COMPARISONEvery claim sourced · verified Jun 2026

QuickWhisper vs Superwhisper: the honest comparison.

QuickWhisper is the Mac-first transcription workhorse. Superwhisper is the stronger cross-platform dictation app. Ottex sits beside them as our Mac/iOS option for dictation, meetings, and finished written outputs.

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.

QuickWhisper

Mac · Limited free · $59 one-time

QuickWhisper is a strong Mac-first, local transcription workhorse with a generous free tier and a $59 pay-once Pro plan, but it is not a polished team meeting assistant with cross-platform apps, shared workspace, calendar automation, or CRM

Choose if

You want local-first dictation, file transcription, and bot-free meeting recording on macOS 14.6+ with Apple Silicon.
You prefer a pay-once tool: Pro is $59 for advanced models, diarization, batch transcription, meeting recording, exports, integrations, API access, and watch/fd
You handle lots of audio/video files and need batch transcription, speaker labels, timestamps, and exports like TXT, PDF, MD, CSV, JSON, SRT, VTT, and more.

Look elsewhere if

You need Windows, Android, Linux, web app, or clearly supported mobile-first workflows.
You need a team meeting workspace with shared memory, calendar detection, action items, decisions, owners, follow-up emails, or CRM/task drafts from meetings.

Superwhisper

Mac, Windows, iOS · Limited free · $7/mo · $249.99 one-time

Superwhisper is a strong pick if you want private, system-wide dictation with local processing, 100+ languages, and a reasonably priced Pro plan, but it is less convincing as a full meeting-workflow system because calendar capture, shared w

Choose if

You want system-wide voice-to-text in native macOS, Windows, or iOS apps rather than a browser-first workflow.
You care about privacy: local transcription, no Superwhisper server retention, no AI training on user data, and BYO API keys are all publicly claimed.
You want dictation plus basic meeting recording in one personal tool, with Pro at $8.49/month, $84.99/year, or $249.99 once.

Look elsewhere if

You need a mature team meeting hub with calendar integration, shared workspaces, cross-meeting search, CRM updates, or automatic follow-up drafts.
You need Android, Linux, or a browser extension as a primary platform; those are not publicly claimed in the dossier.

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

QuickWhisper wins pay-once value: its Pro plan is $59 one-time, and its free Standard tier includes Tiny and Base file transcription with no listed limits. Superwhisper is cheaper to start at $8.49/month or $84.99/year, but its free tier is only 15 minutes of recording. Ottex has the broadest free path with unlimited local AI or your own key, plus $0.20/hour PAYG, though its Pro plan is $14/month.

See the evidence — 14 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	QuickWhisper	Superwhisper
Free tier	YesForever free with local models and BYOK providers.	PartialTiny and Base Models; free transcription of audio and video files using the Tiny and Base models, with no limitations.	PartialPro features for 15 minutes of recording for free; free tier available forever
Subscription	$14/mo$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.	NoNo subscription plan	$7/moAnnual Pro is listed as $84.99/year.
Pay-as-you-go / one-timeEscape the flat subscription	$0.2/hourHosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).	$59 one-timePay-once use forever.	$249.99 one-timeAll Pro billing options include the same features and work on all platforms.
Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman	YesOpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers.	YesChangelog lists adding existing API keys for cloud transcription providers and AI models.	YesPro includes use of your own AI API keys.
Education discount	NoSame pricing for everyone.	No public claim	YesThe pricing section advertises 40% off for students.

Platforms

Superwhisper wins platform coverage because it supports Mac, Windows, and iOS in native apps. QuickWhisper is Mac-only and is best for macOS 14.6+ on Apple Silicon. Ottex covers Mac and iOS, so it beats QuickWhisper on mobile but loses to Superwhisper if Windows matters.

See the evidence — 6 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	QuickWhisper	Superwhisper
Platforms	Mac, iOS	Mac	Mac, Windows, iOS
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke	YesNative Swift app, ~50MB RAM.	YesQuickWhisper is distributed as a macOS app through direct download, App Store, GitHub, and Homebrew.	YesVendor distributes platform-specific macOS, Windows, and iOS apps.

Meetings & team memory

QuickWhisper is the clearest meeting-capture winner for Mac users because its $59 Pro plan includes online meeting recording, speaker diarization, batch transcription, timestamps, and exports. Superwhisper has dictation plus basic meeting recording, but the notes do not show calendar capture, shared workspace, or meeting memory. Ottex records meetings on Mac and iOS, but it also does not claim mature shared meeting-w

See the evidence — 13 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	QuickWhisper	Superwhisper
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all	YesWith speaker separation.	YesVendor lists recording meetings in Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and others.	YesMeeting Mode records meeting audio and produces summaries with action items.
Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call	YesSystem-audio capture, no bot joins the call.	YesVendor says meetings are recorded without bots joining calls.	YesDocs describe local recording by starting Superwhisper rather than adding a meeting bot.
Speaker separation	Yes	YesVendor lists global speakers and speaker filtering across history.	YesSpeaker separation can be enabled in Advanced Settings.
Calendar detection	YesCalendar-based meeting detection.	No public claim	No public claim
Cross-meeting search	Yes	YesChangelog lists related transcriptions and semantic search across History.	No public claim
Shared team memory	PartialPublic share links, not a full team workspace.	No public claim	No public claim

From meeting to finished work

Ottex wins meeting intelligence because it can turn dictation and meetings into follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, docs, and notes. QuickWhisper is stronger at producing transcripts and exports such as TXT, PDF, MD, CSV, JSON, SRT, and VTT, but it is not positioned as a team workflow assistant. Superwhisper is good for private dictation and basic meeting recording, but it does not claim CRM updates,

See the evidence — 5 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	QuickWhisper	Superwhisper
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear	YesDecisions with owners extracted.	No public claim	YesMeeting Mode highlights key decisions.
Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized	YesDrafted from templates or your own.	No public claim	No public claim
CRM update / ticket draft	YesStructured for the target app.	No public claim	No public claim
Your rough notes steer the result	YesRough notes and instructions steer the result.	No public claim	No public claim

Dictation & transcription AI

Superwhisper wins broad personal dictation because it runs on Mac, Windows, and iOS, supports local and cloud AI models, BYOK, and 100+ languages. QuickWhisper also supports 100 languages, BYOK, and local models, but it is Mac-only and leans more toward transcription workflows. Ottex matches 100+ languages, local models, BYOK, mixed-language speech, personal vocabulary, and per-app output rules, but only on Mac and i

See the evidence — 11 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026Show table

	Ottex	QuickWhisper	Superwhisper
Engines	Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.	Whisper, Qwen 3 ASR, Nvidia Parakeet 110M, Nvidia Nemotron, Mistral Voxtral Mini, cloud providers OpenAI, Google, DeepGram, ElevenLabs, and GroqVendor changelog lists local voice model additions and cloud transcription providers.	Local voice models, cloud voice models, Anthropic, OpenAI, Groq, and user-connected API tokensDocs describe local and cloud voice models and cloud language models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Groq.
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine	YesWhisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.	YesVendor says all transcriptions are processed and stored locally on the machine.	YesVendor says offline speech recognition runs on Mac, Windows, and iOS with no upload.
Model selection per task	YesChoose the model per task and per provider.	YesVendor lists Whisper settings, custom GGML model import, and selectable local/cloud models.	YesUsers can pick voice models and select cloud or local AI models during setup.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence	Yes100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.	No public claim	No public claim
Per-app output rules	YesPer-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email.	No public claim	No public claim

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.

You dictate about 3 h a week≈ 23,400 words at ~130 wpm

0 h5 h10 h

and sit in 4 h of meetings a weekhours you'd want captured and turned into follow-ups

0 h7.5 h15 h

Fill the gaps with:

Dictation appadded to meetings-only toolsMeetings appadded to dictation-only tools

OttexOttex Provider — PAYG$135/yrHosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).

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.

QuickWhisper vs Superwhisper: which should I pick?

Pick QuickWhisper if you are on Mac and want a $59 one-time transcription tool with advanced models, diarization, batch transcription, meeting recording, and many export formats. Pick Superwhisper if you want system-wide dictation across Mac, Windows, and iOS with local and cloud AI models for $8.49/month, $84.99/year, or $249.99 once.

Is QuickWhisper free?

Yes. QuickWhisper Standard is free and includes Tiny and Base model transcription of audio and video files with no listed limitations. Superwhisper also has a free tier, but it only includes 15 minutes of recording.

Is Superwhisper free?

Superwhisper has a forever free tier, but it is only 15 minutes of recording, so it is a teaser rather than a real daily dictation plan. QuickWhisper's free Standard tier is more useful for Mac file transcription because Tiny and Base file transcription have no listed limits. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex: it offers unlimited local AI or your own key.

How much does QuickWhisper cost compared with Superwhisper?

QuickWhisper Pro is $59 one-time. Superwhisper Pro is $8.49/month, $84.99/year, or $249.99 lifetime, so QuickWhisper is the cheaper long-term paid path if Mac-only transcription fits your workflow.

Is QuickWhisper or Superwhisper more private?

Superwhisper is the clearer privacy pick from the notes because it claims local transcription, no Superwhisper server retention, no AI training on user data, and BYO API keys. QuickWhisper also supports local options and BYOK, so it can still be a strong local-first Mac choice.

Is it worth switching from QuickWhisper to Superwhisper?

Switch to Superwhisper if you need Windows or iOS support, system-wide voice-to-text, or a subscription with unlimited cloud and local models. Stay on QuickWhisper if you mainly transcribe files or meetings on Mac and prefer the $59 one-time Pro plan.

Does QuickWhisper or Superwhisper work on Windows or Android?

Superwhisper works on Windows, Mac, and iOS. QuickWhisper is Mac-only, and neither tool claims Android, Linux, or web support in the provided notes.

More QuickWhisper alternatives Superwhisper icon

More Superwhisper alternatives