Ottex
Mac, iOS
You want dictated emails to follow your saved writing instructions.
You need voice dictation on a Windows computer.
Three tools. Different strengths. Find your fit.
Each tool takes a different approach. Here’s a quick side-by-side to help you choose based on your workflow, platforms, and goals.
Mac, iOS
You want dictated emails to follow your saved writing instructions.
You need voice dictation on a Windows computer.
Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
You want live suggestions during client calls.
You need system-wide dictation for writing across apps.
Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
You want saved writing instructions applied automatically during dictation.
You need fully local AI cleanup with custom instructions.
Hedy costs $99.99/year; Superwhisper costs $84.99/year. Ottex costs $168/year, with free app paths using local models or your own API key (BYOK); BYOK excludes provider API costs.
| Feature | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Up to 2 (no AI processing) |
| 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. | $8.49/moSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Cloud inference is included, local transcription and optional BYOK are available, and meeting summaries do not require BYOK. |
| 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. | $249.99 one-timeSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026The same Pro features are licensed for the product's lifetime, subject to the service terms. |
| 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. | PartialSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Pro supports user-supplied provider API keys. |
| Education discount | NoSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Same pricing for everyone. | No public claim | YesSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Verified students, faculty and academic institutions receive 40% off monthly, annual and lifetime website purchases after verification; discounted USD prices are not published. |
Hedy and Superwhisper support Windows and Android; Ottex supports Mac and iOS. Choose Superwhisper for Windows dictation, since Hedy cannot insert dictated text across apps.
| Feature | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, WebSource: hedy.ai/downloads — checked Oct 2026 | Mac, Windows, iOS, AndroidSource: superwhisper.com/changelog — checked Oct 2026 |
| 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. | No public claim |
Hedy, Superwhisper Pro and Ottex capture meetings without bots. Ottex adds an experimental, opt-in macOS camera recording watermark; it does not establish participant consent.
| Feature | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | YesSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Desktop Pro modes capture live meetings through system-audio recording. |
| 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: superwhisper.com/meeting-transcription — checked Oct 2026Meeting audio is recorded from the user's device 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: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Pro separates speakers into editable labels, with labels omitted from standard AI summaries. |
| 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. | No public claim |
| 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. | PartialSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026The macOS CLI searches across stored transcriptions, including captured meeting transcripts. |
| 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 |
Hedy and Ottex offer summaries and transcript chat prompt libraries; Superwhisper produces minutes. Ottex also extracts transcript details into document templates and drafts follow-ups; Hedy needs external automation for follow-ups.
| Feature | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | YesSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Meeting Mode organizes action items alongside attendees and discussion points. |
| 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. | No public claim |
Hedy cannot dictate into other apps. Superwhisper Pro and Ottex format dictation and automatically apply saved writing instructions; Superwhisper limits fully local cleanup to English Message/Mail modes.
| Feature | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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, Cohere Transcribe, Superwhisper S1-Voice, Deepgram Nova, ElevenLabs ScribeSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026The model library includes local and cloud recognition engines. |
| 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: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Whisper, Parakeet and Cohere recognition models run on-device, subject to hardware support. |
| 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: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Each mode has selectable voice and optional language models. |
| 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: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026100+ languages · Mixed-language dictation uses Automatic detection and may need vocabulary hints or instructions to preserve the input languages. |
| 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: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Pro AI modes add punctuation, paragraphs and lists, while custom modes can define additional formatting rules. |
| 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. | YesSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Editable vocabulary supplies recognition hints for names, acronyms and specialist 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. | YesSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Saved replacements expand spoken phrases such as a work-email trigger into the configured text. |
| 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. | PartialSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Pro Custom modes automatically apply saved user-written instructions to every dictation in that mode; S1-mini cannot run Custom modes. |
| 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. | PartialSource: superwhisper.com/blog — checked Oct 2026Pro tone controls offer casual through formal settings, including five documented S1-mini preferences. |
| 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. | PartialSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Pro Super Mode formats selected text through spoken commands, and Custom modes process selected or copied text with user-defined instructions. |
| 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. | YesSource: superwhisper.com/docs — checked Oct 2026Modes can activate automatically for selected applications and websites. |
Choose Hedy for live suggestions during calls; choose Superwhisper for dictation across apps with saved writing instructions. Choose Ottex on Mac or iOS if you also need meeting-derived follow-ups, CRM updates and ticket drafts.
Hedy includes 5 free meeting hours/month; Superwhisper has a limited free plan without AI processing and a separate free transcription tool allowing files up to 10 minutes. Ottex offers free app access with local models or BYOK; BYOK excludes provider API costs.
Hedy Pro costs $12.99/month or $99.99/year, with a $299 lifetime license; Superwhisper Pro costs $8.49/month or $84.99/year, with a $249.99 lifetime license. Ottex Pro costs $14/month or $168/year; its local-model and BYOK app paths are free, excluding BYOK provider API costs.
For keeping speech recognition on-device, choose Superwhisper or Ottex; Hedy has no local option. Superwhisper limits fully local AI cleanup to English Message/Mail modes, while cloud or BYOK processing involves provider services.
Switch to Superwhisper if you need dictation with custom dictionaries, voice snippets and saved writing instructions; stay with Hedy for live call coaching. Ottex also supports those dictation controls and meeting follow-up drafts, but lacks Windows support.
Hedy and Superwhisper support Windows and Android; Ottex supports Mac and iOS. For dictating into other apps on Windows or Android, choose Superwhisper, since Hedy lacks system-wide dictation.
Superwhisper and Ottex support on-device speech recognition; Hedy has no local option. Superwhisper limits fully local AI cleanup to English Message/Mail modes, so offline recognition does not provide offline custom writing instructions.