Willow Voice vs superwhisper: cloud dictation that writes for you or local Whisper

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Pick Willow Voice if you want an app that writes the message for you from a rough description, with a free plan that never counts words, and pick superwhisper if you want dictation that runs on your Mac, a choice of models, or a one-time price. Willow Basic is free on what Willow calls its weaker model, and Pro is $15 per user a month or $12 billed yearly. superwhisper is free with local Whisper models, and Pro is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once.

I built YapToText, a free, open-source dictation app that runs on the Mac, so it appears here as a third option, and you should weigh that part knowing I made it. Every fact about the other two comes from their own sites and documentation, read on October 3 to 6, 2026. I have not tested either app hands-on, so nothing here ranks them by accuracy.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis 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.

On this page: 8 sections
  1. Side by side
  2. What each one costs
  3. Where your voice goes
  4. Models, editing and extras
    1. Willow Voice
    2. superwhisper
  5. Which one to pick
  6. Where YapToText fits as a free third option
  7. The short version
  8. Questions

Side by side

Willow Voice checked October 3 to 6, 2026, on willowvoice.com and its help center. superwhisper checked October 6, 2026, on its documentation. Prices are in US dollars and change, so check before you pay.

Willow VoicesuperwhisperYapToText
Free planUnlimited use of Frontier Mini, the model Willow calls weaker; 20 Scribe uses a week; 5 minutes per dictationUnlimited dictation with local Whisper models; two modes without AIEverything, no word count
PaidPro $15 per user a month or $12 billed yearly; Business $35 or $28Pro $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 onceNo paid tier
Where speech becomes textCloud models, per its help center; offline dictation listed under ProOn the Mac with local models; cloud models on ProOn the Mac
Data kept by defaultPrivate Mode is on by default: transcripts stay on your deviceNothing leaves the device on the free planNothing leaves the Mac
Writes a message from a descriptionYes, ScribeNot as a named feature; custom modes take your own instructions, on ProNo
Edits selected text by voiceYes, Scribe rewrites a selectionSuper Mode, on ProQuick Edit, free
Transcribes filesNot statedYes, on ProYes, free, as plain text
DevicesMac, Windows, iPhone; Android coming soonMac, Windows, iPhone, AndroidMac only
Longest dictation5 minutes on Basic, 8 on paid plansNot statedA 30-minute safety stop that still saves the text
LanguagesMore than 100More than 100 with its multilingual models29 plus auto-detect
Student price30 percent off Pro40 percent offFree for everyone

Willow is a cloud app with a generous free tier on its weaker model. superwhisper is a local app whose AI half costs money.

What each one costs

Both are free to start, in different ways. Willow rations which model hears you. superwhisper rations the AI.

  • Willow Voice. Basic is free with no credit card: unlimited dictation on Frontier Mini, 20 Scribe uses a week and 5 minutes per dictation. Pro, at $15 per user a month or $12 billed yearly, adds Frontier Pro, unlimited Scribe and longer dictations. Students get 30 percent off Pro. Willow's help center showed a different plan chart from its pricing page on October 5, 2026, so check the price at checkout.
  • superwhisper. Free with local Whisper models and no word count, custom vocabulary, text replacements and up to two modes without AI. Pro, for AI modes, file transcription and cloud models, is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once, and new users get 3,000 words of Pro features to try. Verified students and non-profits get 40 percent off.
  • Over a year. Willow Pro billed yearly is $144 and superwhisper Pro $84.99. superwhisper's $249.99 Lifetime is paid once.

The Willow Voice pricing page and the superwhisper pricing page have every plan.

Where your voice goes

Willow is careful for a cloud app, and superwhisper can skip the cloud. Willow keeps your transcripts on your device by default, but the speech still goes to its cloud to be transcribed.

  • Willow Voice. Its help center says it uses cloud-based AI models on infrastructure in the United States. Private Mode is on by default on every plan: no dictated text is collected, and transcripts are saved only on your device. Offline dictation is listed under Pro, and Willow does not say which model runs offline.
  • superwhisper. With a local voice model, transcription happens on your device, and its docs say nothing you dictate on the free plan leaves it. Cloud voice models are Pro, and most of its language models, the ones that format your text, run in the cloud too. S1-mini is the local one, English only.

The Willow Voice alternative page covers its privacy settings in more detail.

Models, editing and extras

They are built around different ideas of help. Willow will write the message for you. superwhisper shapes what you said with the mode you picked.

Willow Voice

  • Scribe. Describe what you want to say and Scribe writes it in your style, including replies that read what is on your screen. It has its own shortcut and also rewrites text you select.
  • Two models. Frontier Mini on Basic and Frontier Pro on paid plans.
  • Formatting. Context-aware: in an email app it formats the greeting, the body and the closing.
  • Your words. A personal dictionary on every plan, and on Pro a memory of your writing style.

superwhisper

  • Models you choose. Whisper on the free plan. Parakeet, Cohere Transcribe and the cloud model S1-Voice on Pro. By its own ratings S1-Voice is its most accurate.
  • Modes. Each mode pairs a voice model with optional AI instructions. Super Mode reads the active app, your selection and your clipboard, on Pro.
  • Files and speakers. File transcription and speaker separation, on Pro.
  • One license everywhere. A Pro license covers unlimited Macs and Windows PCs, plus your iPhone and Android phone.

Which one to pick

Here is the split I would make. A free cloud app that drafts for you points to Willow. Local dictation, files and a one-time price point to superwhisper.

  • You want messages drafted from a rough idea. Willow's Scribe.
  • You want your voice transcribed on the Mac. superwhisper with a local model, or YapToText.
  • You dictate on Android. superwhisper has an Android app. Willow lists Android as coming soon.
  • You talk for more than a few minutes at a time. Willow caps a dictation at 5 minutes on Basic and 8 on paid plans.
  • You want to pay once. superwhisper's Lifetime license.

Where YapToText fits as a free third option

YapToText does the shared job, one key and your words at the cursor, with both models on your Mac and no plan to choose. It is free with nothing locked, and it only runs on an Apple silicon Mac.

  • Free, all of it. Dictation, AI cleanup, Quick Edit on a selection and file transcription, with no account and no word count.
  • On the Mac. Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) hears you and Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct tidies the words, both inside the App Store app.
  • What it lacks. Windows and phone apps, Scribe, superwhisper's choice of models, speaker labels, Intel Macs, and more than 29 languages.
The AI Models page in YapToText: Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) and Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct marked Included, model library below.
Figure 1. YapToText's AI Models page: the speech model and the cleanup model both ship inside the App Store app and run on the Mac.

The short version

  • Willow Voice. It is cloud dictation, free on its weaker model, with Pro at $15 a month or $12 yearly. Scribe writes messages for you, and Private Mode is on by default.
  • superwhisper. Local Whisper free with no word count. AI modes, files and cloud models on Pro at $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once.
  • YapToText. It is free and on the Mac, with cleanup and Quick Edit built in. It needs an Apple silicon Mac.

Willow drafts in the cloud, superwhisper dictates on your Mac and charges for the AI, and YapToText does the AI on your Mac for free. If something here no longer matches either site, tell me on GitHub. Every issue gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis 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.

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

Willow Voice vs superwhisper: which is better?

It depends on whether you want the cloud. Willow transcribes in the cloud, is free on the model it calls weaker, and its Scribe feature writes messages for you. Pro is $15 a month or $12 billed yearly. superwhisper runs Whisper on your Mac for free and charges $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once for AI modes, files and cloud models.

Is Willow Voice or superwhisper cheaper?

superwhisper Pro costs less: $8.49 a month or $84.99 a year, against Willow Pro at $15 a month or $144 a year billed yearly. Both have free plans, and superwhisper also has a $249.99 one-time license.

Do Willow Voice and superwhisper work offline?

superwhisper does, with its free local models. Willow's help center lists offline dictation as part of Pro and does not say which model runs offline. YapToText's App Store build works with Wi-Fi off.

Does Willow Voice or superwhisper run on Android?

superwhisper has an Android app. Willow's pricing page listed Android as coming soon on October 6, 2026.

Is there a free alternative to Willow Voice and superwhisper?

Yes. YapToText is free for Apple silicon Macs, with dictation, AI cleanup, Quick Edit and file transcription on the Mac, and no account or word count.