Guides

Wispr Flow vs Aqua Voice on a Mac: two cloud dictation apps, and a free on-device third option

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Pick Aqua Voice if you want the cheaper Pro plan, editing by voice on the free plan and a speech model Aqua built for technical words, and pick Wispr Flow if you dictate on Android, want a free allowance that comes back every week, or want meeting notes. Both turn your speech into text in the cloud. Aqua Pro is $8 a month billed yearly or $10 month to month, and Wispr Flow Pro is $12 a month billed yearly or $15 month to month.

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. My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate every day. Every fact about Aqua and Wispr Flow here comes from their own sites and help centers, as of 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 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. Wispr Flow
    2. Aqua Voice
  4. On device or in the cloud
    1. Wispr Flow
    2. Aqua Voice
  5. Models, formatting and editing by voice
    1. Aqua Voice
    2. Wispr Flow
  6. Devices, 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: Put dictation on Fn and hold it
    3. Step 3: Edit what you just said
  9. What each one cannot do
    1. Wispr Flow
    2. Aqua Voice
    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. Quit Aqua or Wispr Flow, then on the Dictation page, in the Keys card, record Fn and choose Hold to talk.
  4. Click into a text field, hold Fn, say a sentence and let go.
  5. Select what you dictated, tap Right Option, say make this shorter, and tap Right Option again.

Side by side

Checked October 3 to 6, 2026, on wisprflow.ai, aquavoice.com and Wispr's help center: Aqua's prices on October 5, Wispr Flow's on October 3. Prices change, so confirm on each pricing page before you pay.

Wispr FlowAqua VoiceYapToText
Free plan2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 on mobile, refilled every week; on desktop, dictation stops past 5,000 until the reset1,000 free words with Avalon, about 7 minutes of talking, which Aqua calls a test driveEverything, with no word cap
Pro$15 per user a month, or $12 billed yearly$10 a month, or $8 billed yearlyNone; tips are optional and buy no features
Higher plansGrowth $23 per user, or $18 billed yearly; Enterprise on requestMax $30, or $24 billed yearly; Business $24 per seat, or $19 billed yearly, two seats minimumNone
Speech modelNot statedAvalon, Aqua's ownWhisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5), on the Mac
Where speech becomes textWispr's cloud, on every planAqua's cloud; no offline mode on the MacOn the Mac
Kept by defaultDictation Cloud Storage on, and model training on for Free and Pro, until you switch them offPrivacy Mode off, so transcripts may be stored to improve the productNothing leaves the Mac
Default keyHold Fn, on Macs with an fn keyHold FnRight Command, tapped to start and stop
Edits selected text by voiceCommand Mode, experimental, on paid plans and trialsEdit Mode, on every planQuick Edit, free
Audio filesNo; its help center says it takes live speech onlyNot stated for the app; Aqua's Avalon API, for developers, takes audio filesFree, as plain text
DevicesMac, Windows, iPhone, AndroidMac, Windows, iPhone; Android by waitlistMac only
Mac requirementmacOS 12 or later, Apple silicon or IntelSeparate Apple silicon and Intel builds; macOS version not statedApple silicon, macOS 14 or later
LanguagesMore than 10049, with Auto-Detect29, plus auto-detect
Open sourceNot statedNot statedYes, GPL-3.0

Both send every word to a server, so the choice comes down to the shape of the free plan, the price after it, and which extra you would miss. The full comparison of Mac dictation apps sets both beside the apps that run locally, and the roundup of Wispr Flow alternatives ranks Aqua among six other choices.

What each one costs

Aqua is cheaper at every step one person would buy. Wispr Flow gives you a weekly allowance that keeps coming back; Aqua gives you 1,000 words to make up your mind.

Wispr Flow

  • Free. Dictation in any app, a dictionary, snippets and limited Notetaker access. On a Mac, 2,000 words a week brings a warning, dictation carries on to 5,000, and past that it is refused until the reset on Sunday.
  • Pro. $15 per user a month, or $12 a month billed yearly. It removes the weekly count and opens Command Mode, and the pricing page says you need no credit card to start.
  • Growth. $23 per user a month, or $18 billed yearly, adding SAML single sign-on, admin control over training and org-wide HIPAA enforcement with a signed agreement.
  • Enterprise. Priced on request, adding SCIM provisioning and audit logs.

Aqua Voice

  • Free. 1,000 free words with Avalon and no credit card. Edit Mode comes with it.
  • Pro. $10 a month, or $8 a month billed yearly, for unlimited words, Custom Instructions and an expanded custom dictionary.
  • Max. $30 a month, or $24 billed yearly, adding Realtime Mode, which shows your words live as you speak, the Send It voice command and early access to new features. Computer Control, a macOS beta, is on Max and Business.
  • Business. $24 per seat a month, or $19 billed yearly, which Aqua prints as $228 per seat a year, with two seats minimum. It adds centralized billing, SSO/SAML, SCIM, advanced reporting, Zero Data Retention and team-wide dictionaries.

My own arithmetic from the prices above, checked October 5, 2026, for Aqua and October 3, 2026, for Wispr Flow, per person or seat and before any tax. Confirm on each pricing page.

What you buyWispr FlowAqua Voice
Pro, one year billed yearly$144$96
Pro, twelve months paid monthly$180$120
One team seat, one year billed yearly$216, Growth$228, Business
One team seat, twelve months paid monthly$276, Growth$288, Business

For one person, Aqua Pro saves $48 a year billed yearly, or $60 paid monthly. For a team the order flips: a Growth seat costs a little less, and Business starts at two seats. Aqua Max, at $288 a year billed yearly, costs twice Wispr Flow Pro. The Aqua Voice pricing page and the Wispr Flow pricing page go through every plan line by line.

On device or in the cloud

Neither app has a local mode on the Mac. Both transcribe on their own servers; what differs is what they keep afterwards and which switches start in the off position.

Wispr Flow

  • The cloud, on every plan. Its privacy page says transcription always happens in the cloud, and its help center says dictation needs an internet connection.
  • Training. Improve the model for everyone is on by default on Free and Pro, and off on Growth and Enterprise. The switch is in Settings, Data & Privacy.
  • Storage. Dictation Cloud Storage keeps transcripts, audio and history on Wispr's servers until you turn it off, and signing out turns it back on.
  • Context. Context Awareness, on by default, sends the app you are in and the text near your cursor with each dictation. Wispr says standard macOS password fields and banking apps are skipped, and that custom or web-based password fields may be read like normal text fields.
  • Safeguards. Wispr lists encryption in transit and at rest, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and zero-data-retention agreements with its AI providers.

Aqua Voice

  • The cloud, where Avalon runs. Its Mac page says there is no offline mode.
  • Privacy Mode. Off by default. With it off, Aqua says transcripts may be stored on its servers to improve the product; with it on, they are not, though session metadata may still be collected.
  • Realtime Mode. On Max, and Aqua says it streams audio to a third-party speech provider.
  • Screen context. Deep Context, which uses what is on screen to get names and code right, stays off until you turn it on.
  • Safeguards. Aqua lists a SOC 2 Type II report and ISO 27001, and Zero Data Retention on Business.

In Wispr Flow you switch off what is kept; in Aqua you switch Privacy Mode on. I make no compliance claims for any of the three apps. If a signed agreement for health information is a requirement, Wispr Flow offers one on Growth and Enterprise and to individuals in the app, Aqua asks you to talk to it about BAA terms first, and YapToText offers none. The Wispr Flow privacy page walks through each of its switches, and the offline dictation guide shows how to test any app with Wi-Fi off.

Models, formatting and editing by voice

Here the two really are different products. Aqua puts its effort into the model that hears you; Wispr Flow puts it into what happens to the words afterwards.

Aqua Voice

  • Avalon. Aqua's own speech model, which it says it trained on real technical speech. Aqua publishes its own benchmark, AISpeak, built from AI and technical vocabulary, and says its Avalon model beats Whisper Large v3 on it by a wide margin. That is Aqua's test, and I have not repeated it.
  • Formatting. It formats what you say for the app you are using, and Custom Instructions, on Pro, set your own writing rules.
  • Edit Mode. Select text, hold the Aqua key and say the change, on every plan. Aqua says edits stack, and saying undo that or go back to the original walks them back.
  • Code. File Tagging turns a spoken file name into an editor tag in Cursor or Windsurf.
  • Your words. A custom dictionary, expanded on Pro, and Replacements that turn a short spoken phrase into longer text.
  • On Max. Realtime Mode, Send It, and Computer Control, a macOS beta that works your cursor and keyboard from plain requests.

Wispr Flow

  • The model. Not stated.
  • Backtrack. Drops filler words, false starts and the parts you correct yourself mid-sentence.
  • Formatting. Spoken lists become lists, and Context Awareness with Flow Styles sets the tone by app. Flow Styles work in English only.
  • Command Mode. A spoken instruction for selected text. It is experimental, off by default, and needs a paid plan or a trial.
  • Your words. A dictionary that learns names and jargon, and snippets.
  • Long talks and meetings. One dictation can run up to 20 minutes, and a Notetaker records meetings on Mac and Windows without a bot joining, with transcripts kept in Wispr's cloud.

If you dictate code and product names all day, Aqua's pitch is aimed at you, and the guide to dictating code on a Mac covers habits that help in any app.

Devices, Macs and languages

Both follow you off the Mac, which YapToText does not. On Android, Wispr Flow is the one of the two you can use today; on an Intel Mac, both have a build.

  • Other devices. Wispr Flow runs on Windows, iPhone and Android. Aqua runs on Windows 10 and 11 and as a voice keyboard on iPhone with iOS 17 or later, and keeps a waitlist for Android. Aqua says your dictionary, replacements and instructions sync between iPhone and desktop.
  • Intel Macs. Wispr Flow supports macOS 12 or later on Apple silicon or Intel, and Aqua offers an Intel download. The guide to dictation on an Intel Mac covers the other routes.
  • Languages. Wispr Flow lists more than 100, with Flow Styles in English only. Aqua lists 49, with Auto-Detect. YapToText lists 29 plus auto-detect, and the languages guide names them.
  • Screen readers. Wispr Flow's help center says it is tested with VoiceOver on the Mac. Aqua does not say.

Which one should you pick

Both are cloud apps held on Fn, so the decision is mostly money. Choose by the free plan you can live with, then by the one extra you would miss.

  • If you want unlimited cloud dictation for the least money, pick Aqua Pro: $96 a year billed yearly, against $144 for Wispr Flow Pro.
  • If you want to keep dictating free week after week, pick Wispr Flow Free. Its allowance refills every Sunday, and Aqua calls its 1,000 words a test drive.
  • If you edit by voice and will not pay, pick Aqua. Edit Mode is on every plan, while Command Mode needs a paid plan or a trial.
  • If you dictate code or AI terms, spend Aqua's free words on that vocabulary, since its benchmark is its own.
  • If you use an Android phone, pick Wispr Flow. Aqua has a waitlist.
  • If you talk in long stretches or want meeting notes, pick Wispr Flow, with 20-minute dictations and its Notetaker. Aqua's longest single dictation is not stated.
  • If your team needs single sign-on and SCIM, Aqua Business lists both from two seats; Wispr Flow lists SAML single sign-on on Growth and SCIM on Enterprise.
  • If your audio must not leave the Mac, neither one does that, and that is the gap YapToText fills.

Still torn? Dictate the same paragraph into both free plans, with a name that usually comes out wrong, and count the fixes. The Aqua Voice alternative page covers where Aqua is ahead in more depth.

Where YapToText fits as a free third option

YapToText is the app I built and use all day. It is free with no account and no word count, the code is public under the GPL-3.0, and both of its models run on the Mac. The two things both cloud apps share, a server and a meter, are the two things YapToText leaves out.

  • Cleanup. Auto mode picks a treatment for each dictation: a letter becomes an email, a short chat stays as spoken, and the rest gets a careful pass that fixes what was misheard.
  • Editing by voice. Quick Edit rewrites a selection in any app, free. For 30 seconds after a dictation lands, scratch that takes it back and replace X with Y swaps a word, with no key.
  • Your words. Dictionaries fix a spelling and also prime the speech model. The Commands page takes your Aqua Replacements or Wispr snippets, typed when you say insert and the phrase.

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 once about the microphone, then opens System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, where you switch YapToText on yourself.
  • Check: The Get set up card leaves the Home page once nothing is missing.

Step 2: Put dictation on Fn and hold it

  • You: Quit Aqua or Wispr Flow first, so only one app answers Fn. On the Dictation page, in the Keys card, click the key field, press Fn, and choose Hold to talk in the menu beside it.
  • YapToText: Records while the key is down and stops the moment you let go.
  • Check: Click into any text field, hold Fn, say a sentence and let go. The words land at your cursor. If they went to the clipboard, Accessibility is not on yet.
YapToText's Dictation settings page on a Mac: the Keys, Recording, Microphone and Delivery cards.
Figure 1. The Keys card at the top of the Dictation page, where you can swap Right Command for Fn and tapping for holding, to match the habit Aqua or Wispr Flow taught your hands.

Step 3: Edit what you just said

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

make this shorter

What happens: The Quick Edit card listens, applies the change on your Mac and says Done, and the shorter version replaces your selection.

The keys and shortcuts guide lists every key that can start a dictation.

What each one cannot do

All three have gaps, and they point different ways. Wispr Flow meters its free words and keeps editing behind a plan, Aqua keeps its free plan short and its privacy switch off, and YapToText stays on one Apple silicon Mac.

Wispr Flow

  • No offline dictation. Every plan transcribes in the cloud.
  • A weekly cap on the free plan. 2,000 words on desktop before the warning, 5,000 before it stops.
  • No free editing by voice. Command Mode needs a paid plan or a trial, and it is experimental.

Aqua Voice

  • No offline mode on the Mac. Its Mac page says audio is processed in the cloud.
  • A short free start. 1,000 words, about 7 minutes of talking.
  • Privacy Mode starts off. Until you turn it on, transcripts may be stored to improve the product.
  • No Android app yet. There is a waitlist.

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.
  • Whisper, not Avalon. It runs Whisper models only, and has not been tested against Aqua's benchmark.
  • No screen context, meetings or teams. Nothing like Deep Context, Computer Control, a Notetaker, single sign-on 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

  • Wispr Flow. Free to 2,000 words a week on desktop, refilled weekly, then $15 a month or $12 billed yearly; Android, 20-minute dictations and meeting notes.
  • Aqua Voice. 1,000 free words, then $10 a month or $8 billed yearly; its own Avalon model, and Edit Mode on every plan.
  • Both. Cloud transcription with no offline mode on the Mac, on Mac, Windows and iPhone. 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.

Aqua costs less and edits for free; Wispr Flow reaches further; if you want neither the cloud nor the meter, there is a third option.

If a price or feature here no longer matches Aqua'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 Aqua Voice better than Wispr Flow?

It depends on what you need. Aqua costs less, runs its own Avalon model and includes Edit Mode on every plan, while Wispr Flow runs on Android, lists more than 100 languages, allows 20-minute dictations and records meetings.

Which is cheaper, Aqua Voice or Wispr Flow?

Aqua, for one person: Pro is $8 a month billed yearly or $10 month to month, against Wispr Flow Pro at $12 or $15. For teams, a Wispr Flow Growth seat costs slightly less than an Aqua Business seat, and Business needs two seats. Checked October 3 and 5, 2026.

Do Aqua Voice and Wispr Flow work offline?

No. Aqua's Mac page says audio is processed in the cloud and there is no offline mode, and Wispr Flow's privacy page says transcription always happens in the cloud. YapToText transcribes on the Mac, with Wi-Fi on or off.

What is the difference between the Aqua Voice and Wispr Flow free plans?

Wispr Flow's free plan allows 2,000 words a week on desktop and refills every week. Aqua's free plan is 1,000 free words, which Aqua calls a test drive, but it includes Edit Mode.

Does Aqua Voice work on Android?

Not yet. Aqua runs on Mac, Windows and iPhone and keeps a waitlist for Android. Wispr Flow has an Android app. YapToText is a Mac app only.

Is there a free alternative to Aqua Voice and Wispr Flow?

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