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Voquill vs Whispering (2026): which should you pick?

As of Nov 12, 2026, Whispering grades higher than Voquill: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.

Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA

Voquill grades higher on features and platforms. Whispering grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use.

Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.

Voquill

Open-source AI dictation for desktop and mobile, free to run locally

Free plan · from $8/mo
Full detailsvoquill.com

Whispering

Open-source dictation app that uses your own models or API keys

Free
Full detailsepicenter.so

Which one is for you

Pick Voquill if

  • Fits if you want open-source dictation you can run offline or with your own key
  • Works for people who dictate on both a desktop and a phone

Look elsewhere if

  • Skip it if you want cloud transcription or sync without paying, as both need Pro
  • Tight if you want to know the free limit: the pricing page states no word cap
  • Watch out: the company site mostly promotes a separate pathology lab product, so check the dictation pages
  • Pricey if you pay monthly: $12 against $8 on yearly billing

Pick Whispering if

  • Fits if you want dictation software whose code you can read for yourself
  • Works for people who already have a Groq or OpenAI key and would rather pay the provider directly

Look elsewhere if

  • Skip it if API keys sound like homework, because cloud transcription needs your own
  • Not for you if you record long sessions, as the site itself suggests a dedicated recording app
  • Tight if you're on Windows and want local transcription in a language other than English
  • Watch out: the Mac download is Apple Silicon only, and there's no phone app
  • Watch out: the browser version has no system-wide shortcuts, and the hosted web build is no longer republished

How we grade them

2.6GPAVoquillGood2.8GPAWhisperingGood
Value for money
CPro is $8 a month on yearly billing ($12 monthly), just under the category's middle of $8.49. That's $96 a year.
AFree and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, against a category that mostly wants about $8 a month. Local transcription costs nothing at all, and cloud use is billed by the provider on your own key, with the site quoting Groq at $0.02 to $0.04 an hour of audio.
Free plan and trial
BThe free Personal plan covers dictation with your own API key, offline mode and basic agent mode. A word limit, if any, isn't stated.
AThe full desktop app is free with no paid tier above it and nothing held back. Stick to the bundled local engines and you never pay anyone a penny, and Groq has a free tier if you do want the cloud.
Features
BSystem-wide dictation, local, own-key or cloud modes, AI cleanup and an agent mode. Nothing in the listing is missing from the core job.
CThe basics plus a pick-your-own-engine twist: shortcut or voice-activated recording, local Parakeet, Moonshine and Whisper C++, and chained AI steps to fix grammar or translate. The gaps are in the listing, though: Windows local use is English-only, and it's built for short bursts, not long sessions.
Ease of use
CNo store rating on record. Free use means setting up a local model or your own API key.
CNo rating on record, and this one asks something of you. Anything beyond the bundled local engines means signing up with Groq, OpenAI or ElevenLabs and pasting in API keys, and the Mac download is Apple Silicon only.
Platforms and integrations
BMac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. No web app or integration list.
CA computer program, in the end: Mac, Windows and Linux, with no phone app, and the README says the hosted web build is no longer republished. What it does connect to is providers, Groq, OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Anthropic, Gemini, Ollama and LM Studio, rather than apps you use.
Best foropen-source dictation across desktop and phoneopen-source dictation on your own API keys

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: Voquill and Whispering. How we grade

Price against what you get

Voquill starts at $8 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Whispering has no paid plan and scores 2.0.

Voquill scores higher, and starts $8 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other voice dictation apps on the chart, 2 score higher than Voquill for less, and none scores higher than Whispering for less.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

D1.0C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$1$2$5$10$20$50More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessVoquillWhispering

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
The full chart of voice dictation apps, and the best at every price

Where they differ

    In commonFree planmacOSWindowsLinuxOpen sourceWorks offlineLocal-firstAI featuresDictation

    At a glance

    VoquillWhispering
    PricingFree planFree
    Starts at$8 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)Free
    Free planPersonal plan: AI dictation, bring your own API key, offline mode, smart autocorrect and basic agent mode.The app is free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. Local transcription costs nothing; cloud transcription is billed by the provider whose API key you add.
    Free trialNone listedNone listed
    Web
    macOS
    Windows
    Linux
    iOS
    Android
    Made byVoquill, Inc.Epicenter
    Price read fromvoquill.comepicenter.so
    CheckedNov 12, 2026Oct 6, 2026

    Worth knowing

    Voquill

    • Cloud transcription and cross-device sync need the paid Pro plan.
    • The Personal plan's word limit, if any, is not stated on the pricing page.
    • Voquill's company site mainly promotes its separate pathology lab software, so check the dictation pages for the product you want.
    • Pro is $8 a month billed annually ($96 a year), or $12 billed monthly.

    Whispering

    • Cloud transcription and AI transformations need your own provider API keys, and the provider bills the usage.
    • The macOS download is for Apple Silicon only, and Windows builds include just the English-only Parakeet engine for local transcription.
    • It is built for short dictation; the site suggests a dedicated recording app for long sessions.
    • The browser version has no system-wide shortcuts, and the project's README on GitHub says the hosted web build is no longer being republished.

    Key features

    Voquill

    System-wide dictation
    Types into any text field in any app on macOS, Windows and Linux, with a mobile app on iOS and Android.
    Local, own-key or cloud
    Runs on the device, with your own API key, on the vendor's cloud, or deployed on-premise on the Enterprise plan.
    AI text cleanup
    Removes filler words, hesitations and false starts from the transcript, with smart autocorrect.
    Open source
    The code is public on GitHub, and the company runs a Discord for feedback and bug reports.
    Agent mode
    The Personal plan lists a basic agent mode in addition to dictation; the vendor's page gives no detail on what it does.

    Whispering

    Shortcut-driven dictation
    Press a keyboard shortcut, speak, and the text is copied and pasted where the cursor is. The recording shortcut can be changed in settings.
    Voice-activated mode
    With voice activity detection turned on, recording starts when you begin speaking and stops after a short pause, so no key has to be held.
    Cloud providers with your own keys
    Audio goes straight from the device to Groq, OpenAI or ElevenLabs under your own API key, with no Whispering server in between. Groq also has a free tier.
    Local transcription engines
    Version 7.11.0 bundles Parakeet, Moonshine and Whisper C++ for on-device transcription, with Whisper C++ covering 65 languages. Speaches, a local transcription service, is also supported.
    AI transformations
    Chain steps that send the transcript to a model from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Groq or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, or run find-and-replace, to fix grammar, translate or summarize.
    Recordings stored on the device
    Recordings, transcripts and transformation settings are kept locally. Anonymized usage analytics are collected through Aptabase and can be switched off in settings.

    Plans

    Voquill

    • Personal$0

      Local dictation with your own API key or offline mode; Pro lists unlimited words, so Personal likely has a cap.

    • Pro$8

      per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)

      Adds cloud transcription, cross-device sync, unlimited words per month and priority support.

    • EnterpriseCustom

      Everything in Pro plus on-premise deployment, custom integrations and dedicated support.

    Whispering

    • Whispering$0

      The full desktop and browser app. Cloud providers bill usage to your own API key: the site lists Groq at $0.02 to $0.04 per hour of audio.

    Ways to pay less

    Voquill

    • Annual discount

      Save 33% with yearly billing

      The pricing toggle shows Pro at $8 a month billed yearly ($96) against $12 a month billed monthly.

    Whispering

    No public discounts listed.

    Common questions

    Which is cheaper, Voquill or Whispering?

    As of Nov 12, 2026, Whispering is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $8 a month for Voquill. Voquill starts at $8 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly), and Whispering is free.

    Which has a free plan, Voquill or Whispering?

    As of Nov 12, 2026, both Voquill and Whispering have a free plan.

    Which platforms do Voquill and Whispering run on?

    As of Nov 12, 2026, only Voquill lists iOS and Android apps and only Whispering lists a web app. Both list macOS, Windows and Linux 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.
    How we review and grade