FluidVoice and VoiceInk are both Mac-first dictation tools, but they solve different buying moments. FluidVoice is the free route; VoiceInk is the $25-$49 local/offline power-user route. We make Ottex, and it fits when dictation also needs meetings and finished work.
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.
FluidVoice
Mac · Limited free
FluidVoice is a free, open-source macOS dictation tool with local model options and system-wide insertion, but it is not a meeting assistant and its public claims are thin on formatting, collaboration, and enterprise controls.
Choose if
You want a free, GPLv3 macOS dictation app with no paid tiers.
You use macOS 15 Sequoia or later and want voice input that works across text fields with a global hotkey.
You want control over speech models, including local options and Whisper support for up to 99 languages.
Look elsewhere if
You need Windows, web, iOS, Android, Linux, or browser-extension support.
You need meeting recording, summaries, action items, speaker identification, calendar integration, or shared team memory.
VoiceInk
Mac, iOS · $25 one-time
VoiceInk is a strong pick for Mac-first, privacy-conscious dictation with local/offline transcription and a $25-$49 one-time license, but it is not a meeting assistant and has no Windows, web, Android, or team workflow story.
Choose if
You want native macOS dictation on Apple Silicon with local models that can run offline.
You prefer a one-time lifetime license: $25 for 1 Mac, $39 for 2 Macs, or $49 for 3 Macs.
You want power-user dictation controls like global hotkeys, personal dictionary, snippets, filler-word removal, per-app rules, and searchable transcription history.
Look elsewhere if
You need meeting recording, summaries, action items, speaker identification, calendar detection, or follow-up drafts.
You need Windows, Android, Linux, browser, or web support instead of a Mac/iPhone/iPad setup dominated by macOS use.
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 absolute price because it is free forever with no paid tiers, while VoiceInk wins for buyers who want ownership with $25 for 1 Mac, $39 for 2 Macs, or $49 for 3 Macs. Ottex is broader rather than cheaper: free with local AI or your own key, $0.2/hour PAYG, $14/mo Pro, and $24/seat/mo Team.
See the evidence — 14 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
FluidVoice
VoiceInk
Free tier
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Forever free with local models and BYOK providers.
PartialSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Free forever, no paid tiers
NoNo free plan
Subscription
$14/moSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.
NoNo subscription plan
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).
NoSubscription only
$25 one-timeSource: tryvoiceink.com/buy — checked Jun 2026Lifetime of 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.
YesSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Optional AI provider API keys can be added for enhanced transcription.
YesSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Cloud and custom models may require adding the provider API key.
Education discount
NoSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Same pricing for everyone.
No public claim
PartialSource: tryvoiceink.com/faq — checked Jun 2026Student discount is available by contacting the vendor with student ID; no public percentage is listed.
Platforms
VoiceInk has the edge over FluidVoice on platform coverage because it supports Mac and iOS, while FluidVoice is Mac only. Ottex also supports Mac and iOS, so none of the three solves Windows, Android, Linux, web, or browser-extension use.
See the evidence — 6 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
FluidVoice
VoiceInk
Platforms
Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
MacSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026
Mac, iOSSource: tryvoiceink.com/faq — checked Jun 2026
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Native Swift app, ~50MB RAM.
YesSource: altic.dev/fluid — checked Jun 2026The vendor describes FluidVoice as a native macOS app.
YesSource: github.com/Beingpax — checked Jun 2026The GitHub README describes VoiceInk as a native macOS application.
Meetings & team memory
Ottex is the only real meeting-capture product in this trio because it includes meetings, while FluidVoice and VoiceInk do not. If you need recording, bot-free capture, speaker separation, or team memory, neither FluidVoice nor VoiceInk is the right pick from this set.
See the evidence — 18 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
FluidVoice
VoiceInk
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026With speaker separation.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/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: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Speaker separation
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Calendar detection
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Calendar-based meeting detection.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Cross-meeting search
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Shared team memory
PartialSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Public share links, not a full team workspace.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
From meeting to finished work
Ottex wins meeting intelligence because it turns dictation and meetings into follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, docs, and notes. FluidVoice and VoiceInk are dictation and transcription tools, not systems for summaries, action items, calendar-aware follow-up, or shared workflow memory.
See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
FluidVoice
VoiceInk
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Decisions with owners extracted.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/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: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
CRM update / ticket draft
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Structured for the target app.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Your rough notes steer the result
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Rough notes and instructions steer the result.
NoSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
NoSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Not supported.
Dictation & transcription AI
VoiceInk is the stronger privacy dictation pick because it has local/offline transcription, BYOK, file transcription, and power-user controls on Mac and iOS. FluidVoice counters with free Mac dictation, BYOK, file transcription, and 99 languages, while Ottex combines local options, BYOK, file transcription, per-app output, and 100 languages.
See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show tableHide table
Ottex
FluidVoice
VoiceInk
Engines
Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Source: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.
Nemotron Speech 3.5, Parakeet Flash, Parakeet TDT v3, Parakeet TDT v2, Cohere Transcribe, Apple Speech, Whisper Tiny/Base/Small/Medium/LargeSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026The README lists these supported speech models.
Local models, Groq, ElevenLabs, Deepgram, Parakeet, Gemini, Mistral, Soniox, custom OpenAI-compatible modelsSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026VoiceInk lists local, cloud, and custom transcription model options.
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Whisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.
PartialSource: altic.dev/fluid — checked Jun 2026Local speech models are supported, while Cohere and AI enhancement use optional cloud providers.
YesSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Local models run directly on the Mac without an internet connection.
Model selection per task
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026Choose the model per task and per provider.
YesSource: github.com/altic-dev — checked Jun 2026Users can choose among multiple supported speech models.
YesSource: tryvoiceink.com/docs — checked Jun 2026Users can choose and set a default transcription model.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence
YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Jun 2026100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.
No public claim
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: tryvoiceink.com/features — checked Jun 2026Power Mode can automatically apply app or website-specific transcription and enhancement settings.
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.
FluidVoice vs VoiceInk: which should I pick?
Pick VoiceInk if you want local/offline Mac dictation, iOS support, and power-user controls for a $25-$49 one-time license. Pick FluidVoice if free and open-source Mac dictation matters more than offline privacy controls or iOS. Pick Ottex if you need dictation plus meetings and finished outputs like emails, tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, and docs.
Is FluidVoice free?
Yes. FluidVoice is listed as free forever with no paid tiers, so it is the cheapest path for Mac dictation. It does not cover meetings, Windows, Android, Linux, web, or browser extensions.
Is VoiceInk free?
No. VoiceInk uses one-time licenses: $25 for 1 macOS device, $39 for up to 2, and $49 for up to 3. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex because it has free local AI and free BYOK paths.
How much does FluidVoice cost compared with VoiceInk?
FluidVoice costs $0, while VoiceInk costs $25, $39, or $49 one time depending on how many Macs you need. VoiceInk is still cheap over a year if you value local/offline dictation, but FluidVoice is the lower-cost choice.
Is FluidVoice or VoiceInk safer for privacy?
VoiceInk is the clearer privacy pick because it supports local/offline transcription. FluidVoice has BYOK and a free open-source Mac model, but the stronger local/offline claim belongs to VoiceInk. Ottex also supports local AI and BYOK if you want privacy controls plus meetings.
Does FluidVoice or VoiceInk work on Windows or Android?
No. FluidVoice is Mac only, and VoiceInk is Mac and iOS only. Ottex is also Mac and iOS, so none of the three is the right fit for Windows, Android, Linux, web, or browser-extension workflows.
Does FluidVoice or VoiceInk work offline?
VoiceInk is the better answer for offline use because it supports local/offline transcription on Apple Silicon. FluidVoice is free Mac dictation with BYOK and 99 languages, but VoiceInk is the safer choice when offline operation is the deciding factor. Ottex also supports local AI if you need offline-style dictation plus meetings.
