Hedy is the broader meeting coach: five platforms, bot-free capture, and live guidance. Vowen is the sharper desktop productivity buy, with dictation, local engines, BYOK, and a $49 one-time Pro license. Ottex sits between them on Mac and iOS, adding system-wide dictation and finished work outputs.
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.
Vowen
Mac, Windows · Limited free · $49 one-time
Vowen is a strong local-first dictation and meeting recorder for Mac and Windows, especially at $49 one-time, but its mobile apps, team memory, consent controls, and compliance posture are still mostly unproven or enterprise-only.
Choose if
You want offline-capable dictation and transcription on Mac or Windows with local Whisper/Parakeet plus optional cloud engines.
You prefer a $49 one-time Pro license over another recurring subscription for unlimited meetings, file transcriptions, Command Mode, tones, and workflows.
You need bot-free meeting capture from Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack Huddles, or system audio, with AI summaries, action items, and follow-ups.
Look elsewhere if
You need a proven iOS, Android, web, browser extension, or Linux workflow today; mobile is only coming soon and no web or Linux app is claimed.
You need mature team collaboration, shared workspace, cross-meeting memory, CRM/task drafting, or visible consent controls; those public claims are absent or un
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
Vowen wins pricing for desktop users: its Pro plan is $49 one-time for unlimited meeting notes, audio/video transcriptions, Command Mode, workflows, and tones. Hedy is cheaper month to month at $12.99/mo and has a $299 lifetime plan, but its free plan is capped at 5 hours per month and real-time AI insights only cover the first 30 minutes per session. Ottex is the surprise if you can live on Mac or iOS: free local AI
See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
Vowen
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)
PartialSource: docs.vowen.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Unlimited voice dictation; 10 audio/video transcriptions; 5 hours total meeting notes recording; 5 Command Mode calls per day; 1 custom tone; 1 text expansion; 1 custom API integration.
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
$49 one-timeSource: vowen.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Lifetime 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: docs.vowen.ai/introduction — checked Jun 2026Cloud transcription and AI enhancement use user-provided provider keys.
Education discount
NoSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Same pricing for everyone.
No public claim
No public claim
Platforms
Hedy wins platform coverage with Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and web, making it the safest pick for mixed-device teams. Vowen is Mac and Windows only, which is fine for desktop dictation but a real limitation if mobile or web access matters. Ottex is narrower than both compared tools on OS coverage, with Mac and iOS only.
See the evidence — 5 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
Vowen
Platforms
Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, WebSource: hedy.ai/downloads — checked Jun 2026
Mac, WindowsSource: docs.vowen.ai/introduction — checked Jun 2026Some platforms in beta/waitlist
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.
No public claim
Meetings & team memory
Hedy is the strongest meeting-capture choice if live coaching matters: it records bot-free across Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, in-person conversations, and imports, with broad device coverage. Vowen also records bot-free from Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack Huddles, and system audio, but its collaboration, consent controls, and cross-meeting memory are not proven. Ottex records meetings too, but its Mac/iOS-only footprint is a
See the evidence — 15 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
Vowen
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.
YesSource: docs.vowen.ai/introduction — checked Jun 2026Vowen captures meetings from Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack Huddles, or any app that produces sound.
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.
YesSource: docs.vowen.ai/introduction — checked Jun 2026Silent meeting capture records without a bot or banner.
Speaker separation
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
No public claim
PartialSource: vowen.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Speaker identification is a Pro feature.
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.
PartialSource: vowen.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Auto-detect meetings is a Pro feature.
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.
No public claim
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.
No public claim
From meeting to finished work
Hedy wins meeting intelligence inside the meeting, with real-time questions, blind-spot alerts, talking points, summaries, to-dos, and follow-up recaps. Vowen covers AI summaries, action items, and follow-ups, but it does not show mature shared memory, CRM drafting, or task drafting. Ottex is strongest after the meeting when the goal is finished work, because it can turn dictation and meetings into follow-up emails,
See the evidence — 10 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
Vowen
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.
YesSource: vowen.ai — checked Jun 2026Chat with meetings can surface decisions.
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.
YesSource: vowen.ai — checked Jun 2026Meeting chat can surface follow-ups.
CRM update / ticket draft
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Structured for the target app.
No public claim
No public claim
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.
PartialSource: docs.vowen.ai/pricing — checked Jun 2026Custom note instructions are Pro-only.
Dictation & transcription AI
Vowen beats Hedy for dictation because Hedy explicitly is not a system-wide dictation tool, while Vowen offers offline-capable dictation on Mac and Windows with local Whisper/Parakeet, optional cloud engines, BYOK, and 99 languages. Ottex is stronger than both for Mac/iOS dictation, with BYOK, local models, 100+ languages, auto-detection, mixed-language speech, personal vocabulary, and per-app output rules. Hedy only
See the evidence — 13 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Hedy
Vowen
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 Whisper and Parakeet; cloud models from Groq, Deepgram, AssemblyAI, ElevenLabs, Mistral, Soniox, and moreSource: docs.vowen.ai/introduction — checked Jun 2026The docs say users can choose from 10+ engines.
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: docs.vowen.ai/introduction — checked Jun 2026Local Whisper and Parakeet run offline on the device.
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: docs.vowen.ai/introduction — checked Jun 2026Users can pick and switch transcription engines.
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: docs.vowen.ai/introduction — checked Jun 2026Per-app writing styles are listed in the docs.
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 Vowen: which should I pick?
Pick Hedy if you want live meeting coaching across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and web. Pick Vowen if you want desktop dictation, offline-capable transcription, and a $49 one-time Pro license on Mac or Windows.
Is Hedy free?
Hedy has a free plan, but it is capped at 5 hours per month and real-time AI insights only cover the first 30 minutes per session. That is useful for trying Hedy, not for running unlimited meetings. For a genuinely free local or BYOK path on supported Apple devices, consider Ottex.
Is Vowen free?
Vowen has a free plan with unlimited voice dictation, 10 audio/video transcriptions, 5 total hours of meeting notes recording, 5 Command Mode calls per day, 1 custom tone, 1 text expansion, and 1 custom API integration. The main upgrade is Pro at $49 one-time for unlimited meeting notes, unlimited audio/video transcriptions, unlimited Command Mode, workflows, and tones.
How much does Hedy cost compared with Vowen?
Hedy costs $12.99/mo for Pro or $299 one-time for Lifetime, after a free plan capped at 5 hours per month. Vowen is much cheaper for desktop buyers because Pro is $49 one-time. Ottex has free local AI and BYOK paths, $0.2/hour PAYG, $14/mo Pro, and $24/seat/mo Team.
Is Hedy or Vowen safer for privacy?
Hedy has the clearer privacy posture: local speech recognition by default, optional local AI, optional cloud sync, plus GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type I claims. Vowen is local-first with local Whisper/Parakeet and BYOK, but its compliance posture is enterprise-only or unproven in the provided notes.
Is it worth switching from Hedy to Vowen?
Switch from Hedy to Vowen if your real need is system-wide dictation, offline-capable desktop transcription, local model choice, BYOK, or a $49 one-time license. Stay with Hedy if you value live coaching during meetings, broad platform coverage, and searchable conversation memory more than dictation.
Does Hedy or Vowen work on Windows or Android?
Both Hedy and Vowen work on Windows. Hedy also works on Android, iOS, Mac, and web, while Vowen is Mac and Windows only. Ottex is not the answer for Windows or Android because it supports Mac and iOS.
