Whispering vs Wispr Flow

Whispering

• People who want dictation software whose code they can audit
• Users willing to add their own API keys and pay providers directly
• Offline dictation with on-device models on Mac and Linux

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

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.

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.
• Growth is listed at a discounted price next to a crossed-out $26 a month (annual); no end date is given.

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.

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.

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.

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)

  Shown against a crossed-out $26. 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.

Whispering

No public discounts listed.

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.