MacWhisper or Dictaty?
MacWhisper is a Mac app for transcribing audio and video files of all kinds, and it also dictates system-wide, with a free tier and a one-time Pro license. Dictaty only does live dictation.
Choose by the job, not by the category.
MacWhisper transcribes files, meetings, YouTube links, and podcasts with local models and adds system-wide dictation. Its free tier costs nothing and already includes dictation; Pro costs €64 once per license. As of November 2026.
Dictaty does not transcribe files or meetings at all. It is the smaller option when the job is to speak into the Mac app in front of you, know where the finished text went, and recover a failed transcription for seven days. Dictaty is not a feature-for-feature replacement for MacWhisper.
Dictaty is free for 7 days, then €29 once for one Mac including VAT. No subscription, no account. Requires an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. A new installation downloads about 630 MB before dictation is ready.
What each tool does, and what it costs.
Every competitor cell below repeats what its own pages state. Nothing here is an accuracy benchmark.
| Feature | MacWhisper | Dictaty |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free tier at €0 and MacWhisper Pro at €64 per license, paid once, including lifetime updates. As of November 2026. | €29 once for one person and one Mac, including VAT. Every Dictaty 1.x update is included. No subscription. |
| Free use | The Free tier has no expiry and already includes system-wide dictation, microphone recording, file transcription in 100 languages, .srt, .vtt, and .txt export, automatic meeting recording, and watched folders. | Free for 7 days, then €29 once to keep dictating. The trial needs no account. |
| Where transcription runs | MacWhisper states that it uses local models to transcribe files, so sensitive material can stay on the Mac. AI features use your own API keys. | A new installation downloads about 630 MB before dictation is ready. An existing installation with the earlier local model can keep dictating while the newer one downloads in the background. Recording and transcription run on the Mac. The internet is used for activation, license checks, model downloads, and update checks. Dictaty sends no recordings and no transcripts to a Dictaty server. |
| Models | Whisper-based local models; Pro adds local models through Ollama and LM Studio and cloud providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, xAI, Azure, Deepseek, Google, and OpenRouter with your own keys. AI dictation with grammar improvement, ChatGPT prompts, and app-specific prompts needs Pro plus your own OpenAI API key (MacWhisper support, docs.macwhisper.com, retrieved September 28, 2026). | One included local model covers 25 languages. Further languages appear only when macOS reports a usable on-device engine on that Mac. |
| Platforms | Mac app sold on macwhisper.com. The support documentation states that dictation is not available in the Mac App Store version. A separate iOS app exists. | Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later. One license covers one Mac; a second Mac needs a second license. |
| Product scope | Transcription of files, meetings, YouTube links, and podcasts, subtitles, batch processing, speaker recognition, translation, watched folders, a CLI, exports to Notion, Obsidian, or Zapier, and system-wide dictation. | Live dictation into most editable fields of the Mac app in front of you, clipboard fallback, custom words, and local History. No meeting transcription, no imported audio or video files, no AI rewriting, no mobile or Windows app. |
| Failed dictation | The pages reviewed on September 28, 2026, do not describe re-running a failed dictation. | A failed transcription keeps its recording in local History for another attempt. History expires after seven days. |
| Account and license | The Pro license is bought once per license from the vendor store; the support documentation covers activation and lost keys. | No account and no sign-in. The license is activated in the app and stored on the Mac. |
Competitor facts retrieved September 27, 2026, from the vendor pages listed under sources. Plans, prices, and features change; the vendor page is authoritative.
When MacWhisper fits better
- You need existing audio or video files, meetings, YouTube links, or podcasts transcribed, not only live dictation.
- You want subtitles, speaker recognition, translation, or batch processing in one Mac app.
- You want to start at €0 and keep system-wide dictation without paying anything.
- You prefer automations such as watched folders, a CLI, or exports to Notion, Obsidian, and Zapier.
Sources and limits.
MacWhisper features and prices change. The links below are the vendor pages this comparison was built from, retrieved September 27, 2026. The Pro price was read again on the vendor’s product page on November 12, 2026, and is €64 once per license.
- MacWhisper: features and Free versus Pro pricing
- MacWhisper shop: Pro price, read October 16, 2026
- MacWhisper support: how to use the Dictation feature
- MacWhisper support: documentation index
- Dictaty local processing boundary
- Dictaty seven-day recovery
- Dictaty price and license scope
MacWhisper is a product of Good Snooze. Dictaty is not affiliated with or endorsed by Good Snooze. No competitor logo is shown on this page.