Aqua Voice is the polished cloud dictation choice for Mac, Windows, and iOS. Spokenly is stronger if you want local models, BYOK, and 100 languages. Ottex is the broader Mac/iOS option when dictation also needs to become meetings, emails, tickets, CRM updates, and docs.
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.
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.
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 has the strongest low-cost dictation path: unlimited local models for free, BYOK where Spokenly charges nothing, and Pro at $9.99/mo. Aqua Voice's free tier is only 1,000 words, about 8 minutes of speech, then $10/mo or $96/yr. Ottex is pricier at $14/mo Pro and $24/seat/mo Team, but it also has free local and BYOK paths plus $0.2/hour PAYG for broader transcription and meeting work.
See the evidence — 14 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Aqua Voice
Spokenly
Free tier
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Forever free with local models and BYOK providers.
PartialSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 20261,000 free words, no card required
PartialSource: spokenly.app/pricing — checked Jun 2026Unlimited use; no usage limits
Subscription
$14/moSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.
$8/moSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026FAQ says Pro is $8/month billed annually after the free words.
$9.99/moSource: spokenly.app/pricing — checked Jun 2026The pricing page shows annual billing at $99.99 per year and references Pro cloud features.
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).
NoSubscription only
NoSubscription only
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: spokenly.app/pricing — checked Jun 2026Users can connect their own API keys from OpenAI, Deepgram, Groq, ElevenLabs, Mistral, and other providers.
Education discount
NoSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Same pricing for everyone.
YesSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Students with a .edu email get 70% off annual plans.
YesSource: spokenly.app/pricing — checked Jun 2026Verified students get 50% off Pro after contacting support with an academic email.
Platforms
Aqua Voice and Spokenly tie on coverage with Mac, Windows, and iOS, so either is safer than Ottex if Windows matters. Ottex is Mac and iOS only, which makes it the narrowest platform choice. The deciding factor is not OS count: Aqua Voice is the polished installed dictation app, Spokenly adds local and BYOK workflows, and Ottex trades Windows away for a broader Mac/iOS workflow.
See the evidence — 4 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Aqua Voice
Spokenly
Platforms
Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
Mac, Windows, iOSSource: aquavoice.com/download — checked Jun 2026
Mac, Windows, iOSSource: spokenly.app/download — checked Jun 2026
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Native Swift app, ~50MB RAM.
No public claim
No public claim
Meetings & team memory
Ottex is the only one of the three that handles meetings at all. Aqua Voice and Spokenly are dictation tools, not meeting recorders, so they do not cover meeting recording, speaker identification, summaries, action items, calendar workflows, or shared meeting memory. Choose Aqua Voice or Spokenly for live dictation, but choose Ottex when the job is capturing a call and turning it into usable work.
See the evidence — 18 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Aqua Voice
Spokenly
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026With speaker separation.
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/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.
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Speaker separation
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported for live meetings.
Calendar detection
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Calendar-based meeting detection.
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Cross-meeting search
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Shared team memory
PartialSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Public share links, not a full team workspace.
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
From meeting to finished work
Ottex wins meeting intelligence because it can turn dictation and meetings into follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, notes, and docs. Aqua Voice focuses on cleaned-up dictated text with punctuation, paragraphs, filler-word removal, snippets, custom vocabulary, and tone rules. Spokenly focuses on inserting dictated text into the active app, with local, BYOK, and cloud options, but it does not deliver a
See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Aqua Voice
Spokenly
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Decisions with owners extracted.
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/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.
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
CRM update / ticket draft
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Structured for the target app.
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Your rough notes steer the result
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Rough notes and instructions steer the result.
NoSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Dictation & transcription AI
Spokenly is the strongest pure dictation AI choice because it supports 100 languages, unlimited local models, BYOK, and a $9.99/mo cloud Pro plan. Aqua Voice is strong for polished server-side dictation across 49 languages, but it has no local or BYOK option. Ottex matches Spokenly on 100 languages, local models, and BYOK, and adds per-app output rules, mixed-language speech, file transcription, and meetings, but it
See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
Aqua Voice
Spokenly
Engines
Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Source: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.
Avalon proprietary speech modelSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Aqua says it runs on its own Avalon speech model.
Whisper, Parakeet, Apple Speech Analyzer, GPT-4o Transcribe, Deepgram Nova 3, Soniox, Groq, ElevenLabs, Mistral, Fireworks, CerebrasSource: spokenly.app/pricing — checked Jun 2026Published pages name local, BYOK, managed cloud, and third-party providers across pricing and privacy materials.
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Whisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.
NoSource: aquavoice.com/vs — checked Jun 2026Aqua requires an internet connection and processes audio server-side.
YesSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Local Only Mode keeps transcription on-device and blocks network access.
Model selection per task
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Choose the model per task and per provider.
No public claim
YesSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Jun 2026Docs say users choose between fast and high-accuracy dictation models.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.
YesSource: aquavoice.com/guide — checked Jun 202649+ languages · Language guide says Aqua supports multilingual speakers.
No public claim
Per-app output rules
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Per-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email.
PartialSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Jun 2026Aqua formats for the destination app, but no per-app rule editor is documented.
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.
OttexSubscription - Pro$168/yr$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.
Aqua VoicePro Annual+ Granola for meetings — $168/yr$264/yr$96 + $168FAQ says Pro is $8/month billed annually after the free words. · Unlimited use
SpokenlyPro+ Granola for meetings — $168/yr$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
Aqua VoicePro Monthly+ Granola for meetings — $168/yr$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 Jun 2026.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
Aqua Voice vs Spokenly: which should I pick?
Pick Spokenly if you want offline dictation, BYOK, or 100 languages. Pick Aqua Voice if you want a polished cloud dictation app across Mac, Windows, and iOS and are comfortable with $10/mo or $96/yr after the 1,000-word trial.
Is Aqua Voice free?
Aqua Voice has a free trial, not a real free working plan. The 1,000-word limit is about 8 minutes of speech, then you pay $10/mo or $96/yr for unlimited use. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex because it supports unlimited local models or your own key.
Is Spokenly free?
Yes, Spokenly has a real free path if you use local models, and its BYOK option is also free from Spokenly while you pay the provider directly. Its paid Pro plan is $9.99/mo for high-accuracy cloud models and AI text processing.
How much does Aqua Voice cost compared with Spokenly?
Aqua Voice costs $10/mo or $96/yr after its 1,000-word trial, which is about 8 minutes of speech. Spokenly can be free with local models or BYOK, or $9.99/mo for Pro. Spokenly is the cheaper path unless you specifically prefer Aqua Voice's cloud dictation workflow.
Is Aqua Voice safe?
Aqua Voice dictation is processed server-side, so it is not the best pick if privacy means keeping audio local. Spokenly is stronger for privacy because it supports local models and BYOK. Ottex is also a privacy-focused option because it supports local models and BYOK.
Does Aqua Voice or Spokenly work on Windows?
Both Aqua Voice and Spokenly work on Windows, as well as Mac and iOS. Ottex does not support Windows, so it is the wrong pick if Windows coverage is required.
Does Aqua Voice or Spokenly work offline?
Spokenly is the clear pick for offline use because it supports local models. Aqua Voice has no local option and processes dictation server-side. Ottex also supports local models if you want offline dictation plus meetings and file transcription on Mac.
