Aqua Voice vs Monologue

Aqua Voice

• Developers dictating prompts into Cursor, Claude Code or a terminal
• Writing long messages and documents by voice on Mac or Windows
• Teams that need SSO, SCIM and Zero Data Retention

Monologue

• People who work across Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch
• Recording meetings without a bot joining the call
• Handing voice notes and transcripts to AI agents

Aqua Voice

• The free allowance is a one-time 1,000 words; continued use needs a paid plan.
• Audio is processed in the cloud, and cloud dictation needs an internet connection.
• Realtime Mode and the Send It command need Max or Business, and Android is waitlist-only.
• Subscribing inside the iPhone app costs more: the App Store lists Pro at $12.99 a month or $119 a year.

Monologue

• Apple devices only: Monologue does not offer Windows or Android apps.
• The free trial stops at 1,000 dictation words and 10 recorded notes; after that a Pro or Every subscription is needed.
• Local transcription works only on Apple silicon Macs, and smart formatting still needs an internet connection.
• The web app reviews and organizes notes but cannot record new ones.

Aqua Voice

Dictation in any text field

Hold Fn on Mac or Alt on Windows, speak, and release to insert text at the cursor system-wide, with no per-app setup or browser extension. 49 dictation languages, with auto-detect.

Avalon speech model

Dictation runs on Avalon, a speech-recognition model the company trained on how people talk to computers: prompts, code and email. A language model then cleans up and formats the output.

Deep Context

An optional setting, off by default, that reads what is on screen so names, code identifiers and technical terms are transcribed correctly.

Edit Mode

Select text in any Mac or Windows app, hold the Aqua key and say the change, and the selection is rewritten in place. It is included for every desktop user.

Realtime Mode and Send It

On Max, words appear as you speak, and ending a hands-free dictation with "send it" inserts the message and presses Return for you.

Dictionary, Replacements and instructions

Teach it names and technical terms, expand short spoken phrases into longer text, and set plain-language style rules with Custom Instructions, which start on Pro.

Monologue

Dictation in any app

Hold a shortcut on Mac, or use the Monologue keyboard on iPhone and iPad, and speech becomes formatted text in the app in front of you, with self-corrections removed. Over 100 languages.

Modes and custom instructions

Modes change the writing style to suit the app, such as chat, email, notes or code. Custom instructions and a personal dictionary handle tone, names and acronyms.

Voice Notes

Record longer thoughts or conversations and get a speaker-separated transcript and a summary. Notes sync across devices and can be reviewed in a web app.

Bot-free meeting notes

On Mac, a note can record the microphone and system audio together, capturing both sides of a call without a bot joining. Meeting notes are part of Monologue Pro.

Local transcription on Mac

Apple silicon Macs can download a local model that transcribes speech with no connection. Smart formatting still uses the online service, so offline output is a raw transcript.

MCP, CLI and Notes API

Saved notes can be read by AI agents through a hosted MCP server, searched from a command-line tool, or pulled into other software with a read-only public API.

Aqua Voice

• Free$0

  A one-time allowance of 1,000 words with the Avalon transcription model. No credit card required.

• Pro$8

  per month, billed annually ($96), or $10 billed monthly

  Unlimited words, Custom Instructions and an expanded custom dictionary.

• Max$24

  per month, billed annually, or $30 billed monthly

  Everything in Pro, plus Realtime Mode that shows words as you speak, the "Send it" voice command and early access to new features.

• Business$19

  per seat / month, billed annually ($228), or $24 billed monthly

  Everything in Max, plus centralized billing, SSO/SAML and SCIM, advanced reporting, Zero Data Retention and team dictionaries. 2-seat minimum.

Monologue

• Free trial$0

  1,000 dictation words and 10 recorded notes, with offline transcription, context-aware formatting and 100+ languages.

• Monologue Pro$12

  per month, billed annually ($144), or $15 billed monthly

  Unlimited dictation, unlimited recorded notes and bot-free meeting notes on Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

• Every bundle$24

  per month, billed annually ($288), or $30 billed monthly

  Every's paid subscription includes Monologue Pro along with its Cora, Spiral, Proof and Sparkle apps and its AI newsletter.

Aqua Voice

• Annual discount

  About 20% less with annual billing

  Pro is $8 a month billed annually against $10 month-to-month, and Max is $24 against $30. Business is $19 a seat against $24.

• Education

  70% off Pro and Max for students

  Signing up with a school email address (.edu or academic domains such as .ac.uk) gives 70% off: Pro from $2.40 a month and Max from $7.20 a month, both billed annually.

• Other savings

  Volume discounts above 20 users

  The pricing page invites teams with more than 20 users to contact Aqua for volume discounts and billing by active user.

Monologue

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with annual billing

  Monologue Pro is $144 a year, charged as one payment, which works out to $12 a month against $15 on monthly billing.