Aqua Voice vs Willow

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

Willow

• People who want dictated text to sound like their own writing
• Replacing typing in chat, email and coding tools
• Teams with HIPAA or zero-data-retention requirements

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.

Willow

• The free Basic plan uses a weaker speech model, with limited personalization and 20 Scribe uses a week.
• There is no Android app yet; the download page lists Android as coming soon.
• Enforced privacy mode and enforced HIPAA compliance need Business, and SSO/SAML needs Enterprise.
• The help center lists offline dictation as a Pro feature.

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.

Willow

Dictation in any app

Speak into any text field, with Slack, Gmail, Cursor, Notion and iMessage given as examples. Willow says text can appear in as little as 200 ms and lists 100+ languages.

Automatic formatting

Removes filler words, fixes punctuation and structures what you said, so the result needs less editing than a raw transcript.

Style matching

Learns how you write and adapts the tone of its output, and lets you pick different writing styles for different apps. Style memory is part of Pro.

Scribe

Instead of dictating word for word, describe what you want to say and Scribe writes it in your style. Basic allows 20 uses a week; Pro is unlimited.

Personal dictionary and shortcuts

A dictionary learns names and technical terms automatically, and shortcuts can be saved for reuse. Teams can share both across members.

Privacy mode and compliance

Willow states SOC 2 Type II certification and HIPAA compliance. The Business plan enforces privacy mode, with zero data retention, across the team.

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.

Willow

• Basic$0

  Unlimited dictation on the Frontier Mini model, limited personalization and 20 Scribe uses a week.

• Pro$12

  per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)

  Unlimited use of the Frontier Pro model, priority transcription, style memory, unlimited Scribe and longer dictations.

• Business$28

  per month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)

  Everything in Pro, plus enforced privacy mode with zero data retention, enforced HIPAA compliance and admin and team controls.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds SSO/SAML, invoice or purchase-order billing, MSA and DPA, advanced dashboards, an API and dedicated support.

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.

Willow

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with annual billing

  The pricing page shows a 20% saving on annual billing: Pro is $12 per user per month instead of $15, and Business is $28 a month instead of $35.

• Education

  30% off Pro for students and educators

  Students and educators can get 30% off Willow Pro. They email proof of eligibility to support and receive a promo code once verified.

• Nonprofit

  30% off Pro for nonprofit staff

  Non-profit staff and volunteers qualify for the same 30% discount on Willow Pro after emailing proof of their affiliation.

• Other savings

  30% off Pro for military and veterans

  Active duty military and veterans qualify for 30% off Willow Pro after verification by email.