Superwhisper Review
Reviewed by Carlos Gil · Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Updated 5 min readEditorially reviewed
Quick facts
- Starting price
- Free; Pro $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr or $249.99 lifetime
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- Mac-first writers, developers and professionals who want fast dictation with an offline option and no subscription lock-in
- Platforms
- macOS 14+ (best offline on Apple Silicon), Windows 10 and 11, iOS 26+, Android
BestStacked Score
Weighted average of 5 categories. Methodology below.
Quick answer
What is Superwhisper, and is Pro worth it?
Superwhisper is a voice-to-text app: press a shortcut, talk, and it types the text into whatever app you're using, optionally rewritten by an AI "mode" for email, messages or notes. Its free plan gives unlimited dictation with local Whisper models that run on your own computer, so it works offline. Pro adds cloud voice models, faster local models, AI modes, context awareness, file and meeting transcription and bring-your-own API keys. On October 14, 2026 Pro cost $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once for lifetime access, with one license covering all your Macs, PCs and phones, and a 30-day refund window on direct purchases. Offline models run best on Apple Silicon Macs.
- Best for
- Mac users who dictate a lot and want offline transcription, custom AI modes and a lifetime purchase option.
- Skip it if
- You want polished automatic cleanup and team admin features out of the box, or you're on an Intel Mac and need offline mode.
- Strongest capability
- Free, unlimited offline dictation with local Whisper models, plus a wide choice of local and cloud models on Pro.
- Biggest limitation
- AI modes and context awareness are Pro-only, Windows lacks some Mac features, and its privacy policy is out of date.
- Current cost
- Free; Pro $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 lifetime; Enterprise quoted.
The Verdict
Superwhisper is the most flexible dictation app in this group. The free plan already gives unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, so your voice never has to leave the machine, and Pro opens up faster local models (Parakeet, Cohere Transcribe), cloud speech models from Deepgram and ElevenLabs, AI modes powered by Claude, GPT or Gemini, context awareness, file and system-audio transcription and your own API keys. At $84.99 a year or $249.99 once, it's cheaper than per-seat subscription rivals, and one license covers every device. The trade-offs: it's built for people who like configuring modes and models, offline performance depends on Apple Silicon, Windows lacks several Mac features, and its homepage, plans doc and 2024 privacy policy disagree on what Free includes and where data goes. We score Superwhisper 8.5/10.
Best for
Heavy dictation users who want offline privacy, model choice and a lifetime license.
Skip if
You want zero-setup automatic cleanup and team features, or you rely on an Intel Mac for offline use.
AlternativesWispr Flow, Willow, Otter
The Background
What Is Superwhisper?
Superwhisper is made by SuperUltra, Inc., a Delaware company. You hold or tap a shortcut, speak, and Superwhisper transcribes your speech and types it into the focused app. Modes decide what happens to the text: Voice to Text pastes it as spoken, while Message, Mail, Note, Super and Custom modes send it through an AI language model to clean it up or rewrite it, optionally using context such as the app you're in, selected text or the clipboard. Speech recognition runs either locally (the Whisper family on Free; Parakeet and Cohere Transcribe on Pro) or in the cloud (Superwhisper's S1-Voice, Deepgram and ElevenLabs models on Pro). It runs on macOS, Windows, iPhone and Android, and one Pro license covers all of them.
The Product
Superwhisper Features: What You Actually Get
Offline dictation with local models
Every Whisper model, from Tiny to Large v3 Turbo, is free and runs on your computer, so dictation works without an internet connection and audio stays local. Pro adds Nvidia Parakeet (English, or a 24-language version) and Cohere Transcribe (14 languages) as faster local options. Superwhisper's FAQ says offline models only run really well on Apple Silicon Macs.
A lawyer dictates client notes on a flight with Wi-Fi off, using a local Whisper model.
AI modes and context awareness
Modes turn raw speech into finished text: Message, Mail, Note, Meeting and Super modes, or a Custom mode with your own instructions. On Pro, modes can use Claude, GPT-5.x, Gemini or Groq-hosted Llama models, and context awareness reads the active app, selected text and clipboard. The free plan allows two modes without AI processing.
A founder speaks a rambling reply and a Mail mode turns it into a short, polite email in Gmail.
Cloud models and your own API keys
Pro adds cloud speech models (Superwhisper's S1-Voice, Deepgram Nova 3, Nova 2 and Nova Medical, ElevenLabs Scribe) and lets you plug in your own API keys for supported providers. The terms say your data isn't used to train AI models and audio and transcripts aren't kept on Superwhisper's servers; the security docs say cloud providers are used under zero-data-retention terms.
A clinician uses a medical speech model in the cloud for terminology-heavy notes.
File, meeting and system-audio transcription
Pro transcribes files (MP4, MOV and 16 kHz mono WAV), records system audio and separates speakers, and includes a Meeting mode for notes. Realtime transcription is also a Pro feature.
A researcher drops interview recordings into Superwhisper and gets speaker-separated transcripts.
Feature recap
- Unlimited free dictation with local Whisper models (works offline)
- Pro local models: Parakeet and Cohere Transcribe
- Pro cloud models: S1-Voice, Deepgram, ElevenLabs Scribe
- AI modes with Claude, GPT and Gemini; custom modes and context awareness on Pro
- File transcription, system-audio recording and speaker separation on Pro
- Bring your own API keys on Pro
- One license for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android
- 30-day refund window on direct purchases
The Numbers
Superwhisper Pricing: Every Plan Explained
Superwhisper sells one Pro tier on three billing terms. These are its US prices on October 14, 2026; the plans doc says every Pro option includes the same features.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Included Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, up to 2 modes without AI processing, custom vocabulary, text replacements; 3,000 words of Pro features for new users | Offline dictation without AI rewriting |
| Pro (monthly) | $8.49/mo | — | Cloud and premium local models, AI and custom modes, context awareness, file and system-audio transcription, speaker separation, BYO API keys, priority support | Trying Pro |
| Pro (annual) | — | $84.99/yr (about $7.08/mo) | Everything in Pro; about 17% less than monthly | Regular users |
| Pro (lifetime)Best value | — | $249.99 once | Everything in Pro with no renewal | Long-term daily users |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Volume discounts, SSO, SOC 2 Type II documentation | Companies rolling out dictation to many staff |
Superwhisper is cheap for what Pro includes: $84.99 a year is about $7 a month, and the $249.99 lifetime license pays for itself in about three years against annual billing. One license covers unlimited Macs and Windows PCs plus your iPhone and Android phone. Students and non-profits get 40% off, but not on App Store purchases. There's no time-limited trial; new users get 3,000 words of Pro features instead. The refund policy (updated September 2026) gives 30 days from first purchase on superwhisper.com for subscriptions and Lifetime, excludes renewal charges, and sends App Store and Google Play refunds to Apple or Google. Subscriptions renew automatically. There's no Teams plan; businesses go to Enterprise, which is quoted.
Read before you buy
Where Superwhisper's pages differ
Free plan: the homepage's Free column lists meeting recording and transcription and custom prompt control, while the plans documentation says system-audio recording and speaker separation are Pro-only and Free modes have no AI processing. Rely on the plans doc.
Data storage: the privacy policy (last updated June 19, 2024) says all data is stored only locally on your machine, while the June 2026 terms and the security docs describe cloud models that process audio transiently through third-party providers. The privacy policy appears out of date; use local models if nothing may leave your device.
App Store pricing: the plans doc says App Store prices are higher because of Apple's fees, but the US App Store listing shows the same $8.49, $84.99 and $249.99.
Models: the homepage mentions Llama 4 and Grok 4.1, while the language-model docs list Llama 3.1 8B and mark Grok 4.1 Fast as deprecated.
The Tradeoffs
Superwhisper Pros and Cons
What we love
- Unlimited free offline dictation with local Whisper models
- Wide model choice: local, cloud and bring-your-own keys
- Cheap Pro pricing with a lifetime option
- One license covers Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android
- Terms say data isn't used for training or kept on its servers
- 30-day refund window on direct purchases
What could be better
- AI modes and context awareness require Pro
- Offline models run well only on Apple Silicon Macs
- Windows lacks several Mac features
- Privacy policy dated 2024 contradicts the newer terms
- Support is email and Discord; no team plan below Enterprise
The Audience
Who Should Use Superwhisper?
Best for: privacy-minded professionals
Lawyers, clinicians and writers who can't send audio to the cloud can dictate entirely with local models, free, on an Apple Silicon Mac.
Best for: developers and power users
People who like tuning prompts and models get custom modes, context awareness, several AI providers and their own API keys on Pro.
Skip if: you want it to just work for a team
Teams that want automatic cleanup, shared dictionaries and admin controls without configuration will find Wispr Flow more turnkey.
The Methodology
How We Reviewed Superwhisper
This is an editorial review, not a documented hands-on test. We didn't use Superwhisper for this review. It's based on Superwhisper's homepage, plans, models, quickstart, Windows, file-transcription, sensitive-data and subscription documentation, refund policy, terms of service, privacy policy and US App Store listing, all checked on October 14, 2026. Where Superwhisper's pages differ, we report both statements. No accuracy, latency or support results are claimed.
Our editorial evaluation considers product information, official documentation, pricing, features and professional experience. It is not a claim of documented hands-on testing.
Our review methodology →What changed
- : First published. Editorial review based on Superwhisper's homepage, plans, models, quickstart, Windows, file-transcription, security and subscription docs, refund policy, terms, privacy policy and App Store listing, all checked October 14, 2026. Sub-scores are provisional pending editorial approval.
The Field
Superwhisper vs The Competition
Superwhisper competes with other AI dictation apps. Prices below were checked on each vendor's pricing page on October 14, 2026.
| Tool | Starting Price | Free plan | Best Feature | BS Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superwhisper | Free; Pro $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr or $249.99 lifetime | Yes | Offline dictation with local models | 8.5/10 |
| Wispr Flow | Free (2,000 words/week on desktop); Pro $12/user/mo billed annually ($15 monthly) | Yes | Automatic cleanup with team and compliance features | 9/10 |
| Willow | Free; Pro $12-$15 per user/mo | Yes | Dictation that learns your writing style | —No BestStacked review yet |
| Aqua Voice | Free (1,000 words); Pro $8/mo billed annually ($10 monthly) | Yes | Realtime dictation mode on its Max plan | —No BestStacked review yet |
| MacWhisper | Free; Pro €65 one-time | Yes | One-time-purchase Mac transcription | —No BestStacked review yet |
Wispr Flow: Wispr Flow puts more into automatic cleanup, team features and compliance, priced per user. Superwhisper is cheaper, works offline and lets you choose models.Read our Wispr Flow review →
Willow: Willow's Pro plan adds memory of your writing style; its pricing page shows $15 and $12 without labelling the billing term, and Android is listed as coming soon. BestStacked hasn't reviewed Willow yet.
Aqua Voice: Aqua Voice is similarly priced and offers a realtime mode on its $24-a-month Max plan. BestStacked hasn't reviewed Aqua Voice yet.
MacWhisper: MacWhisper is a Mac-only transcription app sold as a one-time license in euros; it's aimed more at transcribing files than typing into apps. BestStacked hasn't reviewed MacWhisper yet.
In The Wild
How People Actually Use Superwhisper
A writer drafting long documents
Use the free plan with a local Whisper model for raw dictation, then upgrade to Pro if you want a Custom mode that cleans up filler words and formats paragraphs.
A developer dictating prompts to coding agents
Pro's context awareness and custom modes help with technical prompts on a Mac; note that the coding-agent integrations and CLI aren't on Windows yet.
A small clinic
Superwhisper offers a BAA and DPA and says fully local setups keep audio and text on the device. Ask about Enterprise for SSO and volume pricing.
The Ecosystem
Superwhisper Integrations
Superwhisper types into any app on your device and connects to AI and speech model providers.
- →Any text field on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android
- →OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Groq language models (Pro)
- →Deepgram and ElevenLabs speech models (Pro)
- →Bring-your-own API keys (Pro)
- →Coding-agent integrations and a CLI (Mac only)
On Windows, Filesync, custom folder locations, Hold Shift to Auto-Send, Simulate Keypresses, coding-agent integrations and the CLI aren't available yet.
Common Questions
Superwhisper FAQ
The Final Word
Should You Use Superwhisper?
Superwhisper offers the best value in AI dictation for people willing to set it up: free offline transcription, a deep choice of models and modes on Pro, and a lifetime license that covers every device. Use local models if privacy is the priority, and note that the polish of rivals' automatic cleanup comes with configuration here. We score Superwhisper 8.5/10.
Yes, if
You dictate daily, value offline privacy or model choice, and prefer a one-time purchase.
No, if
You want turnkey team dictation, or you need offline mode on an Intel Mac.
About the reviewer
Carlos Gil
Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Carlos Gil is the bestselling author of The End of Marketing, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and founder of The Best Network. He brings 15+ years in marketing to practical reviews of AI, SaaS, email marketing, creator, and ecommerce software.
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