Guides

VoiceInk pricing: the trial, the one-time licenses, and what is free

By Ryleigh Newman · Published October 5, 2026

VoiceInk pricing is a one-time license after a free 7-day trial: $25 for one Mac, $39 for two, $49 for three, or $159 for up to ten, on tryvoiceink.com as of October 5, 2026. There is no subscription, and every license comes with lifetime updates and a 14-day money-back guarantee. VoiceInk is also open source under the GPL v3, so you can build it yourself from the source for free. What the license buys is the ready-built app, with automatic updates and priority support.

I built YapToText, a free dictation app that is also GPL and runs on the Mac, so read the last sections with that in mind. Everything about VoiceInk here comes from tryvoiceink.com, its documentation and its GitHub repository, read on October 3 and October 5, 2026, and each source is listed at the end of the page.

Download for free. No account, nothing locked, macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. Source on GitHub.

Steps

1. Install YapToText from the Mac App Store and open it.
2. On the permissions page of the tour, press Continue next to Microphone and next to Accessibility, and switch YapToText on in System Settings.
3. Click into any text field, tap Right Command, talk, and tap Right Command again.
4. Select the text, tap Right Option, say make it sound more formal, and tap Right Option again.

Every VoiceInk license and price

Checked October 5, 2026, on tryvoiceink.com. Prices are in US dollars. Prices change, so check before you buy.

Every license is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. VoiceInk's pricing page says each one comes with lifetime access, lifetime updates and a 14-day money-back guarantee. The licenses differ in how many Macs they cover, and the Startup license is the one for a small team. The per-Mac column is my own arithmetic from those prices. There is no VoiceInk subscription: you pay once, by the number of Macs.

The pricing page also says VoiceInk works only on Apple silicon Macs, with macOS 14.4 or later. Its install guide and its README say macOS 15, and the install guide points Intel Macs to cloud transcription because its local models do not run reliably there, so check your Mac against both before you pay.

What is free: the trial and the source code

VoiceInk has no free plan in the way superwhisper or Wispr Flow do. VoiceInk is free in two ways: for 7 days, or forever if you build it yourself.

• The trial. Download the app from tryvoiceink.com and start the 7-day trial during setup. Its install guide walks you through it.
• The source code. VoiceInk is open source under the GNU General Public License v3, on GitHub. You can build your own copy with Xcode and use it without a license key.
• The iPhone and iPad app. VoiceInk says it is free during its beta and will be a one-time purchase after. The Mac licenses cover Macs, not iPhones.

Building it yourself is real, but it is a developer's route: you need Xcode, the time to follow the build steps, and the patience to repeat them when you want a newer version. VoiceInk's README says the compiled, paid app adds automatic updates and priority support, so a home-built copy has neither. If you have never opened Xcode, the trial and a license are the practical way in.

I know this trade from the other side. YapToText is GPL too, and you can build it from source the same way, but the ready-built app on the App Store costs nothing. The page on why I made YapToText free and open source explains that choice.

What the license buys

A VoiceInk license is a key, not a different app. After you pay, the key goes to the email you used at checkout, and you paste it into VoiceInk when it asks. If the email goes missing, VoiceInk's license docs say you can get the key back yourself from the Polar portal. The license turns the ready-built trial into a copy you keep, with updates for life.

What you are paying for is the app VoiceInk ships, according to its own site and docs:

• Local speech models. Setup downloads Parakeet V3 by default, and you can pick Whisper, Apple Speech on macOS 26, or a cloud provider with your own API key.
• Cleanup. Through a provider you connect, or VoiceInk Refine, a local model that needs an Apple silicon Mac with at least 16 GB of memory and does one fixed cleanup task.
• Editing a selection by voice. Its docs say Refine cannot use selected text, so rewriting a selection needs Ollama or a cloud provider.
• Modes and workflows. Modes that switch by app, website, trigger phrase or shortcut, plus an Assistant Mode for questions.
• History. Transcripts you can edit and export as CSV, and history that can delete itself on a schedule.
• Privacy by default. Its privacy policy says transcription happens on your device unless you turn on optional cloud services.

The extra costs sit outside the license. A cloud provider you connect for transcription or cleanup bills you on its own terms, and the license does not include one.

Which license costs less

The choice is about how many Macs you own. All the licenses buy the same app, so the only question is how far each dollar stretches.

Worked out from tryvoiceink.com prices, checked October 5, 2026.

For one Mac, Solo is the obvious buy, and for two or three, Personal and Extended save real money over separate keys. On price alone, Startup only comes out cheapest at ten Macs; below that, a mix of smaller licenses costs less. Check VoiceInk's terms before you split a team across several keys. Buy for the Macs you have now; every license already includes lifetime updates.

Climb this ladder, smallest commitment first:

1. Build it yourself. Free, if you are comfortable with Xcode and updating by hand.
2. The 7-day trial. The ready-built app, free for a week, to see if it fits your Mac and your voice.
3. Solo. $25 once for one Mac, with a 14-day refund if it does not work out.
4. Personal or Extended. $39 for two Macs or $49 for three.
5. Startup. $159 once for up to ten Macs.

For a sense of scale, superwhisper sells a lifetime Pro license at $249.99 once, and the comparison of Mac dictation apps puts both next to Wispr Flow and MacWhisper.

Where VoiceInk is the better buy

VoiceInk is good software at a fair price, and for some people it beats free. If you want a shelf of models to choose from, or an iPhone app, VoiceInk is worth the $25. It is the better choice if you want any of these:

• Model choice. Parakeet, Whisper, Apple Speech and other local models, plus cloud providers with your own key. YapToText runs Whisper models only.
• An iPhone and iPad app. Free during its beta. YapToText has no iPhone version.
• A history you can edit. You can edit a transcript in VoiceInk's history and export it as CSV. In YapToText you regenerate an entry instead of editing it.
• Workflows. Modes that switch on for a website or a spoken trigger phrase, and an Assistant Mode. YapToText switches modes by app.
• A cloud option when you want one. Off by default, but there if you need a cloud model. YapToText has no cloud option at all.

It is also open source under the GPL, like mine, so either app's privacy claims can be checked line by line. If paying once is your rule, VoiceInk keeps it. The roundup of open-source dictation apps sets it beside Handy, OpenWhispr and FluidVoice.

Where a free on-device app fits

YapToText is free, with no trial, no license key and no paid tier. Tips are optional and buy no features. It is GPL-3.0 like VoiceInk, but the ready-built app is the free one: the Mac App Store download ships both models inside, so it dictates with Wi-Fi off from the first launch and there is nothing to compile. The two GPL apps differ most in what the ready-built copy costs.

• Models included. Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5), 574 MB, hears you, and Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct, 2.3 GB, cleans up. The AI Models help page lists the other Whisper models you can add.
• Editing by voice on the Mac. Quick Edit runs on the bundled model, with no Ollama and no API key: select text, tap Right Option, say the change. The Quick Edit guide has examples.
• Cleanup. Auto mode and six built-in modes, from Raw Transcription to Code Comment, all free.
• Files. Drop an audio or video file on the Utility page and get plain text back, on your Mac. The guide to transcribing an audio file covers it.

The trade is real. It runs only on an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later, the download is about 2.9 GB, it lists 29 languages plus auto-detect, and there is no iPhone app, no cloud model and no editable history. My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate every day, and I wanted anyone in the same spot to get a GPL dictation app in one click. The free VoiceInk alternative page walks through switching, including moving your vocabulary over.

Try the free route in ten minutes

If you are weighing a VoiceInk license, it costs nothing to try YapToText on the same Mac first. Quit VoiceInk while you test, so two apps are not listening at once.

Step 1: Install from the App Store

• You: Get YapToText from the Mac App Store and open it.
• YapToText: Starts a short welcome tour. Both models are inside, so there is nothing else to download.
• Check: The tour reaches a page titled A couple of permissions.

Step 2: Grant Microphone and Accessibility

• You: Press Continue next to Microphone, then next to Accessibility.
• macOS: Asks once for the microphone, then opens System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, where you switch YapToText on yourself.
• Check: Both cards read Granted. Without Accessibility, dictations go to the clipboard instead of your cursor.

Step 3: Dictate once

• You: Click into any text field, tap Right Command, talk, and tap it again.
• YapToText: Shows your voice as a wave, finishes the transcript on your Mac and types it at your cursor.
• Check: The words land where your cursor was. If the wave stays flat, the app is not hearing your microphone yet.

Step 4: Edit a selection by voice

Say: Select a sentence you just dictated, tap Right Option, say this, and tap Right Option again.

make it sound more formal

What happens: The Quick Edit card listens, applies the edit on your Mac and says Done, and your selection is replaced.

The first dictation guide covers the floating panel and the keys you can press while you talk. If YapToText does the job, you keep the $25; if it does not, the VoiceInk trial is still there.

What each one cannot do

Neither app does everything, and the gaps point in different directions. VoiceInk asks for money or a build; YapToText asks you to stay on one Mac with Whisper.

VoiceInk

• No free ready-built app. After 7 days you buy a license or build from source.
• Apple silicon only. Its pricing page says so, and its own pages disagree on macOS 14.4 or macOS 15.
• Local cleanup needs memory. Refine wants at least 16 GB, and it does one fixed task.
• No selection edits with Refine. Rewriting a selection needs Ollama or a cloud provider.

YapToText

• One kind of computer. An Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later, with no iPhone, iPad, Windows or Intel version.
• Whisper only. No Parakeet, Apple Speech or cloud models.
• Fewer workflow triggers. Modes switch by app, not by website or trigger phrase.
• No hand-edited history. You regenerate an entry instead.
• Plain-text files. A transcribed file has no speaker labels or timestamps.

If staying offline is what matters most, both work with Wi-Fi off by default, and the offline dictation guide shows how to test any app for it.

The short version

• Free. A 7-day trial, or build it yourself from the GPL v3 source with Xcode.
• Paid. Once: $25 for one Mac, $39 for two, $49 for three, or $159 for up to ten.
• Every license. Lifetime updates and a 14-day money-back guarantee, on Apple silicon Macs only.
• The free alternative. YapToText, also GPL, free from the App Store with both models inside.

VoiceInk charges once for a ready-built copy of open code; YapToText charges nothing for it.

If a price or license here no longer matches VoiceInk's site, open an issue on GitHub and I will fix it. Every one gets read.

Download 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.

Related

• A free VoiceInk alternative, open source with nothing to compile
• Open-source dictation apps for the Mac, from someone who makes one
• superwhisper vs Wispr Flow vs MacWhisper vs VoiceInk, plus a free one
• superwhisper pricing: what the free plan includes, and what Pro and lifetime add
• I cannot type, so I built a free, open-source dictation app for the Mac
• VoiceInk vs superwhisper on a Mac: pay once for open code, or start free, and a free third option

Sources

• https://tryvoiceink.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-05)
• https://tryvoiceink.com (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://tryvoiceink.com/docs/installation (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://tryvoiceink.com/docs/license-management (checked 2026-10-05)
• https://tryvoiceink.com/ios (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://tryvoiceink.com/privacy (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://tryvoiceink.com/docs/voiceink-refine (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://tryvoiceink.com/docs/recommended-models (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://tryvoiceink.com/docs/transcription-history (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://tryvoiceink.com/docs/introduction (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://tryvoiceink.com/docs/cloud-providers (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://github.com/Beingpax/VoiceInk (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://superwhisper.com/docs/billing/plans (checked 2026-10-05)
• https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yaptotext/id6786382289 (checked 2026-10-03)
• https://github.com/ryleighnewman/YapToText (checked 2026-10-03)

Questions