Only Wispr Flow lists
Usage limits. Free: 2,000 words/week on desktop, 1,000/week on iPhone, and unlimited on Android. Pro includes unlimited dictation.
Facts last verified August 24, 2026
Wispr Flow vs
Wispr Flow vs
MacWhisper
Wispr Flow is cloud dictation for Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android, with a word-capped free plan. MacWhisper is a Mac-only app built primarily for local file, meeting, and system-audio transcription, with dictation as a secondary feature. WhisperJot, our app, is built around hotkey dictation into the focused app on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Facts come from each vendor's public pages, linked in Sources. The date above is the earlier of the two registry checks.
| Feature | Wispr Flow | MacWhisper | WhisperJot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where audio is processed | In the cloud. Wispr Flow states that transcription always occurs in the cloud. | On the Mac by default. Users who enable an optional cloud provider with their own API key send content to that provider. | On your device by default with Jot Local or Jot Local Pro. Jot Cloud is optional and opt-in behind explicit consent, used only while selected, and audio is never stored on our servers. |
| Works fully offline | No. All dictation requires an internet connection. | Yes, for local transcription. Cloud transcription and AI features require a connection when an optional provider is enabled. | Yes, with the local engines. |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android; no Linux app. | macOS only. There are no Windows, Linux, or Android versions. | macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon and Windows 10+ x64 are stable; Debian/Ubuntu Linux on x64 and arm64 is beta. |
| Price | Free at $0 with word caps; Pro is $12/user/month billed annually or $15/user/month billed monthly; Enterprise pricing is custom. No one-time option. | Free tier, or €64 once for Pro with lifetime updates through the direct-purchase version. | $99/year flat; no free tier. |
| Trial and free access | The free plan needs no card. The default Pro trial is two weeks, while qualifying new desktop users start on the free plan instead. | A perpetual free tier with unlimited local transcriptions using smaller Whisper models. | No free tier; a 30-second browser demo is available. |
| Dictation tools | Filler-word removal and formatting, a personal dictionary and snippets, per-app tone, 100+ languages, and Command Mode voice editing on Mac and Windows with Pro. | Shortcut-based dictation works in any text field in the direct-purchase app. AI grammar and tone post-processing requires Pro and the user's own OpenAI API key. | Custom vocabulary, voice commands, and local SQLite history. |
Only MacWhisper lists
Dictation vs file transcription. Transcription-first: built primarily for audio and video files, meetings, and system audio. System-wide dictation is a secondary feature.
Who each option fits
Choose the tradeoffs that match your work.
Choose Wispr Flow if
You need iPhone and Android apps as well as desktop dictation.
You want a free plan with no card and Pro unlimited dictation.
You want cloud formatting, a personal dictionary, and Command Mode.
Choose MacWhisper if
Your main job is local file, meeting, and system-audio transcription on a Mac.
You want a perpetual free tier or a €64 one-time Pro license.
You want batch processing, speaker recognition, and many export formats.
Consider WhisperJot if
You want system-wide dictation first, not a file-transcription toolkit.
You need stable Windows and a Linux beta, not Mac-only software.
You want custom vocabulary and voice commands without your own API key.
The honest take
Their strengths
Wispr Flow
Wispr Flow has the widest platform coverage here, with Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android apps. It offers a genuinely free tier with no card, polished AI formatting and Command Mode, and support for more than 100 languages. The tradeoffs are that audio must leave the device for cloud transcription, there is no offline mode or Linux build, and unlimited desktop and iPhone use requires an ongoing Pro subscription.
MacWhisper
MacWhisper is an excellent fit for Mac users whose main job is local file and meeting transcription. It offers a generous perpetual free tier, a €64 one-time Pro license with lifetime updates, and strong privacy defaults. Its transcription toolkit includes batch processing, speaker recognition, meeting and system-audio recording without bots, many export formats, automations, and a command-line interface.
Questions
Straight answers.
Does MacWhisper or Wispr Flow do real-time dictation?
Wispr Flow is a dictation app whose transcription always occurs in the cloud. MacWhisper's direct-purchase version supports keyboard-shortcut dictation into any text field, though dictation is secondary to file and meeting transcription; the Mac App Store edition does not include dictation. WhisperJot, our app, is designed around hotkey-driven system-wide dictation.
Is MacWhisper or Wispr Flow better for file transcription?
MacWhisper is the more specialized choice: drag-and-drop audio and video, batch processing, speaker recognition, many export formats, automations, and a command-line interface. Wispr Flow is built for live dictation rather than a file-transcription toolkit. WhisperJot includes meetings transcription, but its primary workflow is dictating into the currently focused desktop app.
Does Wispr Flow or MacWhisper work on Windows or Linux?
Wispr Flow supports macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android, but it does not provide a Linux app. MacWhisper is available only for macOS, with no Windows, Linux, or Android version. WhisperJot, our app, provides stable Windows 10+ x64 and macOS 14+ Apple Silicon builds, plus beta Debian and Ubuntu Linux builds for x64 and arm64.
Does Wispr Flow or MacWhisper have a free plan?
Wispr Flow has a free plan with no card, capped at 2,000 words per week on desktop and 1,000 on iPhone. MacWhisper has a perpetual free tier with unlimited local transcriptions using smaller Whisper models, and Pro costs €64 once. WhisperJot has no free tier; it costs $99 per year and offers a 30-second browser demo.
See the full WhisperJot comparison with Wispr Flow or MacWhisper. For a three-way table, visit the dictation app comparison.
Sources, checked August 24, 2026: Wispr Flow pricing, Wispr Flow data controls, Wispr Flow plans (help center), MacWhisper, MacWhisper dictation docs, MacWhisper privacy policy. Pricing and features change — check each vendor's site for the current numbers.
Choose where your dictation runs.
Use local transcription by default, or explicitly opt in to Jot Cloud when you select it.