Glaido vs Willow (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Willow grades higher than Glaido: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Glaido grades higher on value for money. Willow grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Glaido
Hold-a-key voice dictation for macOS, Windows 11 and Linux
Willow
AI voice dictation that formats text and matches your style
Which one is for you
Pick Glaido if
- Fits if you dictate on a desktop and want per-app formatting rules
- Works for developers who talk into Cursor, Claude Code or Slack
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you dictate a lot: the free plan stops at 2,000 words a week
- Skip it if you want a phone or browser version, as none exists
- Pricey if you want Pro: $17 a user a month on yearly billing, and the monthly price wasn't visible
- Watch out: SSO, SAML, API access and dedicated data processing need Enterprise
Pick Willow if
- Fits if you want dictated text to read like something you'd have typed yourself
- Works for teams with HIPAA or zero-data-retention rules, on Business at $28 a month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Android, because the download page only lists it as coming soon
- Not for you if you need to dictate offline for free, as the help center lists that as a Pro feature
- Pricey if your team needs enforced privacy mode, since that's Business at $28 a month billed annually
- Tight if you stay on Basic, with the lighter speech model, limited personalization and 20 Scribe uses a week
- Watch out: SSO and the API are Enterprise only, priced on request, and there's no web version
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAGlaidoFair | 2.6GPAWillowGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $17 a user a month on yearly billing, above the category's dearer-quarter line of $12 but short of its dearest tenth. | DPro is $12 a user a month billed annually, or $15 month to month, which lands in the dearest tenth of this category against a usual start of about $8. Enforced privacy mode and HIPAA jump again to Business at $28, and the API is Enterprise only, priced on request. |
| Free plan and trial | CBasic is free forever with 2,000 words a week. That's a cap you'll hit if you dictate daily. | BBasic is free with no card and unlimited dictation, so one person could get by on it. But it runs on the lighter Frontier Mini model, with limited personalization, 20 Scribe uses a week and, by the help center, no offline dictation until you pay. |
| Features | BPush-to-talk in any app, dictionary, snippets, per-app formatting and voice commands. Nothing in the listing is missing from the core job. | BThe whole dictation job is covered: filler words dropped, punctuation fixed, text shaped for the app you're in, 100+ languages, a dictionary that picks up names by itself and Scribe, which drafts a message from a spoken description instead of word-for-word dictation. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. A desktop app you install and use, with push-to-talk. | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing in the way: download it, speak into any text field, and that's the job. No card and no plan to pick before you start, and style matching happens on its own as you go. |
| Platforms and integrations | CDesktop only: macOS, Windows 11 and Linux. No iOS, Android or browser version. | BMac, Windows and iPhone, so computer and phone covered. Android is still marked coming soon, there's no web version, the listing names no integrations at all, and an API only turns up on the custom-priced Enterprise plan. |
| Best for | push-to-talk dictation on a desktop | dictation that ends up sounding like you |
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: Glaido and Willow. How we grade
Price against what you get
Glaido starts at $17 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Willow starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
Willow scores higher and starts $5 a month lower. Of the other voice dictation apps on the chart, 5 score higher than Glaido for less, and 1 scores higher than Willow for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Glaido also covers clipboard manager and text expansion.
At a glance
| Glaido | Willow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $17 per user / month, billed annually | $12 per user / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | Basic plan: free forever, 2,000 words a week, all apps, 100+ languages and AI auto-edits. | Basic plan: unlimited dictation on the lighter Frontier Mini model, limited personalization and 20 Scribe uses a week. No credit card required. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Glaido | Willow Care, Inc. |
| Price read from | glaido.com | willowvoice.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Glaido
- The free plan stops at 2,000 words a week.
- Desktop only: macOS, Windows 11 and Linux are listed, with no iOS, Android or browser version.
- The pricing page shows the annual-billing price, $17 per user / month; the monthly price was not visible in the page text.
- SSO, SAML, API access and dedicated data processing need Enterprise.
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.
Key features
Glaido
- Push-to-talk dictation in any app
- Hold a hotkey and speak; the text is cleaned up and pasted into the focused app, such as Slack, Gmail or a code editor.
- Dictionary and snippets
- Names and technical terms can be added once so they are spelled correctly, and short triggers expand into saved text.
- Per-app formatting rules
- Each app can get its own style, for example relaxed in chat and formal in email, with custom prompts.
- Voice commands
- A Commands area lets you act on the spoken text or trigger actions by voice.
- Built-in utilities
- Every plan includes a color picker, clipboard history, text snippet expansion, a process viewer and a keep-awake tool.
- Privacy stance
- The vendor says history stays on your device, transcripts are not saved to its database, and it holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification.
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.
Plans
Glaido
Basic$0
2,000 dictated words a week, works in every app, 100+ languages, AI auto-edits and agent mode.
Pro$17
per user / month, billed annually
Unlimited words, multiple seats on one bill, prioritized processing and support, and early access to new features.
EnterpriseCustom
Pro plus SSO and SAML, dedicated data processing, API access and integrations, and custom billing.
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.
Ways to pay less
Glaido
- Annual discount
Two months free on annual billing
The pricing page's annual toggle is labelled 2 months free.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Glaido or Willow?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Willow is cheaper to start with: $12 a month for each person, against $17 a month for each person for Glaido. Glaido starts at $17 per user / month, billed annually, and Willow starts at $12 per user / month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Glaido or Willow?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Glaido and Willow have a free plan.
Which platforms do Glaido and Willow run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Glaido lists a Linux app and only Willow lists an iOS app. Both list macOS and Windows apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.