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superwhisper vs Wispr Flow: which one to pick on a Mac, and a free third option

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Pick superwhisper if you want your voice to stay on your Mac or would rather pay once, and pick Wispr Flow if you want cleanup that follows the app you are in and the cloud does not bother you. superwhisper runs Whisper models on your Mac for free and sells its AI features in Pro, from $8.49 a month or $249.99 once. Wispr Flow always transcribes in the cloud, and its free plan allows 2,000 words a week on desktop before Pro at $15 per user a month, or $12 billed yearly.

Both are serious products, and both run on the Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. I built YapToText, a free, open-source dictation app that runs on the Mac, so it shows up here as a third option, and you should read that part with my bias in mind. My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate every day. For this page I compared what each company publishes on its own site and help center, read on October 3 and October 5, 2026; I did not benchmark the two against each other, so nothing here ranks them by accuracy.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreDownload for free. No account, nothing locked, macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 11 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Side by side
  3. What each one costs
    1. superwhisper
    2. Wispr Flow
  4. On device or in the cloud
    1. superwhisper
    2. Wispr Flow
  5. Models, modes and commands
    1. superwhisper
    2. Wispr Flow
  6. Devices, Intel Macs and languages
  7. Which one should you pick
  8. Where YapToText fits as a free third option
    1. Step 1: Install it and allow two permissions
    2. Step 2: Tap, talk, tap
    3. Step 3: Turn Wi-Fi off and do it again
  9. What each one cannot do
    1. superwhisper
    2. Wispr Flow
    3. YapToText
  10. The short version
  11. Questions

Steps

  1. Install YapToText from the Mac App Store and open it.
  2. In the Get set up card on the Home page, press Continue next to Microphone and Grant next to Accessibility.
  3. Click into any text field, tap Right Command, say a few sentences, and tap it again.
  4. Check that the words landed at your cursor.
  5. Turn Wi-Fi off and repeat the dictation to confirm it works offline.

Side by side

Checked October 3 and 5, 2026, on superwhisper.com, wisprflow.ai and their help pages: superwhisper's prices on October 5, Wispr Flow's on October 3. Prices change, so confirm on each vendor's pricing page before you buy.

superwhisperWispr FlowYapToText
Free planUnlimited dictation with local Whisper models, custom vocabulary, text replacements, up to two modes without AI processing2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 on mobile; on desktop, dictation is refused past 5,000 until the weekly resetEverything, with no word cap
PaidPro $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 oncePro $15 per user a month, or $12 billed yearly; Growth $23, or $18 billed yearly; Enterprise on requestNone; tips are optional and buy no features
Where the audio goesOn the device with local models; cloud models on ProWispr's cloud, always, per its privacy pageStays on the Mac
Works with Wi-Fi offYes, with local modelsNo, transcription needs a connectionYes, the App Store build
Speech modelsWhisper free; Parakeet, Cohere Transcribe and cloud models from superwhisper, Deepgram and ElevenLabs on ProNot stated11 Whisper models, plus your own whisper.cpp files
Cleanup and formattingAI modes, on ProBacktrack, automatic formatting, Context Awareness and Flow Styles; Flow Styles in English onlyAuto mode and six built-in modes, on the Mac
Edits selected text by voiceSuper Mode, on Pro; it formats a selection rather than rewriting itCommand Mode, experimental, for paid plans and trialsQuick Edit, free
File transcriptionProNo; its help center says it takes live speech, not audio filesFree, as plain text
DevicesMac, Windows, iPhone, Android; one Pro license covers them allMac, Windows, iPhone, AndroidMac only
Mac requirementmacOS 13.3 or later; cloud models suggested on Intel MacsmacOS 12 or later, Apple silicon or IntelApple silicon, macOS 14 or later
LanguagesMore than 100More than 10029, plus auto-detect
Open sourceNot statedNot statedYes, GPL-3.0

The row that decides most choices is where the audio goes: superwhisper can keep it on the Mac for free, and Wispr Flow never does. superwhisper is a local app that sells AI on top; Wispr Flow is a cloud service that does the AI by default. The full comparison of Mac dictation apps adds MacWhisper, VoiceInk and Apple Dictation to the same table.

What each one costs

Both have a free plan, and both charge for more. They charge for different things. superwhisper charges for the AI; Wispr Flow charges for volume.

superwhisper

  • Free. Unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, which its plans page names as Fast, Nano and Standard, plus custom vocabulary, text replacements and up to two modes without AI processing. It does not expire.
  • Pro. $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once for a lifetime license, all buying the same features: AI modes, Super Mode, file transcription, cloud models, the Parakeet and Cohere Transcribe local models, unlimited modes and speaker separation.
  • Trying it. New users get 3,000 words of Pro features first, and superwhisper offers a refund within 30 days of purchase.

Wispr Flow

  • Free. Dictation in any app on every platform, a dictionary and limited Notetaker access. On a Mac or PC the cap is 2,000 words a week, dictation keeps working until 5,000, and past that the next dictation is refused until the reset on Sunday.
  • Pro. $15 per user a month, or $12 a month billed yearly, which is $144 a year. It lifts the cap and opens Command Mode.
  • Teams. Growth, at $23 per user a month or $18 billed yearly, adds SAML single sign-on, admin control over model training and org-wide HIPAA enforcement with a signed agreement. Enterprise is priced on request.
  • Discounts. Wispr's pages describe student offers in more than one way, so check in the app.

Worked out from the prices above, checked October 5, 2026, for superwhisper and October 3, 2026, for Wispr Flow, before any tax. Confirm on each pricing page.

Aftersuperwhisper Pro, monthlysuperwhisper Pro, yearlysuperwhisper lifetimeWispr Flow Pro, monthlyWispr Flow Pro, yearly
1 year$101.88$84.99$249.99$180$144
2 years$203.76$169.98$249.99$360$288

On paper superwhisper Pro costs less, and Wispr Flow's pricing page lists no one-time option. The two Pro plans do not buy the same thing, though: Wispr Flow Pro is mostly the cap lifted, while superwhisper Pro is the AI switched on. The superwhisper pricing page and the Wispr Flow pricing page break down every plan.

On device or in the cloud

This is where the two differ most, and both companies say so plainly on their own pages. With superwhisper you choose local or cloud; with Wispr Flow the cloud is not a setting.

superwhisper

  • Free plan. superwhisper says nothing you dictate on the free plan leaves your device, and its privacy policy, last updated June 19, 2024, says audio is transcribed on your device and no recordings or transcriptions are collected.
  • Pro. Adds cloud models hosted by superwhisper, Deepgram and ElevenLabs. Those do not stay on the device, so which model a mode uses decides where your audio goes.
  • Offline. Its local models work offline.

Wispr Flow

  • Always the cloud. Its privacy page says transcription always happens in the cloud, on every plan, and its help center says an internet connection is required. You sign in through a browser during setup.
  • Training. Improve the model for everyone is on by default on Free and Pro, and off on Growth and Enterprise. You can switch it off in Settings, Data & Privacy.
  • Storage. Dictation Cloud Storage keeps transcripts, audio and history on Wispr's servers until you switch it off, and signing out turns it back on. With both switches off, its help center says no transcription data remains on its servers after processing.
  • Context. Context Awareness, on by default, sends the app you are in and the text around your cursor with each dictation, unless a setting its help center calls Privacy Mode is on. Wispr says it skips standard macOS password fields and banking apps, though custom or web-based password fields may be read like normal text fields.
  • To be fair to it. Wispr says data is encrypted in transit and at rest, lists SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, and keeps zero-data-retention agreements with its third-party AI providers.

Neither company's paperwork is something I can judge for your workplace, and I make no compliance claims for any of the three apps. If a signed agreement is a requirement, Wispr Flow offers one, superwhisper says a HIPAA BAA is available to teams on request, and YapToText does not. The Wispr Flow privacy page walks through every switch, and the offline dictation guide shows how to check any app with Wi-Fi off.

Models, modes and commands

Both apps do more than type what you said. They take different routes to the same goal. superwhisper hands you modes to build; Wispr Flow decides the formatting for you.

superwhisper

  • Modes. A mode sets the voice model and the AI formatting, and on Pro what context it may read. Free allows up to two modes without AI processing; Super, Mail and every other AI mode are Pro.
  • Switching. A mode can switch on by app or website, a Change Mode shortcut, the menu bar or a deep link.
  • Context. On Pro, a mode can read the active app, the text you copied and the text you selected.
  • Super Mode. Its guide says it handles formatting a selection, such as title case or bullet points, and does not work well for rewriting one.
  • Language models. Its documentation marks every language model, local or cloud, as Pro. The one local language model, S1-mini, is English only and works only in the Message and Mail modes.
  • Your words. Custom vocabulary and text replacements, on every plan.

Wispr Flow

  • The key. Hold Fn, on Macs with an fn key, and talk; let go and the words land. One dictation can run up to 20 minutes.
  • Cleanup. Backtrack removes filler words, false starts and self-corrections, and automatic formatting turns a spoken first and second into a list.
  • Tone per app. Context Awareness and Flow Styles format the message for where it lands, formal in email and casual in chat. Flow Styles work in English only.
  • Command Mode. Takes a spoken instruction for selected text on Mac and Windows. It is experimental, off by default, and needs a paid plan or a trial.
  • Your words. A dictionary, and it learns names and jargon.
  • Meetings. A Notetaker records meetings on Mac and Windows without a bot joining the call, with transcripts stored in Wispr's cloud.
YapToText's Modes page: Auto on top, then Raw Transcription, Clean Up, Note, Email, Message and Code Comment, numbered 2 to 7.
Figure 1. The third route, in YapToText: Auto picks a mode for each dictation, and every mode on this page, AI cleanup included, runs on the Mac at no price.

Devices, Intel Macs and languages

On devices the two are even, and on Macs they differ in the details. If you dictate on a PC or a phone as well as a Mac, either one goes with you; YapToText does not.

  • Other devices. Both run on Windows, iPhone and Android. superwhisper says one Pro license covers unlimited Macs and Windows PCs plus your iPhone and Android phone.
  • Intel Macs. Wispr Flow supports macOS 12 or later on Intel, through its cloud. superwhisper's FAQ points Intel Macs to its cloud models, on Pro, because its offline models only run really well on Apple silicon. The guide to dictation on an Intel Mac covers the other choices.
  • Languages. Both list more than 100. YapToText lists 29 plus auto-detect, and the languages guide names them.
  • Screen readers. superwhisper's accessibility page says it pastes at the cursor, so it sits next to VoiceOver and NVDA. Wispr Flow's help center says it is tested with VoiceOver on the Mac.

Which one should you pick

Start from what you cannot give up. Decide where your voice may go first, then how you want to pay.

  • If your audio must not leave the computer, pick superwhisper with its local models. No setting in Wispr Flow keeps it on the Mac.
  • If you want tidy text that fits each app without building anything, pick Wispr Flow. In superwhisper, the same job is an AI mode on Pro.
  • If you dictate more than 2,000 words a week and do not want to pay, pick superwhisper Free. It has no word cap, while Wispr Flow's free plan stops at 5,000 on desktop until the weekly reset.
  • If you would rather pay once, pick superwhisper's $249.99 lifetime license, which costs less than three years of its yearly plan. Wispr Flow bills by the month or the year.
  • If your team needs single sign-on, admin controls or a signed agreement, both sell that: Wispr Flow on Growth or Enterprise, and superwhisper through its Enterprise plan, priced by quote.
  • If you want to transcribe recordings, superwhisper Pro does it, through your active mode. Wispr Flow's help center says it does not take audio or video files.
  • If you want AI cleanup and editing by voice for free, on one Apple silicon Mac, neither free plan does that, and that is the gap YapToText fills.

Still torn? Both have a free way in, so dictate the same paragraphs into each, with a name that usually goes wrong, and count the fixes. The roundup of Wispr Flow alternatives ranks more apps by the same questions.

Where YapToText fits as a free third option

YapToText is the app I built and use all day. It is free with no paid tier, no account, no analytics and no word cap, the code is public under the GPL-3.0, and the speech model and the cleanup model both run on the Mac. It keeps your voice on the Mac like superwhisper Free, and includes the cleanup and editing by voice that superwhisper sells in Pro.

  • Cleanup. Auto mode reads each dictation and picks a treatment: a letter becomes an email, short chat stays as spoken, and everything else gets a careful pass that fixes what was misheard. The Auto mode guide lists the phrases it follows, such as make it formal.
  • Editing by voice. Select text in any app, tap Right Option, say the change, and tap again. The Quick Edit guide has examples.
  • Modes. Six built-in modes, all editable, plus your own. They switch by app, a mode's own shortcut, or a number key while you talk.
  • Your words. Dictionaries fix a spelling and also prime the speech model, and the Commands page types saved text when you say insert and its phrase.
  • Files. Drop an audio or video file on the Utility page and get plain text, on the Mac.
App Store poster headed Nothing leaves your Mac, over YapToText's AI Models page with both models marked Included.
Figure 2. Both models ship inside the App Store app and show as Included, which is why YapToText has no cloud setting to compare.

Step 1: Install it and allow two permissions

  • You: Get YapToText from the Mac App Store and open it. In the Get set up card on the Home page, press Continue next to Microphone, then Grant next to Accessibility.
  • macOS: Asks about the microphone, then opens System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, where you switch YapToText on.
  • Check: The Get set up card leaves the Home page once nothing is missing.

Step 2: Tap, talk, tap

  • You: Click into any text field, tap Right Command, say a few sentences, and tap it again. If superwhisper or Wispr Flow is listening for the same key, quit it first.
  • YapToText: Transcribes on your Mac, shapes the words with Auto mode and types them at your cursor.
  • Check: The words are in the field. If they went to the clipboard, Accessibility is not on yet.

Step 3: Turn Wi-Fi off and do it again

  • You: Turn Wi-Fi off and repeat Step 2.
  • YapToText: Works the same, because both models ship inside the App Store app.
  • Check: Run the same test on the other two. superwhisper says its local models work offline, and Wispr Flow says transcription needs a connection.

What each one cannot do

Every one of the three has gaps, and they point in different directions. superwhisper Free leaves out the AI, Wispr Flow leaves out the offline option, and YapToText leaves out everything beyond one Apple silicon Mac.

superwhisper

  • No AI on the free plan. Cleanup, Super Mode, context and file transcription are Pro.
  • No real rewriting of a selection. Its own guide says Super Mode does not work well for rewriting.

Wispr Flow

  • No offline dictation. Transcription always happens in the cloud and needs a connection.
  • No unlimited free use. 2,000 words a week on desktop before the warning, 5,000 before it stops.
  • No editing by voice on the free plan. Command Mode needs a paid plan or a trial.
  • No one-time price. Its pricing page lists monthly and yearly billing.

YapToText

  • One kind of computer. An Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later; nothing for Intel Macs, Windows, iPhone or Android.
  • Fewer languages. 29 plus auto-detect, against more than 100 in both of the others.
  • One kind of speech model. Whisper models only, on your Mac, which is the point, but it means no Parakeet and no cloud models from Deepgram or ElevenLabs.
  • No meetings or teams. No meeting notes, speaker labels, team admin or signed agreements.
  • No screen reader test pass yet. It announces every state to VoiceOver, but I have not run a full VoiceOver test pass.

The short version

  • superwhisper. Free local Whisper dictation with no cap; AI, Super Mode and files on Pro at $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once.
  • Wispr Flow. Cleanup and tone that follow the app, always in the cloud; free to 2,000 words a week on desktop, then $15 a month or $12 billed yearly.
  • Both. Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, more than 100 languages. Check each pricing page before you pay.
  • YapToText. Free and open source, with cleanup and editing by voice on one Apple silicon Mac, and your voice kept there.

Local and pay for AI, or cloud and pay for volume; if you want neither bill, there is a free third option.

If a price or feature here no longer matches superwhisper's or Wispr Flow's own pages, or what YapToText does on your Mac, open an issue on GitHub and I will fix it. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreDownload for free. No account, nothing locked, macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Is superwhisper better than Wispr Flow?

It depends on where your voice may go. superwhisper can transcribe on your Mac for free and sells AI features in Pro, while Wispr Flow always transcribes in the cloud and formats text for the app you are in by default.

Which is cheaper, superwhisper or Wispr Flow?

superwhisper, on the published prices: Pro is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once, against Wispr Flow Pro at $15 per user a month or $12 billed yearly. superwhisper's free plan also has no word cap, while Wispr Flow's free plan allows 2,000 words a week on desktop.

Do superwhisper and Wispr Flow work offline?

superwhisper does with its local Whisper models. Wispr Flow does not: its privacy page says transcription always happens in the cloud, and its help center says an internet connection is required.

Is superwhisper more private than Wispr Flow?

On its free plan, superwhisper says nothing you dictate leaves your device. Wispr Flow sends every dictation to its cloud, with encryption, zero-data-retention agreements with its AI providers and switches for training and storage.

Do superwhisper and Wispr Flow run on Windows and iPhone?

Yes. Both run on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and superwhisper says one Pro license covers all of them. YapToText is a Mac app only.

Is there a free alternative to superwhisper and Wispr Flow?

Yes. YapToText is free and open source, runs its speech and cleanup models on your Mac, and includes editing by voice. It needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later.