claim
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Your rough notes steer the result
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Rough notes and instructions steer the result.
YesSource: hedy.ai/post — checked Jun 2026Hedy 3 added in-meeting note-taking that powers AI suggestions.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Dictation & transcription AI
VoiceInk wins system-wide dictation between Hedy and VoiceInk because it has global hotkeys, personal dictionary, snippets, filler-word removal, per-app rules, searchable transcription, local/offline models, and BYOK. Hedy explicitly is not system-wide context-aware dictation, even though it has local speech recognition and 30 languages for its meeting and transcription use case. Ottex is the broader dictation option
See the evidence — 13 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
VoiceInk
Engines
Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Source: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.
Two local and two cloud speech recognition providersSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Jun 2026Users can choose between private on-device transcription and cloud-based speech recognition.
Local models, Groq, ElevenLabs, Deepgram, Parakeet, Gemini, Mistral, Soniox, custom OpenAI-compatible modelsSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026VoiceInk lists local, cloud, and custom transcription model options.
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Whisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.
YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Jun 2026Local speech recognition and local AI processing can run on-device and offline.
YesSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Local models run directly on the Mac without an internet connection.
Model selection per task
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Choose the model per task and per provider.
YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Jun 2026Speech recognition provider can be changed in Settings > Speech & AI.
YesSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Users can choose and set a default transcription model.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.
YesSource: apps.apple.com/us — checked Jun 202630+ languages · App Store listing says Hedy supports multilingual conversations while returning insights in the preferred language.
No public claim
Per-app output rules
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Per-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email.
No public claim
YesSource: tryvoiceink.com/features — checked Jun 2026Power Mode can automatically apply app or website-specific transcription and enhancement settings.
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.
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 VoiceInk: which should I pick?
Pick Hedy if you want a meeting coach that records bot-free across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and web. Pick VoiceInk if you want Mac-first dictation with local/offline transcription and a $25-$49 one-time license. Pick Ottex if you want one Mac/iOS tool for dictation, meetings, and finished outputs.
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. For serious usage, compare Hedy Pro at $12.99/mo or Lifetime at $299 one-time. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex, which has free local AI and free BYOK paths.
Is VoiceInk free?
VoiceInk is not listed with a free plan here. Its cheaper path is a one-time license: $25 for 1 macOS device, $39 for up to 2, or $49 for up to 3. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex, which has free local AI and free BYOK paths.
How much does Hedy cost compared with VoiceInk?
Hedy costs $0 with limits, $12.99/mo for Pro, or $299 one-time for Lifetime. VoiceInk is cheaper for Mac dictation at $25, $39, or $49 one-time, but it does not do meetings. Ottex sits between those models with free local or BYOK paths, $0.2/hour PAYG, $14/mo Pro, and $24/seat/mo Team.
Is Hedy or VoiceInk better for privacy?
Both are strong privacy picks in different ways. Hedy has local speech recognition by default, optional local AI, optional cloud sync, and GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type I claims; VoiceInk has local/offline transcription and BYOK on Mac. If privacy plus full dictation control is the goal, VoiceInk is the cleaner fit.
Is it worth switching from Hedy to VoiceInk?
Switch from Hedy to VoiceInk if your real need is system-wide Mac dictation, global hotkeys, snippets, personal dictionary, filler-word removal, and per-app rules. Stay on Hedy if you rely on live meeting coaching, bot-free capture, follow-up recaps, or Windows, Android, and web access. Ottex is the switch to consider if you want both dictation and meetings on Mac/iOS.
Does Hedy or VoiceInk work on Windows or Android?
Hedy works on Windows and Android, as well as Mac, iOS, and web. VoiceInk is Mac and iOS only, so it is the wrong pick if you need Windows, Android, Linux, browser, or web support. Ottex is also Mac and iOS only.
