BetterDictation vs Hearsy: On-Device Mac Dictation Compared

BetterDictation and Hearsy are both local Mac dictation apps that run Whisper on Apple Silicon. Neither sends audio to a server. Both require a one-time payment. The differences come down to which transcription engines they support, how they handle AI cleanup, and how their pricing stacks up when you include the features you actually want.

One disclosure upfront: Hearsy is my product. I've tried to write this comparison accurately, including where BetterDictation has an edge.

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What BetterDictation is#

BetterDictation is a macOS dictation app that runs Whisper Large V3 Turbo on Apple's Neural Engine. It requires Apple Silicon — Intel Macs are not supported because the app relies on the Neural Engine for processing.

The app claims 6,000+ users at companies including Disney, Amazon, and Goldman Sachs. It supports 100+ languages and works system-wide across all Mac apps.

Pricing (as of March 2026):

• Basic — $39 lifetime, one device
• Flex — $49 lifetime + $2/month Pro, up to three devices (includes three months of Pro free)
• Studio — $149 lifetime + $2/month per device, up to 10 devices

Pro features include stammer correction, automatic list and paragraph formatting, and grammar cleanup. These features route your transcribed text through OpenAI's API — they require internet access.

BetterDictation focuses on clean, minimal design. Push-to-talk and toggle-to-talk modes are supported.

What BetterDictation is: A Whisper-based dictation app for Apple Silicon Macs, with a one-time Base license and an optional Pro subscription for AI cleanup. Core transcription is offline; AI features require an internet connection.

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What Hearsy is#

Hearsy is a macOS menu-bar dictation app. Press a global hotkey from any app, speak, and text is pasted at your cursor. It supports two speech-to-text engines:

• Parakeet TDT — NVIDIA's model, optimized for English, runs in under 50ms on Apple Silicon
• Whisper Large — OpenAI's model, 99 languages, 1–2 second latency

The practical difference: for English dictation, Parakeet is noticeably faster than Whisper. You speak, the text appears before you've finished thinking about the next sentence.

Hearsy also ships with a local language model — Qwen 2.5 3B via MLX — for AI enhancement. When you apply a template (Clean & Format, Email, Code Comment, Summary), the processing runs on your Mac with no API key and no external call. You can optionally configure Claude or OpenAI as the cleanup provider, but the local LLM means you get AI-enhanced transcription at no ongoing cost.

Hearsy is a one-time purchase. No subscription required for any transcription or AI cleanup feature.

What Hearsy is: A macOS dictation app with Parakeet and Whisper engines, a local AI cleanup LLM, and structured output templates. One-time purchase. Apple Silicon required.

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At a glance#

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Transcription engine: Whisper vs Whisper + Parakeet#

BetterDictation uses Whisper Large V3 Turbo, which runs on Apple's Neural Engine. This is faster than running Whisper on the CPU, but it's still Whisper — typically 200–400ms per utterance for short phrases.

Hearsy uses Parakeet TDT for English. Parakeet was designed for real-time transcription and achieves under 50ms latency on Apple Silicon. For Hearsy users dictating in English, text appears nearly immediately. For other languages, Hearsy falls back to Whisper Large, with latency matching BetterDictation's range.

Both apps use high-quality Whisper variants, so accuracy for non-English languages is comparable. For English accuracy, Parakeet achieves a word error rate competitive with Whisper Large on standard benchmarks, with significantly lower latency.

If you dictate primarily in English and latency matters to you, this is the clearest technical difference between the two apps.

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AI cleanup: local LLM vs cloud API#

This is the more consequential difference for most users.

BetterDictation's Pro AI:

BetterDictation's Pro features — stammer correction, automatic formatting, grammar cleanup — process text through OpenAI's API. This means your transcribed text leaves your Mac and goes to OpenAI's servers. Pro costs $2/month billed annually, on top of the $39 (or $49 Flex) base license. You can skip Pro and use Basic with no AI cleanup, staying fully offline.

Hearsy's AI cleanup:

Hearsy ships the Qwen 2.5 3B model via MLX, which runs locally. Applying a template doesn't trigger an API call. Your transcribed text stays on your Mac through the entire pipeline. If you dictate sensitive content — medical notes, legal documents, confidential business communication — Hearsy's full pipeline (transcription and AI formatting) stays on-device without any API configuration.

You can also configure Claude or OpenAI as the cleanup provider in Hearsy if you prefer cloud models, but it's optional. The local LLM is available from the moment you install the app.

For users who want AI-enhanced transcription without cloud dependencies, this is the key difference. BetterDictation's AI cleanup requires an internet connection and a $2/month subscription. Hearsy's AI cleanup works offline and is included in the one-time purchase.

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Pricing: one-time vs one-time plus subscription#

The pricing comparison looks simpler than it is.

BetterDictation (as of March 2026):

• Basic $39 lifetime — core transcription, one device, no AI cleanup
• Flex $49 lifetime + $2/month — AI cleanup, three devices
• Studio $149 lifetime + $2/month per device — up to 10 devices

If you want BetterDictation with AI cleanup enabled, you're paying a lifetime fee plus an ongoing $2/month. Over two years, that's $39 + $48 = $87 on the Basic+Pro path, or $49 + $48 = $97 on Flex.

Hearsy:

One-time purchase. Transcription (Parakeet and Whisper) and AI cleanup (local Qwen 2.5) are included. No subscription, no per-month AI fee.

For users who only want core transcription — no AI formatting, no stammer correction — BetterDictation's $39 Basic license is a clean comparison point to Hearsy's one-time price. The gap widens once you factor in AI cleanup, which requires BetterDictation's monthly Pro tier but is built into Hearsy's base price.

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Where BetterDictation does better#

Enterprise and multi-seat licensing. BetterDictation's Studio plan at $149 covers up to 10 devices, with an account manager and custom development options. Hearsy is a single-user, single-Mac app with no team licensing. For IT procurement at companies like those BetterDictation cites as customers, their licensing structure is more practical.

Neural Engine optimization. BetterDictation explicitly built for Apple's Neural Engine from the ground up. The app is optimized for that specific hardware path in ways that a general Whisper implementation may not be.

Longer track record. BetterDictation has been available longer than Hearsy. For users who prioritize an established product with documented enterprise deployments, that history carries weight.

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BetterDictation vs Hearsy vs SuperWhisper#

Users comparing these two often also look at SuperWhisper. SuperWhisper uses Whisper models and offers a free tier with more limited capabilities. Like BetterDictation, it doesn't support Parakeet, so English latency is in the Whisper range rather than Hearsy's sub-50ms Parakeet range.

SuperWhisper has a more established content and marketing presence and ranks for many dictation keywords. For a broader comparison of local dictation options, see best dictation software for Mac.

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Which to choose#

Choose BetterDictation if:

• You need multi-seat or enterprise licensing (Flex or Studio plans)
• Core offline transcription without AI cleanup is sufficient for your workflow
• You prefer a product with a documented enterprise customer base
• You don't need the faster Parakeet engine and Whisper latency is acceptable

Choose Hearsy if:

• You dictate primarily in English and want under-50ms latency via Parakeet
• You want AI cleanup (grammar correction, formatting) that runs locally with no API key
• You're dictating sensitive content and need the entire pipeline — transcription and AI formatting — to stay on your Mac
• You prefer a single one-time payment that includes AI features without a monthly subscription component

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For more context on local Mac dictation, see best dictation software for Mac and AI transcription: local vs cloud. For how Parakeet compares to Whisper technically, see Whisper vs Parakeet. For voice data privacy considerations, see the voice data privacy guide.

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Frequently asked questions#

Does BetterDictation work offline?#

BetterDictation's core transcription — Whisper Large V3 Turbo via Apple Neural Engine — runs entirely on your Mac with no internet connection. Pro features (stammer correction, grammar cleanup, automatic formatting) process text through OpenAI's API and require an active internet connection. Basic transcription is offline; AI enhancement is not.

What is the difference between BetterDictation and Hearsy?#

The two main differences: transcription engine and AI cleanup. BetterDictation uses Whisper Large V3 Turbo (via Neural Engine); Hearsy uses Parakeet TDT for English (under 50ms) and Whisper Large for other languages. For AI cleanup, BetterDictation's Pro tier ($2/month) uses OpenAI's cloud API; Hearsy's AI cleanup (Qwen 2.5 via MLX) runs locally with no API key.

Is BetterDictation free?#

No. BetterDictation starts at $39 for a lifetime Basic license on one device. AI features (stammer correction, grammar cleanup, auto formatting) require the Pro add-on at $2/month billed annually, available on the Flex ($49 lifetime) or Studio ($149 lifetime) plans.

Does BetterDictation use Parakeet?#

No. BetterDictation uses Whisper Large V3 Turbo on Apple's Neural Engine. It does not support NVIDIA Parakeet TDT. Hearsy uses Parakeet for English transcription (under 50ms) and Whisper Large for non-English languages.

What is the best BetterDictation alternative for Mac?#

For local dictation with faster English latency, Hearsy is the closest alternative — Parakeet engine, local AI cleanup, one-time purchase. SuperWhisper and VoiceInk are other Whisper-based options. For a full list of local dictation apps, see best Whisper apps for Mac or privacy-first dictation apps.