COMPARISONEvery claim sourced · verified Jun 2026

Spokenly vs Superwhisper: the honest comparison.

Spokenly and Superwhisper are both native dictation tools for Mac, Windows, and iOS. Superwhisper adds basic meeting recording; Spokenly leans harder into free local and BYOK dictation. Ottex is our Mac/iOS option when you want dictation, meetings, and finished follow-up work 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.

Spokenly

Mac, Windows, iOS · Limited free · $9.99/mo

Spokenly is a strong pick for Mac-first dictation with real offline and BYOK options, but it is not a meeting assistant and has no web, Linux, Android, or live meeting workflow.

Choose if

You want system-wide push-to-talk dictation on macOS, iOS, or Windows, with text inserted directly into the active app.
You want unlimited free local dictation in 100+ languages, or BYOK transcription where Spokenly charges nothing beyond your provider costs.
You need file transcription from the terminal, including batch audio/video jobs and TXT, SRT, VTT, Markdown, or JSON output.

Look elsewhere if

You need meeting recording, calendar detection, summaries, action items, follow-up emails, or shared meeting memory.
You need a browser, web app, Android, or Linux workflow instead of installed desktop/mobile apps.

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

Spokenly wins if you want unlimited free local dictation or free BYOK, with Pro at $9.99/mo. Superwhisper wins the paid personal plan at $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr, or $249.99 one-time, but its free tier is only 15 minutes of recording. Ottex is pricier at $14/mo and $24/seat/mo, but it has free local/BYOK paths and a $0.2/hour PAYG option for provider transcription.

See the evidence — 15 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	Spokenly	Superwhisper
Free tier	YesForever free with local models and BYOK providers.	PartialUnlimited use; no usage limits	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.	$9.99/moThe pricing page shows annual billing at $99.99 per year and references Pro cloud features.	$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).	NoSubscription only	$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.	YesUsers can connect their own API keys from OpenAI, Deepgram, Groq, ElevenLabs, Mistral, and other providers.	YesPro includes use of your own AI API keys.
Education discount	NoSame pricing for everyone.	YesVerified students get 50% off Pro after contacting support with an academic email.	YesThe pricing section advertises 40% off for students.

Platforms

Spokenly and Superwhisper beat Ottex on coverage because both run on Mac, Windows, and iOS. Ottex is Mac and iOS only, so it is the wrong pick if Windows is required. None of the three claims Android, Linux, web, or browser-extension coverage here.

See the evidence — 5 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	Spokenly	Superwhisper
Platforms	Mac, iOS	Mac, Windows, iOS	Mac, Windows, iOS
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke	YesNative Swift app, ~50MB RAM.	No public claim	YesVendor distributes platform-specific macOS, Windows, and iOS apps.

Meetings & team memory

Superwhisper wins among Spokenly and Superwhisper because it has meetings while Spokenly does not. Ottex also has meetings and is stronger if you want one Mac/iOS tool for dictation, file transcription, and meeting recording. Spokenly should be avoided for meeting recording, calendar detection, summaries, action items, follow-up emails, or shared meeting memory.

See the evidence — 15 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	Spokenly	Superwhisper
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all	YesWith speaker separation.	NoNot supported.	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.	NoNot supported.	YesDocs describe local recording by starting Superwhisper rather than adding a meeting bot.
Speaker separation	Yes	NoNot supported for live meetings.	YesSpeaker separation can be enabled in Advanced Settings.
Calendar detection	YesCalendar-based meeting detection.	NoNot supported.	No public claim
Cross-meeting search	Yes	NoNot supported.	No public claim
Shared team memory	PartialPublic share links, not a full team workspace.	NoNot supported.	No public claim

From meeting to finished work

Ottex wins meeting intelligence because it turns dictation and meetings into follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, notes, and docs. Superwhisper has meetings, but the notes warn that calendar capture, shared workspaces, cross-meeting search, CRM updates, and automatic follow-up drafts are not its strength. Spokenly has no meeting workflow, so it is not competing in this dimension.

See the evidence — 9 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	Spokenly	Superwhisper
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear	YesDecisions with owners extracted.	NoNot supported.	YesMeeting Mode highlights key decisions.
Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized	YesDrafted from templates or your own.	NoNot supported.	No public claim
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.	No public claim

Dictation & transcription AI

Spokenly and Superwhisper are both strong dictation picks with 100+ languages, BYOK, and local options on Mac, Windows, and iOS. Superwhisper adds file transcription and basic meetings, while Spokenly is the cleaner pick for unlimited free local dictation and BYOK where Spokenly charges nothing. Ottex also supports 100+ languages, local models, BYOK, file transcription, and per-app output rules, but it is limited to Mac and iOS.

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

	Ottex	Spokenly	Superwhisper
Engines	Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.	Whisper, Parakeet, Apple Speech Analyzer, GPT-4o Transcribe, Deepgram Nova 3, Soniox, Groq, ElevenLabs, Mistral, Fireworks, CerebrasPublished pages name local, BYOK, managed cloud, and third-party providers across pricing and privacy materials.	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 Only Mode keeps transcription on-device and blocks network access.	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.	YesDocs say users choose between fast and high-accuracy dictation models.	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.	No public claim	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.

SpokenlyPro$268/yr$100 + $168The pricing page shows annual billing at $99.99 per year and references Pro cloud features. · High-accuracy cloud models; AI text processing; works out of the box; priority support

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.

Spokenly vs Superwhisper: which should I pick?

Pick Spokenly if you want system-wide dictation with unlimited free local models or BYOK and you do not need meetings. Pick Superwhisper if you want private dictation plus basic meeting recording in one personal tool at $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr, or $249.99 once.

Is Spokenly free?

Yes, Spokenly has free Local Models with unlimited use and a free Your API Keys option where Spokenly charges nothing. The tradeoff is that cloud Pro features cost $9.99/mo, and Spokenly is not a meeting assistant.

Is Superwhisper free?

Superwhisper has a forever free tier, but it is only 15 minutes of recording, so it is a trial-sized path rather than a real weekly workflow. For regular use, Superwhisper Pro is $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr, or $249.99 one-time. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex — unlimited with local models or your own key.

How much does Spokenly cost compared with Superwhisper?

Spokenly Pro is $9.99/mo, while Superwhisper Pro is $8.49/mo or $84.99/yr. Superwhisper also has a $249.99 one-time Pro Lifetime option, while Spokenly is cheaper only if you use its unlimited free local models or free BYOK path.

Is Spokenly or Superwhisper better for privacy?

Superwhisper is the clearer privacy pick because it claims local transcription, no Superwhisper server retention, no AI training on user data, and BYO API keys. Spokenly also has local and BYOK options, so it can be private too, but the privacy claims in this input are stronger for Superwhisper.

Does Spokenly or Superwhisper work on Windows or Android?

Both Spokenly and Superwhisper work on Windows, Mac, and iOS. Neither claims Android, Linux, web, or browser-extension support here, so do not choose either if Android is your main device.

Does Spokenly or Superwhisper work offline?

Both Spokenly and Superwhisper have local options, so either can fit an offline or on-device dictation workflow. Spokenly is especially strong if you want unlimited free local dictation, while Superwhisper pairs local models with cloud/local Pro use.

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