Choose Superwhisper if you want the option of recognising speech on your own Mac, want to pick your own models, need to transcribe audio files, or would rather buy a lifetime licence than subscribe. Choose Wispr Flow if you want a cloud service that cleans up your speech with almost nothing to configure, on every plan including the free one, and you are always online. Both run on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and both have a free tier, so you can try each before paying.
Publisher note: SuprFlow publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Competitor details come from each company's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change; confirm before you buy.
We make a competing Mac app and have not run a controlled benchmark of either product. Nothing below is a score. It is what each company documents, followed by a test you can run yourself.
Who should pick which?
- Writers and professionals who are always online and use a phone as much as a Mac: Wispr Flow. One account, automatic cleanup, and a meeting Notetaker.
- People who work offline, on planes, or under a rule that audio stays on the device: Superwhisper with a local voice model. Wispr Flow cannot do this.
- Developers and tinkerers who want to choose models and write their own prompts: Superwhisper Pro.
- Light users who want cleanup for free: Wispr Flow Free, up to its weekly word limit.
- Light users who want unlimited free dictation and do not need AI cleanup: Superwhisper Free.
- Teams that need shared vocabulary without an enterprise contract: Wispr Flow Pro.
How do Superwhisper and Wispr Flow compare?
As of 1 October 2026. Superwhisper details are from its plans page, introduction, sensitive-data guide and compliance page. Wispr Flow details are from its pricing page, known-limitations article, system requirements and security overview.
| Superwhisper | Wispr Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| Where speech is processed | Your choice per mode: a local voice model on the device, or a cloud voice model through Superwhisper's proxy | In Wispr's cloud, always |
| Works without internet | Yes, with local voice models. AI formatting offline needs a local language model | No. "An internet connection is required" |
| Platforms | macOS 14 or later, Windows 10 or 11, iOS, Android. Linux is listed as coming soon | macOS 12 or later (Apple Silicon or Intel), Windows 10 or 11 on x64, iPhone, Android. No iPad or Linux |
| Free plan | Unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, up to two modes without AI processing, custom vocabulary. New users get 3,000 words of Pro features | Full dictation with cleanup, limited to 2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 on mobile |
| Paid plan | Pro: $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once | Pro: $15 per user a month, or $12 per user a month billed annually |
| One-time option | Yes, Lifetime at $249.99 | No. Monthly and annual only |
| Devices per licence | "No device limit for Mac and Windows computers", plus phone | One subscription across your devices |
| Notable features the vendor lists | Custom modes with your own prompts, choice of voice and language models, file transcription, meeting recording, your own API keys | Automatic cleanup of filler words and self-corrections, dictionary, snippets, Notetaker for meetings, shared team dictionary on Pro |
| Privacy controls | Pick local models so no audio or text leaves the device; history is stored locally; cloud providers are under zero-data-retention terms | Turn off "Improve the model for everyone" (on by default for Free and Pro); turn off Dictation Cloud Storage; data is processed in the United States |
| Security documents | SOC 2 report via its Trust Center under NDA; DPA and BAA available to sign | SOC 2 Type II report and ISO 27001 certificate via its Trust Center; HIPAA BAA |
| Refund | 30 days from first purchase on superwhisper.com | Not stated on the pages we read; check before buying |
Two details in that table deserve a closer look.
Superwhisper's free plan and Wispr's free plan are limited in opposite ways. Superwhisper Free has no word cap but, after the first 3,000 words, no AI formatting: you get what the local Whisper model heard. Wispr Free includes the cleanup but stops at a weekly word limit. Which limit hurts less depends on how much you dictate and how much cleanup you want.
A local model is a setting, not a guarantee. Superwhisper's sensitive-data guide explains that each dictation has two stages, voice to text and optional language-model processing, and each can be local or cloud. If you pick a cloud voice model, audio leaves the Mac. The same guide notes that custom vocabulary words are sent along with the audio when a cloud voice model is used.
What does each cost over three years?
List prices as of 1 October 2026, one person, before tax, assuming prices do not change.
| Option | Year 1 | After 3 years |
|---|---|---|
| Superwhisper Free | $0 | $0 |
| Superwhisper Pro, annual | $84.99 | $254.97 |
| Superwhisper Pro, Lifetime | $249.99 | $249.99 |
| Wispr Flow Free | $0 | $0 |
| Wispr Flow Pro, annual | $144 | $432 |
| Wispr Flow Pro, monthly | $180 | $540 |
Superwhisper's plans page says purchases through the iOS App Store or Google Play cost more than on its website. Wispr's price varies by region; see Wispr Flow pricing.
Choose Superwhisper if…
- You need dictation to work with no connection.
- A policy or your own preference says audio should stay on the device.
- You want to transcribe existing audio or video files (a Pro feature).
- You want to pay once.
- Your Mac has Apple Silicon. Superwhisper's site says Intel Macs "work best with Cloud models".
Choose Wispr Flow if…
- You want cleanup to work the same way everywhere without choosing models.
- You dictate less than 2,000 words a week and want that for free.
- You want Wispr's meeting Notetaker on Mac or Windows.
- You are rolling it out to a team and want shared dictionaries, SSO on Growth, or SCIM and audit logs on Enterprise.
- Your Mac is older: Wispr supports macOS 12 and Intel.
How do you test both in 15 minutes?
Both have free tiers, and the script is fictional, so nothing private is sent anywhere.
- Install both. Grant Microphone and Accessibility to each.
- In Superwhisper, note which voice model is selected. Its default shortcut on Mac is Option-Space, pressed once to start and once to stop. In Wispr Flow, hold Fn, speak, and release.
- In your mail app, dictate: "Hi Marek, I checked the numbers twice, sorry, three times. The total is 12,480 dollars, not 12,840. Can we meet Thursday the 16th at 3:30? Thanks, Jo."
- Compare the name, both numbers, the date and how each handled "sorry, three times".
- Turn Wi-Fi off and repeat. Expect Wispr Flow to fail and Superwhisper's local model to keep working.
- Dictate two sentences full of your own names and jargon. Add misses to each app's vocabulary and retry.
- Count corrections for each app. Fewer corrections in your own apps is the result that matters.
Superwhisper's first 3,000 words include Pro features, so run its AI-formatted mode during this test to compare like with like.
A third option
If you only use Macs and want speech recognised on the device without managing modes or models, SuprFlow is a simpler app: hold Fn, speak, release, and the text is pasted at the cursor. It costs $125 once for up to five Macs you own. It has no free tier, no Windows or phone app, no file transcription and no meeting recorder, so both products above do more. Superwhisper's free tier already covers local dictation at no cost; try it first. SuprFlow vs Superwhisper and SuprFlow vs Wispr Flow have the details.
Questions people ask
Is Superwhisper better than Wispr Flow?
Neither is better for everyone. Superwhisper offers local models, a lifetime licence and more control. Wispr Flow offers less setup and stronger team features. We have not benchmarked them, so test both with the script above.
Does Superwhisper work offline when Wispr Flow does not?
Yes. Superwhisper's docs say local voice models transcribe without an internet connection. Wispr's docs say dictation is transcribed in the cloud and needs a connection. See Does Wispr Flow work offline?.
Which is cheaper, Superwhisper or Wispr Flow?
On list price, Superwhisper Pro: $84.99 a year against $144 a year for Wispr Flow Pro on annual billing. Superwhisper also sells a $249.99 Lifetime licence; Wispr lists subscriptions only. Both free tiers cost nothing.
Does Superwhisper train on my dictation?
Superwhisper's sensitive-data guide says audio and text sent through its cloud integrations "are not used to train any AI models", and that local models keep everything on the device. Wispr's model-improvement setting is on by default for Free and Pro and can be turned off.
Related guides
- SuprFlow vs Superwhisper
- Superwhisper vs MacWhisper
- Wispr Flow pricing
- Is Wispr Flow safe?
- Best dictation app for Mac
- Mac dictation apps you can buy once
Sources
- Superwhisper Docs — Plans and Pricing
- Superwhisper Docs — Introduction
- Superwhisper Docs — Quickstart
- Superwhisper Docs — Sensitive Data Best Practices
- Superwhisper Docs — Compliance and Trust
- Superwhisper Docs — Manage Your Subscription
- Superwhisper — official site
- Wispr Flow — Pricing
- Wispr Flow Help Center — What to expect from Flow: accuracy and known limitations
- Wispr Flow Help Center — Supported devices and system requirements
- Wispr Flow Help Center — Security and privacy overview
- Wispr Flow Help Center — What is Wispr Flow?