COMPARISONEvery claim sourced · verified Aug 2026

Aqua Voice vs FluidVoice: the honest comparison.

Choose Aqua Voice for polished dictation across Mac, Windows, and iOS, or FluidVoice for free, private desktop dictation and local file transcription. Neither handles meetings; Ottex, which we make, is the reference option for combining dictation, file transcription, and meeting workflows.

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.

Aqua Voice

Mac, Windows, iOS · Limited free · $8/mo

Aqua Voice is a polished system-wide dictation app for Mac, Windows, and iOS, with 49 languages and strong formatting controls, but it is not a meeting recorder or file transcription tool and dictation is processed server-side.

Choose if

You want fast, system-wide voice dictation across Mac, Windows, or iOS for everyday writing.
You want dictated text cleaned up automatically with punctuation, paragraphs, filler-word removal, snippets, custom vocabulary, and tone rules.
You are comfortable paying $10/month or $96/year after the 1,000-word trial, which is only about 8 minutes of speech.

Look elsewhere if

You need meeting recording, summaries, action items, speaker identification, or calendar-based meeting workflows.
You need audio or video file transcription with timestamps, speaker labels, exports, batch processing, or watch folders.

FluidVoice

Mac · Free tier

FluidVoice is a compelling free, open-source choice for local, system-wide dictation with 99-language model support, but it offers no meeting recording or intelligence.

Choose if

You want free, unlimited local dictation without sending voice or transcripts to the vendor.
You need system-wide desktop dictation with per-app prompts, voice commands, and custom vocabulary.
You want to transcribe audio and video files locally, with TXT or JSON export.

Look elsewhere if

You need a meeting assistant for recording, summaries, action items, or team collaboration.

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 on price because its unlimited local dictation is free. Aqua Voice gives you only 1,000 free words, about 8 minutes of speech, before charging $10/month or $96/year for unlimited use.

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

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	FluidVoice
Free tier	YesForever free with local models and BYOK providers.	Partial1,000 free words, no card required	YesThe core app and local inference are free; optional cloud enhancement uses the user's provider key.
Subscription	$14/mo$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.	$8/moFAQ says Pro is $8/month billed annually after the free words.	NoNo subscription plan
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	NoSubscription only
Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman	YesOpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers.	No public claim	YesUsers can supply OpenAI, Groq, or custom provider API credentials for optional enhancement.
Education discount	NoSame pricing for everyone.	YesStudents with a .edu email get 70% off annual plans.	NoNo separate education discount is published because the product is free.

Platforms

Aqua Voice wins on coverage with Mac, Windows, and iOS support. FluidVoice covers Mac and Windows, but its published Windows installers are beta prereleases and it has no listed iOS app.

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

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	FluidVoice
Platforms	Mac, iOS	Mac, Windows, iOS	MacSome platforms in beta/waitlist
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke	YesNative Swift app, ~50MB RAM.	No public claim	PartialThe macOS app is native Swift while the Windows beta uses Flutter with native speech and input components.

Meetings & team memory

Neither Aqua Voice nor FluidVoice records meetings, separates speakers, or builds team memory. FluidVoice can transcribe audio and video files locally, while Ottex adds meeting recording alongside local file transcription.

See the evidence — 18 claims across 3 toolsverified Aug 2026Show table

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	FluidVoice
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all	YesWith speaker separation.	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.
Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call	YesSystem-audio capture, no bot joins the call.	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.
Speaker separation	Yes	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.
Calendar detection	YesCalendar-based meeting detection.	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.
Cross-meeting search	Yes	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.
Shared team memory	PartialPublic share links, not a full team workspace.	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.

From meeting to finished work

Neither Aqua Voice nor FluidVoice produces meeting summaries, action items, follow-ups, CRM updates, or tickets. Ottex is the stronger reference here because it can turn meetings into emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, and documents.

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

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	FluidVoice
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear	YesDecisions with owners extracted.	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.
Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized	YesDrafted from templates or your own.	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.
CRM update / ticket draft	YesStructured for the target app.	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.
Your rough notes steer the result	YesRough notes and instructions steer the result.	NoNot supported.	NoNot supported.

Dictation & transcription AI

FluidVoice wins on control and privacy with local models, BYOK, 99-language model support, per-app prompts, voice commands, and custom vocabulary. Aqua Voice supports 49 languages and offers strong automatic formatting and tone rules, but processing is server-side.

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

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	FluidVoice
Engines	Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.	Avalon proprietary speech modelAqua says it runs on its own Avalon speech model.	Nemotron Speech 3.5, Parakeet Flash, Parakeet TDT v3 and v2, Cohere Transcribe, Apple Speech, WhisperThe app publishes seven recognition-engine families with multiple variants.
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine	YesWhisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.	NoAqua requires an internet connection and processes audio server-side.	YesSupported speech models run on the device after any required download.
Model selection per task	YesChoose the model per task and per provider.	No public claim	YesUsers select among the supported recognition models during onboarding or in settings.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence	Yes100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.	Yes49+ languages · Language guide says Aqua supports multilingual speakers.	No public claim
Per-app output rules	YesPer-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email.	PartialAqua formats for the destination app, but no per-app rule editor is documented.	YesDifferent prompt sets can be assigned to different applications.

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.

Aqua VoicePro Annual$264/yr$96 + $168FAQ says Pro is $8/month billed annually after the free words. · Unlimited use

Aqua VoicePro Monthly$288/yr$120 + $168A vendor comparison page lists Pro at $10/month. · Unlimited use

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 Aug 2026.

FAQ

Questions people actually ask.

Aqua Voice vs FluidVoice: which is better?

FluidVoice is the better choice for most desktop users because it offers free, unlimited local dictation, 99-language model support, and local file transcription. Pick Aqua Voice instead if you need iOS or prefer its polished formatting, snippets, vocabulary, and tone controls.

Is Aqua Voice free?

Aqua Voice has a free allowance of 1,000 words, which is only about 8 minutes of speech. After that, unlimited use costs $10/month or $96/year.

Is FluidVoice free?

Yes, FluidVoice offers free, unlimited local dictation. It also supports local audio and video file transcription with TXT or JSON export.

How much do Aqua Voice and FluidVoice cost?

Aqua Voice costs $10/month or $96/year for unlimited use, while FluidVoice is free. Aqua Voice also offers a custom-priced enterprise plan.

Is Aqua Voice safe and private?

Aqua Voice processes dictation server-side, so FluidVoice is the stronger privacy choice. FluidVoice can run dictation locally without sending voice or transcripts to the vendor and also supports BYOK.

Is it worth switching from Aqua Voice to FluidVoice?

Switch if you want free local dictation, broader 99-language model support, BYOK, or local file transcription. Stay with Aqua Voice if iOS access and its polished formatting and tone controls matter more than local processing.

Does Aqua Voice or FluidVoice work on Windows or Android?

Both support Windows, although FluidVoice's published Windows installers are beta prereleases. Neither lists Android support, while Aqua Voice also supports iOS and FluidVoice does not.

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