superwhisper, explained: what it does, what is free, and what Pro adds
By Ryleigh Newman · Published
superwhisper is a dictation app that turns your voice into formatted text in any app, on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Its free plan gives unlimited dictation with local Whisper models that run on your device. Pro, at $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once, adds cloud models, AI formatting modes, file transcription and meeting features.
I make YapToText, another dictation app for the Mac, so I am not neutral about superwhisper. Everything about it on this page is from its own documentation, read on October 9, 2026, and I have not used it day to day.
This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.
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On this page: 7 sections
What superwhisper does
- Dictation in any app. You talk, and the text lands in the app you are using: messages, email, notes or code.
- Modes. A mode decides what happens to a dictation, from plain voice to text to a full rewrite. You can write your own with AI instructions.
- A choice of models. Each mode pairs a voice model, cloud or local, with an optional language model that formats the result.
- Meetings. It records meetings, including system audio from calls, and can label who said what. Those are Pro features.
- Files. It transcribes audio and video files on Pro.
The idea underneath is choice: you decide, mode by mode, which model hears you and whether anything goes to the cloud.
Free and Pro
From superwhisper's Plans and Pricing page, read October 9, 2026. Website prices in US dollars.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, custom vocabulary, text replacements, and up to two modes without AI processing. |
| Pro, monthly | $8.49 a month | Cloud voice models, AI modes, file transcription, context awareness, realtime transcription, speaker separation and unlimited modes. |
| Pro, yearly | $84.99 a year | The same features, about 17 percent less than paying monthly. |
| Pro, lifetime | $249.99 once | The same features, paid one time. |
New users get 3,000 words of free access to every Pro feature, and then the app falls back to the free plan without deleting anything. One Pro license covers unlimited Macs and Windows PCs plus an iPhone and an Android phone. The superwhisper pricing page goes through which plan costs less over time.
Where your voice goes
That depends on the models you pick. With a local voice model and no cloud formatting, superwhisper's documentation says no audio or text leaves your machine.
- On the free plan. The docs say nothing you dictate leaves your device, because the free plan uses local Whisper models.
- With cloud models. Audio or text goes to a provider through an API. The docs say those agreements carry zero data retention terms and no training on your data.
- Offline. Local voice models work without an internet connection. AI formatting offline needs a local model in a supported mode.
The page on superwhisper offline has the details.
Devices and languages
- Devices. It runs on macOS, on Windows 10 and 11 including ARM, on iPhone and on Android.
- Languages. It depends on the voice model. The docs say the cloud model and the multilingual Whisper models cover more than 100 languages, Parakeet Multilanguage covers 24, and Cohere Transcribe covers 14.
- A tip from its docs. If Automatic language detection turns your speech into English, set the mode to a fixed language.
How YapToText compares
YapToText does one slice of this on an Apple silicon Mac. One key starts dictation in any app, and both its speech model and its cleanup model run on the Mac.
- Price. It is free, and the formatting and voice editing that are Pro features in superwhisper are free in it.
- Files. It transcribes audio and video files on the Mac, free.
- Less choice. It has one speech model family, Whisper, and 29 languages plus auto-detect.
- Fewer places. It has no Windows or phone app, no meeting recording and no speaker labels, and it needs macOS 14 or later.
This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.
The superwhisper alternative page compares the two line by line.
The short version
- What it is. superwhisper is dictation with a choice of local or cloud models, on four platforms.
- Free. Unlimited local dictation, with two modes and no AI formatting.
- Pro. Cloud models, AI modes, files and meetings, from $8.49 a month or $249.99 once.
- Not tested here. I make a rival app and have read its docs, not lived in it.
If a fact here has gone stale, open an issue on GitHub. Every one gets read.
This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.
Related
Sources
- https://superwhisper.com/docs/get-started/introduction (checked 2026-10-09)
- https://superwhisper.com/docs/billing/plans (checked 2026-10-09)
- https://superwhisper.com/docs/security/sensitive-data (checked 2026-10-09)
- https://superwhisper.com/docs/models/voice (checked 2026-10-09)
- https://superwhisper.com/docs/get-started/windows (checked 2026-10-09)
- https://superwhisper.com/docs/common-issues/language-detection (checked 2026-10-09)
- https://superwhisper.com/docs/get-started/transcribe-files (checked 2026-10-09)
- https://github.com/ryleighnewman/YapToText (checked 2026-10-09)
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yaptotext/id6786382289 (checked 2026-10-09)
Questions
What is superwhisper?
A dictation app for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android that turns your voice into formatted text in any app, with a choice of local or cloud models.
Is superwhisper free?
Yes, with limits. The free plan gives unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, custom vocabulary and up to two modes without AI processing. Pro adds the rest.
How much is superwhisper Pro?
$8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once on superwhisper.com, per its docs on October 9, 2026. App Store and Google Play prices are higher.
Does superwhisper work offline?
Yes, with local voice models. Its docs say AI formatting offline needs a local language model in a supported mode, and other AI processing needs the internet.
Is superwhisper on Windows?
Yes. It runs on Windows 10 and 11, on x64 and ARM64, with the same license as the Mac.