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 Vowen: the honest comparison.
Three tools. Different strengths. Find your fit.
Ottex
Hedy
VowenAll 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.
Vowen
Mac, Windows
Choose if
You want desktop dictation and meeting notes for $49 once.
Look elsewhere if
You need AI features ready without configuring models or providers.
The evidence
Pricing
Hedy Pro costs $99.99/year; Vowen Pro costs $49 once. Ottex offers free app access with local models or bring your own API key (BYOK), with provider usage charged separately, or Pro at $168/year.
See the evidence — 13 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | Vowen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/pricing — checked Oct 202610 saved meeting notes; 10 manual file transcriptions, for the lifetime of the install; 5 per day Command Mode; 1 Tone; 3 memory items; 1 custom text expansion. |
| 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. | NoNo subscription plan |
| 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. | $49 one-timeSource: vowen.ai/pricing — checked Oct 2026Lifetime updates, including all future versions. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/ai-features — checked Oct 2026Cloud speech and AI providers use the user's own credentials and bill the user separately. |
| Education discount | NoSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Same pricing for everyone. | No public claim | No public claim |
The evidence
Platforms
Hedy supports Android and Web access. Hedy and Vowen support Windows, but only Vowen dictates into apps there; Ottex supports Mac and iOS, without Windows.
See the evidence — 5 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | Vowen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, WebSource: hedy.ai/downloads — checked Oct 2026 | Mac, WindowsSource: vowen.ai — 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. | No public claim |
The evidence
Meetings & team memory
Hedy, Vowen and Ottex record without a bot. For sharing meeting history, Hedy offers read-only Topics and Ottex public share links; Vowen has no shipping shared team workspace.
See the evidence — 20 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | Vowen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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: vowen.ai/tools — checked Oct 2026Records online calls and in-person meetings from the user's computer. |
| 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: vowen.ai/tools — checked Oct 2026Capture runs on the user's computer 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 | NoSource: vowen.ai/tools — checked Oct 2026Vowen does not notify other participants and asks the recording user to disclose recording themselves. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/meeting-notes — checked Oct 2026Pro separates speakers with supported local or cloud models and allows users to rename their labels. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/meeting-notes — checked Oct 2026Pro optionally detects meeting apps using the microphone and offers a recording prompt. |
| 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. | YesSource: docs.vowen.ai/cli — checked Oct 2026The local MCP server exposes full-text search across meeting notes, file transcriptions and dictations. |
| 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. | NoSource: docs.vowen.ai/pricing — checked Oct 2026Shared team workspaces are on the roadmap and are not shipping. |
The evidence
From meeting to finished work
Hedy uses external automation for follow-ups, CRM notes and tasks. Vowen Pro and Ottex offer structured document templates and follow-up drafts; Ottex also drafts CRM updates and tickets.
See the evidence — 16 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | Vowen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | PartialSource: docs.vowen.ai/meeting-notes — checked Oct 2026Pro installs templates from a 44-item library whose section instructions structure transcripts into documents such as interviews, design reviews and board minutes. |
| 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. | PartialSource: docs.vowen.ai/meeting-notes — checked Oct 2026Pro Ask AI offers five reusable question starters in the empty chat and slash menu for summaries, decisions, actions, unresolved issues and follow-up emails. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/meeting-notes — checked Oct 2026The default meeting template extracts decisions and follow-ups. |
| 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. | PartialSource: docs.vowen.ai/meeting-notes — checked Oct 2026Pro includes a Follow-Up Email Draft document template and an Ask AI starter that drafts an email from the meeting. |
| 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. | YesSource: docs.vowen.ai/meeting-notes — checked Oct 2026Notes typed during recording and marked important moments are passed into the summary prompt as context. |
The evidence
Dictation & transcription AI
Hedy lacks dictation across apps. Vowen and Ottex support dictionaries, voice snippets and saved dictation rules; formatting and rules require AI Enhancement in Vowen, while Ottex also offers built-in tone presets.
See the evidence — 31 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Hedy | Vowen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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, Parakeet, Nemotron; optional BYOK cloud speech models and custom speech serversSource: docs.vowen.ai/transcription — checked Oct 2026Available engines and their streaming capabilities vary by platform and model. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/transcription — checked Oct 2026Downloaded local speech models transcribe on-device without an internet connection. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/transcription — checked Oct 2026Users choose local or configured cloud speech models and can switch between them. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/transcription — checked Oct 202699+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching is documented using Soniox with Auto-detect and the user's API key. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/ai-features — checked Oct 2026Optional AI Enhancement automatically adds punctuation, paragraphs and lists, with custom instructions controlling formatting. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/features — checked Oct 2026The editable dictionary supports recognition biasing on compatible engines and deterministic misspelling replacements on every engine. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/features — checked Oct 2026Threads replace spoken trigger phrases with saved plain or rich text before insertion on local and cloud engines. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/ai-features — checked Oct 2026Saved global and per-Tone instructions apply automatically during enabled AI Enhancement before insertion, with global instructions free on every plan. |
| 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. | PartialSource: docs.vowen.ai/ai-features — checked Oct 2026Command Mode rewrites, summarizes, translates and formats selected text through a configured AI provider, with 5 runs per day on Free and unlimited on Pro. |
| 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: docs.vowen.ai/ai-features — checked Oct 2026Tones automatically select instructions, speech models and languages by app or website, with one profile on Free and unlimited on Pro. |
Questions people actually ask.
Hedy vs Vowen: which should I choose?
Choose Hedy for live suggestions during calls, or Vowen for Windows dictation and meeting notes at $49 once if you can configure AI. Choose Ottex on Mac or iOS for built-in email tone presets alongside saved dictation instructions.
Is Hedy or Vowen free?
Hedy includes 5 meeting hours/month; Vowen limits free saved meeting notes and manual file transcriptions to 10 each for the install's lifetime. Ottex offers free app access with local models or your own API key (BYOK), with provider usage charged separately.
How much do Hedy and Vowen cost?
Hedy Pro is $12.99/month or $99.99/year, with a $299 lifetime option; Vowen Pro is $49 once. Ottex Pro is $14/month or $168/year, while local-model and BYOK app access is free, excluding BYOK provider charges.
Is Hedy safe?
For audio privacy, Hedy has no local processing option and its audio destination is unverified; Vowen and Ottex offer on-device transcription, while cloud speech models process audio through the chosen provider. Choose local models in Vowen or Ottex if keeping transcription audio on-device is your priority.
Is it worth switching from Hedy to Vowen?
Switch to Vowen if you need desktop dictation alongside meeting notes and can configure AI. Stay with Hedy for live call coaching or Android access; consider Ottex on Mac or iOS for automatic dictation formatting and saved writing instructions.
Do Hedy and Vowen work on Windows or Android?
Hedy supports Windows and Android; Vowen supports Windows but not Android, while Ottex supports Mac and iOS without Windows or Android. Choose Vowen for Windows dictation because Hedy cannot insert dictated text into other apps.
Do Hedy and Vowen use a recording bot?
No: Hedy, Vowen and Ottex record without a bot joining the call. Hedy asks you to obtain consent, Vowen asks you to disclose recording, and Ottex offers an experimental, opt-in macOS camera recording watermark that does not establish participant consent.