Loading
For someone who primarily needs system-wide voice dictation on an Apple Silicon Mac, Zen Whisper is a clean, affordable choice - the permanent free tier and $59.99 lifetime price are genuine wins. Typilot is the better fit when dictation is one surface of a broader workflow (AI commands, autocomplete, meetings, notes), when macOS Intel, Windows, or Linux support is required, or when on-device meeting diarization is part of the daily routine.
Yes. Both run on-device Whisper with audio that never leaves the machine, and both insert text at the cursor in any app. Typilot adds 27 keyboard AI commands, ghost-text autocomplete, and on-device meeting transcription with speaker diarization. It also runs on macOS Intel, Windows, and Linux. Zen Whisper is Apple Silicon Mac only but offers a lower lifetime price ($59.99 for one Mac) and a permanent free tier of 3,000 words per week.
No. Zen Whisper requires Apple Silicon (M1 or later) running macOS 14 Sonoma or later. It does not support Intel Macs, Windows, or Linux. For local on-device dictation on those platforms, Typilot, Superwhisper, and HyperVoice cover Windows, and Typilot and HyperVoice also support Linux.
Zen Whisper offers a 14-day full-feature trial, then a permanent free tier of 3,000 words per week with no credit card required. A lifetime seat pack starts at $59.99 for one Mac and includes one year of software updates; the last downloaded version continues to work after that. There is no ongoing subscription.
Typilot. It ships 27 keyboard-triggered inline AI commands - gen:, fix:, rew:, sum:, trl: and more - that work in any app alongside voice dictation. Zen Whisper has no AI command layer; it is a focused dictation and file transcription tool. If you only need voice input and occasional media transcription on an Apple Silicon Mac, Zen Whisper's simpler scope and lower price may suit you better.