Speechy vs Superwhisper

Superwhisper is one of the most capable dictation apps on the Mac, with modes, custom prompts and a long list of models. Speechy is simpler on purpose: everything runs on your Mac, it works well out of the box, and it adds a few things Superwhisper does not have. Here they are, with real examples.

At a glance

	Speechy	Superwhisper
Where your voice is transcribed	Always on your Mac	Local or cloud, with cloud models as the documented default
Parakeet and live words	Included in every plan	Need Pro
Two languages in one dictation	Yes, detected after each pause	One mode per language is the advice
Ignores other people's voices	Yes, with Only My Voice	No
Claude Code and Codex prompts	In your notch	In a floating window
Lifetime price	From $99	$249.99
Monthly price	$12.99	$8.49
Free plan	No	Yes, with local Whisper models
Platforms	Mac with Apple silicon	Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android

On your Mac, with no cloud option at all

Superwhisper can run locally, but its docs list its own cloud models, S1-Voice and S1-Language, as the starting setup, and its best local models (Parakeet and Cohere) need Pro. When you use a cloud model, your audio or text leaves your Mac.

Speechy has no cloud transcription to switch on by mistake. All 15 of its speech models run on your Mac's chip, including the fast Parakeet models, on every plan. What you say is never sent to a cloud AI, and dictation works offline.

Speechy's Models page, listing on-device voice models from NVIDIA, Apple and Whisper

Your words while you speak, on every plan

In Superwhisper, live text needs a Pro realtime model. Speechy shows your words in the pill as you talk by default, then pastes the final text when you let go. Choose a compact pill, a wide pill with your words, a Dynamic Island style bar or a one-line ticker.

Speechy's four recording styles: Compact, Wide, Dynamic Island and Ticker

Several languages, one dictation

Superwhisper's docs recommend one mode per language, and say automatic detection sometimes comes out in English. In Speechy, pick your languages and turn on Multiple languages in one dictation. Speechy works out the language again after every pause, so you can switch between sentences without touching anything.

You say“रिपोर्ट तैयार है। the report is ready”

Speechy typesरिपोर्ट तैयार है। The report is ready.

With Hindi and English picked. Speechy mixes English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Hindi, Japanese and Chinese.

Speechy's language settings, with Multiple languages in one dictation

Only your voice gets typed

Superwhisper can label speakers in a meeting recording, but it has nothing that leaves other voices out while you dictate. Speechy's Only My Voice learns your voice from one sentence read aloud, then drops words from the colleague behind you, the TV or a speakerphone, and keeps learning as you use it. Someone talking over you at the same moment can still get through, but everyday background chatter does not.

Only My Voice: read one sentence aloud and Speechy learns your voice

Coding agents in your notch

Both apps can show you Claude Code and Codex questions and permission prompts, so you can answer without switching windows. Superwhisper uses a floating window and supports more agents, including Cursor. Speechy puts them in your Mac's notch, where they never cover your work:

Answer with one key. Press 1 to allow or 2 to deny, J and K to move between prompts and E to clear one. Answered too fast? Esc takes it back within 2 seconds.
Watch your plan limits. Your Claude and Codex usage sits beside the camera, read straight from the tools, with no keys to paste. The Usage tab shows the 5 hour and weekly windows.
Talk to an agent by name. Say "api, run the migration again on staging", and it goes to that project's agent.
Read replies right there. Replies show formatted, with tables and code. Drop in up to 6 images, or drag the corner to make the chat bigger.
Name files out loud. Turn on Reference coding files, and the file names you say become @file references in Claude Code for VS Code.

A Codex permission request in Speechy's notch, with Allow and Deny

Claude and Codex plan usage beside the camera

Talking to the api agent from Speechy's notch

Price

Superwhisper Pro is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 for a lifetime license. Speechy Lifetime starts at $99 for the first 10 buyers. Pro is $12.99 a month or $119.88 a year, so if you want a subscription, Superwhisper costs less. See pricing.

Everything else Speechy does

Here is the rest of Speechy, with real examples. Every "Speechy types" box is the app's own output for that sentence, taken from Speechy's test suite. None of it needs an AI model or a prompt.

It cleans up the way people talk

You say“so I think we should, you know, ship it on Monday”

Speechy typesSo I think we should ship it on Monday.

You say“we need to um we need to fix the login bug”

Speechy typesWe need to fix the login bug.

You say“I wanted to ask you about the, I wanted to ask you about the budget for next quarter”

Speechy typesI wanted to ask you about the budget for next quarter.

It keeps up when you change your mind

Say "sorry", "I mean", "make it" or "or rather", and Speechy swaps the old time, date, amount or name for the new one. "Make it work" and "sorry I'm late" are left alone.

You say“let's meet at 8pm at the library, sorry make it 9pm”

Speechy typesLet's meet at 9 PM at the library.

You say“ask Priya about the launch date, I meant Ravi”

Speechy typesAsk Ravi about the launch date.

Lists, without touching the keyboard

You say“number one call Sam number two send the deck”

Speechy types1. Call Sam 2. Send the deck

You say“we need three things: a budget, a timeline, and an owner”

Speechy typesWe need three things: - A budget - A timeline - An owner

You say“things to buy bullet milk bullet eggs bullet bread”

Speechy typesThings to buy - Milk - Eggs - Bread

Numbers, money and times, written properly

You say“the total is twenty five thousand dollars”

Speechy typesThe total is $25,000.

You say“the meeting is at seven pm”

Speechy typesThe meeting is at 7 PM.

Punctuation and new lines when you ask

You say“send it new line thanks”

Speechy typesSend it Thanks.

You say“hello world question mark”

Speechy typesHello world?

Emails come out shaped like emails

Start with a greeting and end with a sign-off, and Speechy puts each on its own line. It skips this in chat apps, terminals and code editors.

You say“hi Sam, let's meet at 8pm at the library, sorry make it 9pm, cheers Jay”

Speechy typesHi Sam, Let's meet at 9 PM at the library. Cheers, Jay

Your words, spelled your way

Add names and jargon to your dictionary, fix a word Speechy keeps mishearing with a replacement (in every app, or only in one), and save snippets for things you say often. Say "insert" and the snippet's name.

You say“insert my address”

Speechy types42 Main St.

With a snippet called "my address" saved.

Speechy's dictionary: words, replacements and voice snippets

It spells what is on your screen

With App Context on, the names in the window you are dictating into become spelling hints. It stays on your Mac, password fields are always skipped, and you can leave out any app.

You say“look at dictation controller dot swift”

Speechy typesLook at DictationController.swift.

With DictationController.swift on screen.

Context you control: the names Speechy used from your screen, and the apps it leaves out

Undo a dictation, or throw one away

Press ⌘⌥Z within five minutes and Speechy removes the last dictation and puts back anything it replaced. Press ⌘Esc while talking to drop the take, so nothing is typed or saved.

Speechy's shortcuts: Fn to dictate, ⌘⌥Z to undo, ⌘Esc to discard

Paste, type or just copy, and send

Speechy pastes by default, then puts your clipboard back the way it was. It can type the words out instead, or leave them on the clipboard. Turn on Auto submit and it presses Enter (or ⌘Enter) for you, so a Slack message sends the moment you let go.

Speechy's output settings: paste method, clipboard and auto submit

And more

Music pauses while you talk, then carries on, with Background audio set to Pause media.
Help when the mic is wrong: if Speechy hears nothing, it plays your recording back and opens the microphone picker in one click.
A history on your Mac you can search with ⌘K, export, and play back, with Recently deleted.
Stats for your speed, streaks, golden hour and time saved, and a Speechy pass you can share.
Light on memory: models free about 1.2 GB after 15 minutes idle and reload as you start talking.
A whole email from one sentence with Smart Polish on: "draft an email to Sarah saying the deck is delayed to Thursday".

Where Superwhisper is better

A free plan. Its free plan has unlimited dictation with local Whisper models. Speechy has no free plan.
More devices. One license covers Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Speechy is Mac only for now.
More control. Modes with your own AI prompts, many local and cloud models, and bring your own API key.
Meetings and files. It records meetings with speaker labels and transcribes files. Speechy is for dictation.
A longer refund window. 30 days, Lifetime included.

Switching from Superwhisper

Speechy can import the vocabulary and replacements you added in Superwhisper. Open Settings, go to Dictionary and choose Import. Speechy may ask for access to Superwhisper's folder first.

Importing a dictionary from other dictation apps into Speechy

The short version

Choose Superwhisper if you want a free plan, every platform, or deep control over modes and models. Choose Speechy if you want dictation that stays on your Mac, shows your words live, mixes languages, ignores other voices, keeps your coding agents in the notch, and costs $99 once.

Superwhisper details checked on 14 October 2026 on its plans page, models docs and coding agents docs. Prices and features change, so check their site before you decide.