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
Hedy vs Spokenly: the honest comparison.
Three tools. Different strengths. Find your fit.
Ottex
Hedy
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.
Hedy
Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
Choose if
You want live suggestions during client calls.
Look elsewhere if
You need system-wide dictation for writing across apps.
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
Hedy costs $12.99/mo; Spokenly Pro costs $9.99/mo and Ottex Pro $14/mo. Spokenly and Ottex offer free app access with both local models and BYOK; provider API usage can cost extra.
See the evidence — 14 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Forever free with local models and BYOK providers. | PartialSource: hedy.ai/pricing — checked Oct 2026Up to 5 hours per month | 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. | $12.99/moSource: hedy.ai/contact — checked Oct 2026Cloud AI is included, local processing is available, optional external speech providers incur separate API charges, and automatic suggestions stop after 120 minutes per session. | $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 | $299 one-timeSource: hedy.ai/pricing — checked Oct 2026Lifetime feature access and future updates. | 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. | YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Deepgram, OpenAI, and xAI speech recognition accept user API keys and bill usage separately from Hedy. | 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. | No public claim | 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
Hedy supports Android and Windows; Spokenly supports Windows and Linux but lists no Android app. Ottex supports Mac and iOS, so choose Spokenly for Windows dictation or Hedy for Android meetings.
See the evidence — 6 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, WebSource: hedy.ai/downloads — checked Oct 2026 | 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. | YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026The import documentation identifies the installed Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android clients as native apps. | YesSource: spokenly.app/android — checked Oct 2026The macOS and iOS applications are built with Swift. |
The evidence
Meetings & team memory
Hedy and Spokenly have unverified support for camera recording watermarks; Ottex offers an experimental, opt-in macOS camera recording watermark. All three have unverified support for recording notices in meeting chat or calendar.
See the evidence — 17 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026With speaker separation. | YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Saving session audio requires enabling audio recording, which is off by default. | 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. | YesSource: hedy.ai/downloads — checked Oct 2026Meeting capture does not require a bot to join the call. | 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. | No public claim | No public claim |
| Participant noticesRecording notices in chat or calendar | No public claim | No public claim | No public claim |
| Speaker separation | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | PartialSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Nemotron separates speakers on supported devices, with names inferred from conversation context or entered manually. | 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. | PartialSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Mac and Windows detect microphone use by Zoom, Teams, and Webex, with FaceTime detection available on Mac. | 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 | PartialSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Topic chat searches related sessions; Free includes one topic, while Pro supports unlimited topics and chat across them. | No public claim |
| Shared team memory | PartialSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Public share links, not a full team workspace. | PartialSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Pro users can share Topics containing current and future sessions with recipients who receive read-only access. | No public claim |
The evidence
From meeting to finished work
Hedy has transcript-chat prompts and needs external automation for follow-ups; Ottex has those prompts, templates that turn transcripts into structured documents, and follow-up drafts. Spokenly needs AI Instructions for summaries.
See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | 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. | No public claim | 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. | YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Built-in Quick Prompts send preset questions to session chat, with different prompt sets for each session type. | No public claim |
| Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Decisions with owners extracted. | YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Session recaps extract action items and next steps into trackable to-do items. | No public claim |
| Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Drafted from templates or your own. | PartialSource: hedy.ai/integrations — checked Oct 2026A viaSocket template creates an interview follow-up email draft in Gmail from a Hedy session. | No public claim |
| CRM update / ticket draft | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Structured for the target app. | PartialSource: hedy.ai/integrations — checked Oct 2026A viaSocket workflow sends sales-call notes to a HubSpot contact and requires external automation setup. | No public claim |
| Your rough notes steer the result | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Rough notes and instructions steer the result. | YesSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Up to 10,000 characters of user-written session notes inform summaries, detailed notes, and chat responses. | NoSource: spokenly.app/comparison — checked Oct 2026Not supported. |
The evidence
Dictation & transcription AI
Hedy lacks system-wide dictation. Spokenly and Ottex automatically apply saved instructions to dictation; Ottex also formats lists and inserts voice-triggered snippets, while Spokenly offers model-dependent custom keyterms.
See the evidence — 30 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engines | Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Source: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local. | No public claim | 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. | NoSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | 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. | NoSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | 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. | NoSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | 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. | NoSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | 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. | NoSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | 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. | NoSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | 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. | NoSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | 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. | NoSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | 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. | PartialSource: hedy.ai/help — checked Oct 2026Completed session transcripts can be manually cleaned and translated using cloud AI on the original capturing device. | No public claim |
| Per-app output rules | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Per-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email. | NoSource: hedy.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Not supported. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Mac modes automatically activate for configured applications or websites. |
Questions people actually ask.
Hedy vs Spokenly: which should I choose?
Choose Hedy for live meeting coaching or Spokenly for unlimited free offline dictation. Choose Ottex on Mac or iOS if you need dictation with voice-triggered snippets plus meeting-derived follow-up, CRM and ticket drafts.
Is Hedy or Spokenly free?
Hedy is free for up to 5 meeting hours/month. Spokenly and Ottex offer free app access using local models or your own API key; Spokenly lists no usage limits for these paths, and provider API charges are separate.
How much do Hedy and Spokenly cost?
Hedy Pro and Spokenly Pro each cost $99.99/year; Ottex Pro costs $168/year. Hedy also sells a $299 lifetime license; Spokenly and Ottex offer free local-model and BYOK app access, with provider API charges separate.
Is Hedy safe for private conversations?
For offline dictation privacy, choose Spokenly or Ottex: both run local models, and Spokenly offers Local Only Mode to block outbound access. Hedy has no local option; its audio-processing location is unverified.
Is it worth switching from Hedy to Spokenly?
Switch to Spokenly for offline dictation and saved writing instructions; stay with Hedy for live coaching and read-only Topic sharing. Consider Ottex on Mac or iOS for saved dictation instructions, voice-triggered snippets and automatic list formatting.
Does Hedy or Spokenly work on Windows or Android?
Hedy supports Windows and Android but cannot dictate across apps. Spokenly supports Windows dictation but lists no Android app; Ottex supports Mac and iOS, with neither Windows nor Android support.
Do Hedy and Spokenly use a bot to record meetings?
Hedy, Spokenly and Ottex record without a bot; Spokenly meeting recording requires macOS 14.4 or later. Ottex offers an experimental, opt-in macOS camera recording watermark, which does not establish consent; inform participants and obtain permission.