Dictato vs Superwhisper

Dictato

• Mac users who want dictation that never leaves the device
• Buyers who prefer a low one-time price to a subscription
• People who switch language or tone between apps and websites

Superwhisper

• People who want dictation that runs on-device and offline
• Buyers who prefer a one-time license to a subscription
• Users who want to choose their own voice and language models

Dictato

• It runs only on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later; Intel Macs are not supported and there are no Windows or mobile apps.
• It is live dictation only and does not transcribe existing audio files.
• A license covers one Mac at a time, with up to 3 moves per 30 days, and the price is listed in euros only.
• Auto-translate needs macOS 26, and tone rewrites need a one-time 3.4 GB model download.

Superwhisper

• AI-powered modes, cloud voice models, file transcription and speaker separation all need Pro.
• The Free plan is limited to 2 modes, and those run without AI processing.
• Cloud voice models send audio to hosted servers; only the local models keep audio on the device.
• A Linux version is listed as coming soon and is not yet available.

Dictato

Hold-to-talk dictation at the cursor

Hold a hotkey, or tap to toggle, and the finished text is pasted wherever the cursor is in any app that accepts a paste. Recording continues until the key is released, with no time limit.

On-device proofreading

Punctuation, capitals, paragraph breaks and filler words are handled before the text is pasted, and dates, times and amounts are formatted, so a spoken amount comes out as 25 €.

Four speech engines

Parakeet covers 24 mostly European languages, Whisper covers 99 and Qwen3 covers 26, while Apple SpeechAnalyzer is used on macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence. Dictato picks a default for the Mac.

Profiles per app and website

Rules set the tone, language and engine for each app, and for individual websites in Safari, Chrome, Brave, Edge, Arc, Vivaldi and Opera. Nine tones are built in, and custom ones can be written.

Tone rewrites, translation and vocabulary

Tones rewrite a dictation as an email, note or list using a Gemma model stored on the Mac. Auto-translate uses Apple's Translation framework, and a vocabulary plus voice commands fix names and jargon.

Local history with audio

Each dictation is kept on the Mac with its audio, the raw transcript and the cleaned text, and can be searched in full or replayed. History is never synced and can be switched off.

Superwhisper

Dictation in any app

Speak and have the text typed into whatever app is in front of you, such as Slack, Gmail, Notion or a code editor. More than 100 languages and dialects are supported.

Local models that work offline

Whisper models run entirely on your device and are free to use without limits, so dictation works with no connection and audio is not uploaded.

Cloud voice models on Pro

Pro adds hosted voice models such as S1-Voice, Nova and Scribe, along with real-time transcription. With these models audio is sent to hosted servers.

Modes

A mode sets how speech is processed, from plain transcription to AI modes that rewrite it for a context such as email. Free allows 2 modes without AI; Pro is unlimited.

Meetings and file transcription

Records meetings and produces notes, and Pro adds system audio recording, speaker separation and transcription of audio or video files.

Custom vocabulary

Add names and terms the models tend to get wrong, plus text replacements. Both are included on the Free plan.

Dictato

• Dictato€19.99

  one-time payment, one Mac at a time

  Lifetime license with all four engines, proofreading, tones, translation, profiles and updates. VAT is included, and the license can move Macs up to 3 times per 30 days.

Superwhisper

• Free$0

  Unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, custom vocabulary, text replacements and up to 2 modes.

• Pro$8.49

  per month, or $84.99 per year

  Cloud voice models, AI-powered modes, unlimited modes, file transcription, system audio recording and speaker separation.

• Pro Lifetime$249.99

  one-time payment

  The same Pro features as the subscription, paid once. One license covers Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Seat-based licensing with SSO and centralized deployment for teams.

Dictato

• Lifetime license

  One-time lifetime license for €19.99

  A single payment of 19.99 € including VAT buys a lifetime license with updates and no renewal. It follows a 7-day free trial and carries a 14-day refund.

Superwhisper

• Annual discount

  About 17% less with the yearly plan

  Pro costs $84.99 a year against $8.49 a month, which Superwhisper describes as a saving of about 17%.

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime Pro license for $249.99

  A one-time payment of $249.99 buys Pro for life, with the same features as the subscription. All individual plans have a 30-day refund window.

• Education

  40% off for students and educators

  Verified students, faculty and academic institutions get 40% off list price. The discount is requested by email from an institutional address before purchasing.

• Nonprofit

  40% off for nonprofits

  Verified non-profit and charitable organizations get 40% off list price, requested by email before purchasing.