MacWhisper vs Wispr Flow
We give MacWhisper a 3.2 GPA and Wispr Flow a 3.4, out of 4.0. MacWhisper grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Wispr Flow grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
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
Wispr Flow
Voice dictation that cleans up your speech in any app
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAMacWhisperVery good | 3.4GPAWispr FlowVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BPro is $12 a month on yearly billing or $15 month to month, and one plan covers your computer, your phone and the Notetaker. Fair. But Superwhisper's Pro is $8.49 a month, and its free plan has no word limit. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | BNo card and no countdown: 2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 on mobile, with the dictionary and snippets included. Plenty for emails and messages. Not enough if you dictate all day. |
| Features | 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. | AIt tidies as you talk: drops the filler, keeps the correction when you change your mind, adds punctuation and formatting. 100+ languages, a dictionary that learns your names, snippets, and a Notetaker for meetings on Mac and Windows. |
| Ease of use | 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. | A4.84 from about 16,900 App Store ratings. Press your shortcut, talk, and the text lands wherever your cursor is. There are no voice commands to learn, because it adds the punctuation itself. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BMac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and it types into any app with no plugins. No Linux app, and the Notetaker is Mac and Windows only for now. Meeting notes can be used in Claude and ChatGPT through MCP. |
| Best for | transcribing files on a Mac without uploading them | talking instead of typing, in any app |
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: MacWhisper and Wispr Flow. How we grade
Where they differ
- MacWhisper starts at €65 one-time, per license. Wispr Flow starts at $12 per user / month, billed annually.
- Only Wispr Flow lists Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- MacWhisper can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Wispr Flow also covers meeting notes and text expansion.
At a glance
| MacWhisper | Wispr Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | €65 one-time, per license | $12 per user / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | 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. | Dictation up to 2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 a week on mobile, with dictionary, snippets and limited Notetaker access. No credit card required. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day Flow Pro trial, no credit card, when you create or join a team |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Good Snooze | Wispr AI, Inc. |
| Price read from | goodsnooze.gumroad.com | wisprflow.ai |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Wispr Flow
- People who write a lot of email, chat and documents and prefer to speak
- Developers dictating into a terminal, code editor or AI tool
- Students and educators, who get 50% off Pro with an education email
Worth knowing
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.
Wispr Flow
- Free dictation is capped at 2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 a week on mobile.
- The Notetaker runs on Mac and Windows only; the vendor says mobile is on the roadmap.
- SAML SSO and org-wide HIPAA enforcement need Growth, and SCIM and audit logs need Enterprise.
- Unlimited Notetaker meetings are a paid extra on Growth: $26 per user / month instead of $18, billed annually. Pro has higher meeting limits, not unlimited.
Key features
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.
Wispr Flow
- Dictation in any app
- Speech-to-text works wherever you can type, including Gmail, Slack, Notion, a terminal or a code editor, in 100+ languages with automatic language detection.
- Automatic cleanup
- Removes filler words, repetitions and mid-sentence corrections, then adds punctuation and formatting so the output reads like written text.
- Personal dictionary
- Learns unusual words and names automatically, and you can add your own. Paid plans add a dictionary shared across the team.
- Snippets
- Store text you type all the time, such as email replies, links, addresses and bios, and reuse it instead of dictating or typing it again.
- Notetaker for meetings
- On Mac and Windows, the Notetaker captures meetings and voice memos, identifies speakers and answers questions across meetings. Notes can be used in Claude and ChatGPT through MCP.
- Security and admin controls
- Wispr states SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and ISO 27001 certification. Growth adds SAML SSO and usage reporting; SCIM and audit logs are on Enterprise.
Plans
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.
Wispr Flow
Free$0
Dictation in 100+ languages with weekly word limits, dictionary and snippets, and a weekly limit on Notetaker meetings.
Pro$12
per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
Unlimited dictation, higher Notetaker limits with longer history, shared team dictionary and snippets, and priority support.
Growth$18
per user / month, billed annually ($23 billed monthly)
$26 with unlimited Notetaker access ($33 billed monthly). Adds SAML SSO, org-wide HIPAA enforcement with a signed BAA, admin controls and usage reporting.
EnterpriseCustom
Annual contracts only. Adds SCIM provisioning, audit logs, MDM deployment and dedicated support with SLAs.
Ways to pay less
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).
Wispr Flow
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page shows a 20% discount for annual billing: Pro is $12 per user per month instead of $15, and Growth is $18 instead of $23.
- Education
50% off Flow Pro for students and educators
Students and educators with an education email get 50% off Flow Pro. The student page lists $6 a month billed annually, with 3 months free for new subscribers.
- Nonprofit
Discounted Flow Pro for nonprofits
Wispr says it offers discounted Flow Pro to nonprofit organizations. The amount is not published; applicants use a verification form linked from the student page.
- Other savings
Full Notetaker access free through October 31
Teams picking a plan can turn on full Notetaker access at no extra cost through October 31. The page says the price does not rise automatically afterwards; members move to a limited plan.
