Ottex
Mac, iOS
Choose if
You want dictated emails to follow your saved writing instructions.
Look elsewhere if
You need voice dictation on a Windows computer.
ComparisonEvery claim sourced · verified Oct 2026
Aqua Voice vs Spokenly: the honest comparison.
Three tools. Different strengths. Find your fit.
Ottex
Aqua Voice
SpokenlyAll comparisons
FAQ
At a glance
Which one fits your work?
Each tool takes a different approach. Here’s a quick side-by-side to help you choose based on your workflow, platforms, and goals.
Aqua Voice
Mac, Windows, iOS
Choose if
You want saved writing instructions applied automatically to dictation.
Look elsewhere if
You need meeting recordings turned into structured summaries.
Spokenly
Mac, Windows, iOS, Linux
Choose if
You want unlimited offline dictation without a subscription.
Look elsewhere if
You need a shared workspace for team meeting notes.
The evidence
Pricing
Aqua Voice Pro costs $10/month; Spokenly Pro costs $9.99/month; Ottex Pro costs $14/month. Spokenly and Ottex offer free app access with local models or BYOK; provider API charges still apply.
See the evidence — 14 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Aqua Voice | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Forever free with local models and BYOK providers. | PartialSource: aquavoice.com/vs — checked Oct 20261,000 free words | PartialSource: spokenly.app/pricing — checked Oct 2026No usage limits |
| Subscription | $14/moSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included. | $10/moSource: aquavoice.com/pricing — checked Oct 2026Includes Custom Instructions and an expanded dictionary. | $6.99/moSource: spokenly.app/team — checked Oct 2026Each seat includes full Pro with a permanent 30% discount and centralized billing. |
| One-time payment | Not applicableSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Application is free | NoNo one-time payment plan | Not applicableSource: spokenly.app/pricing — checked Oct 2026Application is free |
| Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026OpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers. | No public claim | YesSource: spokenly.app/privacy — checked Oct 2026BYOK audio and text travel directly from the device to the selected provider. |
| Education discount | NoSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Same pricing for everyone. | YesSource: aquavoice.com/pricing — checked Oct 2026Students with eligible school emails receive 70% off: Pro costs $3/month monthly or $2.40/month billed annually, and Max costs $9/month monthly or $7.20/month billed annually; accepted domains include .edu, .ac.uk, .ac.jp, .ac.kr, and .ac.in. | YesSource: spokenly.app/students — checked Oct 2026Verified students receive 50% off Pro at $4.99/month or $49.99/year after signing in with an academic email and emailing a student ID to support. |
The evidence
Platforms
Aqua Voice supports Mac, Windows and iOS; Spokenly adds Linux. Ottex supports Mac and iOS, so Windows users should choose Aqua Voice or Spokenly.
See the evidence — 5 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Aqua Voice | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | Mac, Windows, iOSSource: aquavoice.com/guide — checked Oct 2026Some platforms in beta/waitlist | Mac, Windows, iOS, LinuxSource: spokenly.app/download — checked Oct 2026Some platforms in beta/waitlist |
| Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Native Swift app, ~50MB RAM. | No public claim | YesSource: spokenly.app/android — checked Oct 2026The macOS and iOS applications are built with Swift. |
The evidence
Meetings & team memory
Aqua Voice cannot record meetings; Spokenly records without a bot on Mac. Ottex also records without a bot and offers an opt-in experimental macOS camera recording watermark; it requires setup and video to be on and does not establish consent.
See the evidence — 19 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Aqua Voice | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026With speaker separation. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/dictation-for-mac — checked Oct 2026Meeting recording ships on Mac and requires macOS 14.4 or later. |
| Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026System-audio capture, no bot joins the call. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | YesSource: spokenly.app/blog — checked Oct 2026Mac meeting recording captures audio without a bot joining the call. |
| Camera recording watermarkShow recording in your camera video | PartialExperimental macOS virtual camera adds an Ottex icon to video; install/enable the extension, select it and turn video on. Guide covers Meet in Chrome and Zoom desktop; effects may obscure it. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | No public claim |
| Participant noticesRecording notices in chat or calendar | No public claim | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | No public claim |
| Speaker separation | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/blog — checked Oct 2026Saved meeting recordings can be transcribed with voice-based speaker labels that may require manual correction. |
| Calendar detection | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Calendar-based meeting detection. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/releases — checked Oct 2026Mac meeting detection is documented in release notes, including Safari support. |
| Cross-meeting search | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | No public claim |
| Shared team memory | PartialSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Public share links, not a full team workspace. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | No public claim |
The evidence
From meeting to finished work
Aqua Voice cannot summarize meetings; Spokenly summarizes recordings through configured AI Instructions. Ottex adds structured meeting-document templates and drafts follow-up emails, CRM updates and tickets.
See the evidence — 13 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Aqua Voice | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting template libraryTurn a transcript into a structured document | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Choose a ready-made document template to extract relevant information from a meeting transcript into a structured document, such as a product review or client-call report. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Meeting-transcript document templates are not supported. | No public claim |
| Transcript chat prompt libraryReady-made prompts for AI chat about meetings | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Use ready-made reusable prompts in AI chat to ask questions, analyze discussions and extract information from meeting transcripts. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Reusable prompts for chat over meeting transcripts are not supported. | No public claim |
| Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Decisions with owners extracted. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | No public claim |
| Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Drafted from templates or your own. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | No public claim |
| CRM update / ticket draft | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Structured for the target app. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | No public claim |
| Your rough notes steer the result | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Rough notes and instructions steer the result. | NoSource: aquavoice.com/creators — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | NoSource: spokenly.app/comparison — checked Oct 2026Not supported. |
The evidence
Dictation & transcription AI
Aqua Voice, Spokenly and Ottex apply saved instructions automatically to dictation. Aqua Voice and Ottex also expand spoken triggers into saved text; Spokenly lacks voice snippets.
See the evidence — 30 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Aqua Voice | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engines | Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Source: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local. | Avalon 1.5, WhisperSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Oct 2026Desktop model choices vary by app version and account access. | Whisper, NVIDIA Parakeet, Apple Speech Analyzer, OpenAI GPT-4o Transcribe, Deepgram Nova, SonioxSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Local and cloud transcription engines are selectable per mode. |
| Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Whisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device. | PartialSource: aquavoice.com/changelog — checked Oct 2026The iOS changelog documents downloadable offline models, but supported models and modes remain unspecified. | YesSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Downloaded local models transcribe offline, and Local Only Mode blocks outbound network access. |
| Model selection per task | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Choose the model per task and per provider. | PartialSource: aquavoice.com/info — checked Oct 2026The desktop Transcription Model selector exposes models available to the account. | YesSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Users choose transcription models and AI providers per mode. |
| Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching. | No public claim | PartialSource: spokenly.app/blog — checked Oct 2026100+ languages · Gemini 3.5 Transcribe supports switching languages mid-sentence. |
| Automatic formatting | YesSource: ottex.ai/docs — checked Oct 2026Dictation automatically fixes punctuation, groups ideas into paragraphs and formats enumerations as lists. Formatting toggles and profile rules customize output. | YesSource: aquavoice.com/changelog — checked Oct 2026Dictation automatically adds punctuation and paragraph breaks, with additional formatting configurable through Custom Instructions. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Models add punctuation, and optional Smart Paragraphs on Mac adds paragraph breaks; automatic list formatting remains unverified. |
| Custom dictionary | YesSource: ottex.ai/docs — checked Oct 2026Add or delete names and specialist terms with preferred spellings; entries provide recognition context during transcription. | YesSource: aquavoice.com/guide — checked Oct 2026Users can add and remove names, specialist terms, and acronyms in Dictionary. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Supported models accept custom keyterms; ElevenLabs live transcription applies only the first 50 terms. |
| Voice snippetsSay a saved phrase to insert a link or text | YesSource: ottex.ai/docs — checked Oct 2026Save a voice trigger and expansion text; saying the trigger while dictating inserts the saved URL or text in place. | YesSource: aquavoice.com/guide — checked Oct 2026Replacements expand spoken phrases into saved text such as calendar links and email addresses. | NoSource: spokenly.app/comparison — checked Oct 2026Not supported. |
| Custom voice instructionsFree-form rules applied after dictation | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Saved profile instructions automatically process dictation before insertion; rules can include writing examples, personal phrasing and email signatures. | PartialSource: aquavoice.com/guide — checked Oct 2026Plans with Custom Instructions automatically apply saved writing rules and examples to dictation, including email signatures. | YesSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Saved mode AI Instructions process each dictation before its configured auto-insert action using the selected AI provider. |
| Tone presetsChoose a predefined writing style | YesSelect built-in Messaging or Email profiles for casual or professional dictation; assigning apps or websites enables automatic profile activation. | PartialSource: aquavoice.com/changelog — checked Oct 2026Casual Messaging is a selectable lowercase style for messaging apps; a broader preset selector is unverified. | No public claim |
| Text transforms / AI ShortcutsApply an AI action to existing text | YesSource: ottex.ai/docs — checked Oct 2026Select or copy existing text, open Omnibar and run an AI Shortcut to rewrite, translate, summarize or apply a custom prompt; the result is copied/pasted. | YesSource: aquavoice.com/edit-mode — checked Oct 2026Edit Mode rewrites selected text by voice on desktop, excluding search fields, address bars, and selections over 6,000 characters. | No public claim |
| Per-app output rules | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Per-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email. | PartialSource: aquavoice.com/changelog — checked Oct 2026Casual Messaging enforces lowercase in apps such as Slack, iMessage, and Discord. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Mac modes automatically activate for configured applications or websites. |
Questions people actually ask.
Which is better, Aqua Voice or Spokenly?
Choose Spokenly for unlimited free offline dictation, or Aqua Voice for voice snippets and voice editing of selected text. Ottex suits Mac/iOS users who want saved dictation instructions, voice snippets and automatic list formatting.
Is Aqua Voice or Spokenly free?
Aqua Voice offers 1,000 free words, about 8 minutes of dictation. Spokenly offers unlimited free app access with local models or BYOK; Ottex also offers free local-model and BYOK app paths, but BYOK provider usage can cost money for either product.
How much do Aqua Voice and Spokenly cost?
Aqua Voice Pro lists $10/month or $96/year, plus a separate $119/year Pro listing. Spokenly Pro costs $9.99/month or $99.99/year; Ottex Pro costs $14/month or $168/year, and both offer free local-model and BYOK app paths with provider charges for BYOK.
Is Aqua Voice safe to use?
For offline privacy, choose Spokenly with Local Only Mode, which blocks outbound network access, or Ottex with on-device Whisper or Parakeet v3. Aqua Voice documents downloadable iOS offline models, but supported modes and audio routing elsewhere remain unspecified.
Is it worth switching from Aqua Voice to Spokenly?
Switch to Spokenly for unlimited free offline dictation or Linux; stay with Aqua Voice for voice snippets and voice editing of selected text, since Spokenly lacks snippets and its text transformations are unverified. Ottex offers snippets and AI transformations of selected or copied text on Mac/iOS.
Do Aqua Voice and Spokenly work on Windows or Android?
Aqua Voice and Spokenly support Windows; Ottex supports Mac and iOS. Android support is not listed for any of the three, while Spokenly also supports Linux.
Which supports more languages, Aqua Voice or Spokenly?
Spokenly and Ottex each support 100 languages, versus 50 for Aqua Voice. Ottex supports switching languages mid-sentence; Spokenly supports it with Gemini 3.5 Transcribe, while support in Aqua Voice is unverified.