MacWhisper vs Superwhisper (2026): Files, Dictation and Price Compared

MacWhisper and Superwhisper are both named after OpenAI's Whisper speech model, both can run it on your own Mac, and both turn up in the same searches. They're built for different jobs, though. MacWhisper is made for recordings: give it an interview, a lecture or a podcast episode and it hands back a transcript. Superwhisper is made for live dictation: you talk, and the words land in whatever app you're typing in.

That one difference explains most of what follows, from features to price. We make LumeVoice, a cloud dictation app, so read this with that in mind; it gets one short section at the end. We haven't used MacWhisper or Superwhisper ourselves. The facts below come from each developer's website, documentation and store listings, checked on October 20, 2026.

The short verdict#

Pick MacWhisper if you:

• mostly transcribe recordings: interviews, lectures, podcasts, saved meetings
• need subtitles (the free version already exports .srt and .vtt)
• want to pay once, and not much: Pro is €65 on Gumroad
• work on a Mac, perhaps with an iPhone or iPad alongside

Pick Superwhisper if you:

• want to write emails, messages, documents and code by voice
• also use a Windows PC or an Android phone
• want text handled differently depending on the app you're typing in
• want hosted cloud models without managing API keys

MacWhisper vs Superwhisper at a glance#

Details as of October 2026, from macwhisper.com, MacWhisper's Gumroad page and App Store listing, and superwhisper.com.

Recordings vs live dictation#

MacWhisper starts from a file. You drop in audio or video (mp3, m4a, wav, ogg, opus, mov or mp4), or record from your Mac's microphone, and get a transcript you can export as text or subtitles. The free version handles one file at a time in 100 languages, and its developer calls it "free forever" (MacWhisper on Gumroad). Pro is where the file tools pile up: batch transcription, speaker recognition, automatic cleanup and translation, Markdown, PDF, HTML and Word exports, YouTube transcription, watched folders and a command-line tool.

MacWhisper dictates as well. The free version includes basic system-wide dictation, and Pro improves it with grammar fixes and AI prompts that run through an AI service you connect. MacWhisper's documentation says dictating into any text field is a feature of the direct download from macwhisper.com, not of the App Store edition. It's a useful extra in an app designed around recordings.

Superwhisper starts from your voice. It runs in the background and types what you say into the app you're working in. Everything is organized around modes, which decide which model runs and what the AI does with your words. You can switch modes with a shortcut, from the menu bar, through deep links, or automatically by app or website (switching modes). The free plan includes two modes without AI processing, and Pro unlocks AI modes such as Super and Mail. File transcription is a Pro feature.

A simple way to decide: if the audio already exists as a recording, MacWhisper is built for it. If the words only exist once you start talking, Superwhisper is.

Local models and cloud options#

Both apps can transcribe on your own computer, which is the main reason people pick either one over a cloud service.

MacWhisper runs Whisper models on your Mac. The developer says some models are only fully available in Pro, which lists every Whisper model plus Parakeet and Qwen3-ASR on Apple silicon Macs. Cloud transcription and AI features are optional and use services you connect yourself. The direct download needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and the App Store edition needs macOS 15.

Superwhisper gives every user its local Whisper models, up to Large v3 Turbo. Pro adds the Parakeet and Cohere Transcribe local models plus hosted cloud models that need no API key: Superwhisper's own S1-Voice, Deepgram's Nova models and ElevenLabs Scribe (voice models). You can bring your own API keys on Pro as well. Its site says the offline models run best on Apple silicon, and that Intel Macs do better with its cloud models.

In either app, bigger models tend to make fewer mistakes on difficult audio (OpenAI's Whisper paper shows accuracy improving with model size), but they take longer and use more memory. On a Mac with 8 GB, start with a smaller model and move up only if the transcripts need it.

Price: €65 once or a subscription#

MacWhisper has a free version with no time limit and one upgrade, Pro: a one-time €65 on Gumroad, with lifetime updates. Students, journalists and non-profits can email the developer for 25% off. There's also an App Store edition, sold as Whisper Transcription, with in-app Pro subscriptions from $6.99 and Pro Lifetime from $89.99. It's a separate purchase, and a Gumroad license key doesn't unlock it (App Store listing). Our MacWhisper pricing guide has the full breakdown.

Superwhisper has a free plan and one paid tier, Pro, at $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once, with the same features however you pay (plans). New users get a 3,000-word taste of Pro before the app drops back to the free plan. Verified students, educators and non-profits get 40% off if they ask before buying on its site, and purchases made there can be refunded within 30 days (refund policy).

Prices as of October 2026; vendors change them, so check their sites. Gumroad charges in euros, so what MacWhisper Pro costs in dollars moves with the exchange rate.

On paper, MacWhisper wins easily: Pro costs a fraction of Superwhisper's lifetime license. But the two prices buy different things. €65 gets you a stronger file transcriber on Apple devices. $249.99 gets you a dictation app on every computer and phone you own, with hosted cloud models included. If you'd only ever use one of those, the cheaper app isn't automatically the better deal. For Superwhisper's break-even math, see our Superwhisper pricing guide.

Platforms#

MacWhisper is for Apple devices only. The Mac app is the main product. Its sibling app, Whisper Transcription, runs on iPhone and iPad, where its local models are free and a subscription adds cloud transcription and AI features. There's no Windows or Android version.

Superwhisper runs on macOS; on Windows 10 and 11, on both x64 and ARM64 PCs (Windows guide); as a keyboard on iPhone; and as a floating bubble on Android 13 or later, on phones but not tablets (Android guide). One Pro license covers all of them.

If any device in your day isn't made by Apple, this part decides it for you.

Privacy#

MacWhisper transcribes on your Mac and works offline, so a recording never has to be uploaded to become text. Optional cloud transcription and AI features send data to the services you connect, so keep them off for confidential audio. One practical warning from MacWhisper's own site: fake websites pose as MacWhisper, so download it only from macwhisper.com, its Gumroad page or the App Store.

Superwhisper keeps audio on your computer when you use a local model. For the rest, it says your data isn't used to train AI models and isn't retained on its servers (privacy policy). Healthcare organizations can sign a BAA that covers its cloud models, and its SOC 2 report is available under NDA (compliance).

So for one person, it's close to a draw: with local models, neither app needs to send your voice anywhere. For a company that wants signed paperwork from the vendor, Superwhisper documents what it offers. Our guide to dictation for legal and medical work covers what to ask.

Which one fits which job#

• A backlog of interviews or lectures: MacWhisper Pro, for batch transcription and speaker recognition.
• Subtitles for your videos: MacWhisper. Even the free version exports .srt and .vtt.
• Emails, messages and code, written by voice all day: Superwhisper.
• A Windows PC or an Android phone in the mix: Superwhisper.
• Recording meetings on a Mac: either. MacWhisper's direct download detects meetings and offers to record them; Superwhisper Pro records Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Slack calls without adding a bot, with speaker labels.
• The smallest possible bill: the free versions of both. They do different jobs, so running them side by side costs nothing.

Where LumeVoice fits#

LumeVoice is our app, so this is the maker's view. It sits closer to Superwhisper than to MacWhisper, with one big difference from both: it transcribes in the cloud and needs an internet connection, so it can't keep your audio on your Mac. What you get instead is cleanup from the first word, with no models, modes or keys to set up. Filler words and stutters disappear, self-corrections are applied ("Tuesday, actually Wednesday" becomes "Wednesday"), and spoken lists come out as lists.

It runs on Mac (hold fn), Windows (hold Ctrl + Win), iPhone and Android with one plan, and the desktop apps also transcribe audio and video files, in the cloud. It costs $14.99/mo, $79.99/yr, or $249 lifetime, and every new account gets 3,000 free words, no card required (pricing).

• Choose it over both if you want finished text in any app without configuring anything.
• Don't choose it if your audio must stay on your computer, or if you mostly transcribe recordings and want to pay as little as possible. MacWhisper is the better buy for that. More in LumeVoice vs MacWhisper and LumeVoice vs Superwhisper.

Related Guides#

• MacWhisper vs Wispr Flow
• MacWhisper review 2026
• Best MacWhisper alternatives
• Superwhisper vs Wispr Flow
• VoiceInk vs Superwhisper
• Best Superwhisper alternatives for Mac