Google AI Edge Eloquent vs Handy

Google AI Edge Eloquent

• English speakers who want free dictation with no usage limits
• People who want speech processed on their own device
• iPhone users drafting text to paste into other apps

Handy

• People who want free dictation that never uploads audio
• Dictating on Linux as well as macOS and Windows
• Developers who want a small codebase to fork and extend

Google AI Edge Eloquent

• English is the only officially supported language.
• It is offered for iPhone, iPad and Mac only; Google says it is still evaluating other platforms.
• On iOS it is a standalone app that copies text to the clipboard; the App Store listing says a keyboard is coming soon.
• Some advanced optional features require the cloud, according to the App Store listing.

Handy

• It transcribes microphone input only and cannot capture system audio from calls or videos.
• There is no live streaming transcription: Handy records a segment, then transcribes it, and recordings work best under 3 to 5 minutes.
• Spoken punctuation commands are not supported, and AI post-processing is an alpha feature that needs your own API key or a local model.
• There are no mobile apps; downloads cover macOS, Windows and Linux.

Google AI Edge Eloquent

On-device transcription

Speech-to-text runs on open-weight, Gemma-based models on the device, so dictation works without a server connection and audio stays local.

Automatic text polish

Removes filler such as "um" and "uh" along with mid-sentence self-corrections, and outputs the sentence you meant instead of a verbatim transcript.

Text styles

Google's product page says the app can turn what you dictate into different text styles, in addition to the standard cleaned-up output.

Personal dictionary

Builds an editable vocabulary list from the words you use. You can optionally connect a Google account so terms from data such as Gmail are added, processed on the device.

Clipboard workflow on iOS

On iPhone and iPad it runs as a standalone app: you speak, the cleaned-up text is copied to the clipboard automatically, and you paste it where it is needed.

Handy

Shortcut-driven dictation

Press a shortcut to start and stop recording, or hold it for push-to-talk, and the text is pasted into the app you are typing in. Shortcuts can be remapped in settings.

Local speech models

Choose from Parakeet, Whisper, Moonshine and other models that run on the device, with GPU acceleration when available. Parakeet V3 covers 25 European languages and Whisper 99+.

Optional AI post-processing

An experimental feature runs the transcript through a language model to fix grammar or reformat it, using a cloud provider key, an OpenAI-compatible local endpoint or Apple Intelligence.

Custom words

List names and jargon that are often misheard, and Handy corrects similar-sounding words to match. The docs describe this matching as imperfect.

Transcription history

Past transcriptions are kept with a timestamp and the original audio, and entries can be copied, starred or deleted. A limit setting controls how many are stored.

Command-line control

Flags such as --toggle-transcription and --cancel control a running instance, and --start-hidden launches Handy straight to the system tray.

Google AI Edge Eloquent

• Google AI Edge Eloquent$0

  The complete app for iPhone, iPad and Mac, with on-device transcription, automatic text polish and a personal dictionary.

Handy

• Handy$0

  The full app for macOS, Windows and Linux with every local model. Donations and GitHub Sponsors are optional.