FluidVoice vs MacWhisper
We give FluidVoice and MacWhisper the same GPA: 3.2 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
MacWhisper
Mac transcription and dictation app that runs models locally
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAFluidVoiceVery good | 3.2GPAMacWhisperVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt costs nothing and there are no paid tiers. The full app, every speech model and the optional Fluid Intelligence runtime are all free. Sponsoring the project on GitHub is up to you. | APro is €65 once with lifetime updates, and no subscription on the direct-download version. That's less than a year of a typical dictation app. Buying five drops it to €54 a license. |
| Free plan and trial | ACompletely free and open source under the GPLv3, with nothing held back for a paid plan. One footnote: the Fluid Intelligence runtime is free too, but it isn't part of the open-source code. | AMacWhisper Free records from the mic, transcribes audio and video files in 100 languages, includes system-wide dictation and exports .txt, .srt and .vtt. Plenty of people could stop there. |
| Features | ASystem-wide dictation with a live preview, five kinds of on-device speech model, and local AI that strips filler and fixes formatting. Write Mode rewrites a selection, Command Mode launches apps by voice, and prompts can change per app. | AFile transcription, dictation anywhere on the Mac, and recording of Zoom, Teams, Webex and Discord calls. Pro labels speakers, runs batches, takes YouTube links and exports .docx and .pdf. You can chat with a transcript through your own AI provider. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record, so a B is our ceiling. One global hotkey does the work. The AI clean-up is a separate download of about 3.5 GB, and Intel Macs only get the Whisper and Apple Speech models. | BThere's no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. One thing to know before buying: license keys only work in the direct-download version, not the App Store edition. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only, and it needs macOS 15.0 or later. iPhone and Windows versions are listed as coming soon, with a waitlist. You can plug in OpenAI or Groq with your own API key for the clean-up step. | DMac only, on macOS 14 or later. It does send transcripts to Obsidian, Notion, Zapier, Make and n8n. The iPhone and iPad app is a separate App Store product called Whisper Transcription. |
| Best for | free dictation that stays on your Mac | transcribing files on a Mac without uploading them |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: FluidVoice and MacWhisper. How we grade
Where they differ
- FluidVoice is free. MacWhisper starts at €65 one-time, per license.
- FluidVoice is open source, according to its own site.
- MacWhisper can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- MacWhisper also covers transcription.
At a glance
| FluidVoice | MacWhisper | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | €65 one-time, per license |
| Free plan | Completely free and open source under the GPLv3, with no paid tiers. The optional Fluid Intelligence runtime is also free but is not open source. | MacWhisper Free: record from the microphone, transcribe mp3, wav, m4a, ogg, opus, mov and mp4 files in 100 languages, use system-wide dictation, and export to .txt, .srt and .vtt. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Altic | Good Snooze |
| Price read from | altic.dev | goodsnooze.gumroad.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
FluidVoice
- Mac users who want free dictation that stays on the device
- AI text cleanup without a cloud account or API key
- Developers dictating prompts into terminals and code editors
MacWhisper
- Transcribing interviews, lectures and podcasts without uploading files
- Mac users who prefer a one-time purchase to a subscription
- Producing .srt or .vtt subtitles from audio and video
Worth knowing
FluidVoice
- Mac only for now: iPhone and Windows versions are listed as coming soon, with a waitlist.
- It requires macOS 15.0 or later, and Intel Macs are limited to the Whisper and Apple Speech models.
- Fluid Intelligence is a separate, privately maintained runtime and is not part of the open-source code.
- Choosing OpenAI, Groq or another cloud provider for enhancement sends text off the Mac.
MacWhisper
- Mac only on the desktop, and it needs macOS 14 or later. The iPhone and iPad app is a separate App Store product called Whisper Transcription.
- The Pro price is set in euros, and checkout runs through Gumroad.
- License keys work only in the direct-download version; the App Store edition is sold by subscription and has fewer AI provider options.
- Speaker recognition (with local models, M-series Macs only), batch transcription, integrations and most export formats require Pro.
Key features
FluidVoice
- System-wide dictation
- Hold one global hotkey and speak, and the text is typed into any text field through macOS accessibility APIs. A live preview overlay shows words as they are recognized.
- On-device speech models
- Nemotron Speech 3.5, Parakeet, Cohere Transcribe, Apple Speech and Whisper models run locally. Language coverage depends on the model, from English only up to 99 languages with Whisper.
- Fluid Intelligence
- An optional local AI runtime, about a 3.5 GB download, runs the Fluid-1 model to strip filler, fix capitalization and format text with no cloud service or API key.
- Write Mode and Command Mode
- Write Mode drafts new text or rewrites a selection in any text field. Command Mode launches apps, runs shortcuts and triggers system actions by voice.
- Per-app prompts
- Assign different prompt sets to different apps so the tone follows the context, for example casual in Slack and formal in Mail.
- Optional cloud AI enhancement
- Post-processing can instead use OpenAI, Groq or a custom provider with your own API key, which is stored in the macOS Keychain.
MacWhisper
- Local file transcription
- Transcribes audio and video files such as mp3, wav, m4a, mov and mp4 with models that run on the Mac, so recordings are processed offline and do not leave the computer.
- System-wide dictation
- Dictate into any text field on the Mac. Free includes dictation; Pro adds a higher-quality mode, automatic grammar improvement and dictation with AI prompts.
- Meeting and app audio recording
- Records Zoom, Teams, Webex, Skype and Discord calls in the background, or the audio of any Mac app, and transcribes the result.
- Speaker recognition and batch jobs
- Pro labels different speakers automatically, transcribes many files in one batch and can transcribe YouTube and other media URLs.
- Subtitle and document export
- Free exports .txt plus .srt and .vtt subtitles. Pro adds .md, .pdf, .html and .docx and can translate subtitles automatically.
- AI summaries and chat
- Summarize or chat with a transcript by connecting your own provider, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, xAI or local models through Ollama.
Plans
FluidVoice
FluidVoice$0
The full Mac app with every speech model, Write and Command modes and optional Fluid Intelligence. GitHub Sponsors support is optional.
MacWhisper
MacWhisper Free€0
Microphone recording, file transcription in 100 languages, system-wide dictation and export to .txt, .srt and .vtt.
MacWhisper Pro€65
one-time payment, 1 license for personal use
Lifetime updates. Adds speaker recognition, batch transcription, more export formats, higher-quality dictation and integrations.
5 licenses (Pro)€269
one-time payment (€54 per license)
Five Pro licenses bought together. Larger packs of 10, 20 and 50 licenses are also sold.
Ways to pay less
FluidVoice
No public discounts listed.
MacWhisper
- Lifetime license
Pro is a one-time €65 license
MacWhisper Pro is a pay-once license at €65 that includes lifetime updates, with no subscription on the direct-download version. The Gumroad listing promises a refund if you ask within 7 days.
- Education
25% off for students on request
The Gumroad listing says students, journalists and nonprofits can email support, describe their work and get 25% off.
- Nonprofit
25% off for nonprofits on request
Nonprofits are covered by the same offer as students and journalists: email support with details of your work to get 25% off.
- Other savings
Volume packs from €54 per license
Pro license packs lower the unit price: 5 licenses for €269 (€54 each), 10 for €490 (€49 each), 20 for €899 (€45 each) and 50 for €2,199 (€44 each).
