Free like Spokenly. Open source, which Spokenly isn't.
Spokenly's free tier is genuinely generous: unlimited local transcription, bring your own cloud key, no word cap. The difference is the code. Spokenly says plainly that it is not open source and not on GitHub. EnviousWispr is, under GPLv3, so anyone can read exactly what runs on their Mac.
Quick answer
Spokenly or EnviousWispr: which should you choose?
Both can provide free local dictation, but they make different tradeoffs. Choose Spokenly if you need Windows, Linux, or iOS, want per-app AI profiles, or need Agentic Actions and coding-agent dictation. Choose EnviousWispr if you want a Mac-only app whose source code is public under GPLv3, with local speech, local polish, direct paste, and Escape Recovery in one workflow. Spokenly is broader and more automation-heavy; EnviousWispr is narrower and inspectable. Spokenly also offers a paid managed-cloud tier, while EnviousWispr has no paid tier or account requirement. For someone who wants dictation on several devices or inside agent workflows, Spokenly offers more reach. For someone who wants to inspect the app and avoid a service relationship, EnviousWispr is the clearer fit.
Still deciding? See the best Mac dictation apps by use case or browse all 17 dictation app comparisons.
Feature comparison
An honest look at how the two tools stack up across the dimensions that matter most.
| EnviousWispr | Spokenly | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. No paid tier at all. | Free (unlimited local, bring your own cloud key). Pro ~$9.99/mo adds managed cloud, not required. |
| Account required | No | Not specified for the free tier |
| Source code | Open source (GPLv3) | Not open source, by Spokenly's own statement |
| Speech engines | Parakeet TDT v3 + WhisperKit, switch in Settings | Broad choice: six local options, sixteen bring-your-own API providers, plus managed online models |
| AI cleanup (after transcription) | EG-1, purpose-built and measured, ships ready | Modes with AI Instructions: configurable, per-mode provider and prompt |
| Needs a prompt to be written | No | Not confirmed either way from public documentation |
| Voice-triggered actions (web search, open apps, run Shortcuts) | No | Yes, Agentic Actions, macOS only, set per mode |
| Developer tool integration (MCP) | No | Yes: Claude Code or Codex can call ask_user_dictation and receive a spoken answer |
| Advanced context for a Mode | Current app and custom words inform polish | Screen text, clipboard, app, selection, browser URL, and scripts, with per-mode model, reasoning, and temperature controls |
| File transcription | No, live dictation only | Yes, common audio and video formats plus direct recording |
| Local-only lock | Choose local transcription and local polish | Yes, Local Only Mode blocks network requests |
| Recover a cancelled dictation | Yes (Escape Recovery, opt-in, keybind/triple-press cancel only) | Not documented |
| Custom vocabulary | Yes (imports from 8 other apps, Spokenly included) | Yes, including find-and-replace patterns |
| Transcription latency | 0.61s median; ~1.65s with on-device AI polish | Not published |
| Platform support | macOS (Apple Silicon only) | macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS |
Spokenly claims sourced from spokenly.app, spokenly.app/open-source, spokenly.app/docs, and Spokenly 2.26.0 opened directly. EnviousWispr latency from production PostHog data on Apple Silicon Macs. Competitor claims last verified: 2026-08-21.
Free is not the wedge here. Open source is
Spokenly's free tier is genuinely good. Here is what actually separates the two apps.
Every line of EnviousWispr is on GitHub under GPLv3. Verify what it does with your microphone, your text, and your custom words. Spokenly's own site states it is not open source and not on GitHub, so you take its privacy claims on trust rather than being able to check them.
EG-1 ships fine-tuned specifically for dictation cleanup and runs on the same hotkey as transcription, with no prompt to write. Spokenly's Modes system can carry its own provider, prompt, and output style per mode; we could not confirm from public documentation whether the default mode ships with cleanup instructions already configured.
Escape Recovery keeps a dictation you cancel with your keybind or a triple press, instead of discarding it instantly. Off by default; you choose to turn it on. We found no equivalent documented for Spokenly.
Measured in production on Apple Silicon Macs. Parakeet TDT runs on the Neural Engine specifically tuned for fast, accurate dictation, so text appears almost instantly after you stop talking.
Built-in filler-word removal runs before AI polish, and it is language-aware: with your language locked to German, Dutch, Danish, or Norwegian in Settings, it keeps real words like "er" and "um" instead of stripping them as English filler.
Smart Import reads your custom vocabulary straight out of Spokenly's own files, without changing them, and shows you every word before anything joins your library. No retyping.
Where does your voice go?
Both apps can process your voice on your Mac. The difference is how much of that you can verify yourself. For a deeper dive, read on-device vs cloud dictation privacy.
Parakeet TDT: built for speed
EnviousWispr uses NVIDIA Parakeet TDT v3, a multilingual ASR model covering 25 European languages that runs natively on the Apple Neural Engine. No network dependency, no server queues.
Based on production data from Apple Silicon Macs. Results vary by hardware and settings. Spokenly does not publish comparable latency figures.
Trust by inspection, or trust by claim
Both apps make real privacy promises. Only one of them lets you check.
Spokenly's site makes real, specific privacy claims: local transcription options, a Local Only Mode that blocks network requests, bring-your-own-key cloud. We have no reason to doubt them. But because Spokenly is not open source, none of those claims can be checked against the code that actually runs on your Mac. You are trusting the company's word.
EnviousWispr's entire codebase is public under GPLv3. Every claim on this page, what gets sent where, when, and under what condition, can be verified by reading the source or asking someone who has. That is the whole difference this page is built around.
Spokenly's Modes and Agentic Actions turn it into more than dictation: switch profiles per app, and let a spoken command search the web, open an app, or run a Shortcut. Its MCP tool gives Claude Code or Codex a specific way to ask a question and receive your spoken answer.
EnviousWispr does one thing: it turns your speech into clean, finished text wherever your cursor is, every time, the same way. If you want the broader automation layer, Spokenly covers ground we do not attempt.
Choose Spokenly if any of this matters more to you
Spokenly's feature set is broader than ours in real, specific ways. It may be the better fit here:
Spokenly runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, and iOS. EnviousWispr is macOS only. If your dictation needs to follow you across every device you own, Spokenly already does that.
Agentic Actions can search the web, open an app, or run a Shortcut right after transcribing. We do not offer an equivalent; EnviousWispr produces text and nothing more.
Spokenly exposes ask_user_dictation, so Claude Code or Codex can ask you a question and receive your spoken answer. If that agent-response workflow matters to you, Spokenly has it and we do not.
Modes let you save a different provider, prompt, and output style for different apps, switching automatically. EnviousWispr's polish setting is one setup that applies everywhere.
If you want Windows or iOS support, voice-triggered automation, or a coding-agent integration, Spokenly is a strong pick. If you want dictation whose code you can actually read, give EnviousWispr a try. You can always use both.
Common questions
Yes. Spokenly's free tier includes unlimited local transcription and lets you bring your own API key for cloud AI, with no time limit or word cap. Its Pro tier, around $9.99 a month, adds Spokenly's own managed cloud transcription so you do not need your own key. EnviousWispr has no paid tier of any kind.
The clearest difference is source code: EnviousWispr is open source under GPLv3, so anyone can read exactly what it does. Spokenly is free but proprietary, by its own admission not open source and not on GitHub. Spokenly in turn is more feature-rich in places: it runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, and iOS, its Modes system lets you save different AI Instructions and providers per app, and its Agentic Actions can search the web, hand off to an AI assistant, or run a Shortcut after transcribing. EnviousWispr is macOS only and does not have an equivalent to Agentic Actions.
No. Spokenly's own site states plainly that it is not open source and not available on GitHub, while noting it is free to use. EnviousWispr is open source under GPLv3, so the code that runs on your Mac can be read, built, and audited by anyone.
Yes, through its Modes system. A mode carries its own AI Instructions, transcription model, and AI provider, and instructions can drive translation, cleanup, and formatting. We could not confirm from Spokenly's public documentation whether its default mode ships with cleanup instructions already configured. EG-1 is purpose-built for dictation cleanup, ships with the app, needs no prompt to write, and runs on the same hotkey as transcription.
Yes. After the one-time model download, transcription runs entirely on-device with no internet required. AI polish can also run offline using EG-1 (our own model, macOS 14+), Apple Intelligence (macOS 26+), or Ollama with a local model. Cloud providers like OpenAI, Claude, or Gemini are optional and require your own API key.
Yes. EnviousWispr's Smart Import reads your custom vocabulary directly out of Spokenly, without changing Spokenly's own files, and shows you every word it found before anything joins your library. Spokenly can also store find-and-replace rules written as patterns; those are skipped, since a pattern is not a word. It also imports from Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, FluidVoice, Handy, TypeWhisper, Juno, and Vox.
Yes, natively on macOS, Windows, Linux, and iOS. EnviousWispr is macOS only, on Apple Silicon.
Spokenly exposes an MCP tool named ask_user_dictation. Claude Code or Codex can call it when the agent needs an answer, and the person can respond by voice through Spokenly. This is a voice-response path for agent questions, not a replacement for ordinary system-wide dictation.
Yes. Download EnviousWispr, set your keybind, and Smart Import can bring your Spokenly custom words across in one pass. There is no other data to migrate for dictation purposes. Both apps work in any text field on macOS.
Compare with other tools
Free. Open source. Nothing to take on trust.
Free to download. No account required. Every line of code is public.