The best Voicenotes alternatives for Mac
Looking for a Voicenotes alternative on Mac? Koi, Apple Notes, Monologue, AudioPen, Mem and Letterly compared on minutes, where audio goes, and price.
Start here
What AudioPen does well
AudioPen does one thing and does it with taste: “Think out loud. Get clear writing.” You ramble, and it hands back a clean note, email or post in a style you pick. It runs on the web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Apple Watch and Chrome, and it's made by a solo founder.
Its Mac app, for Apple silicon only, transcribes on the Mac, offline, and types exact or rewritten text into any app from a hotkey. The rewrite itself runs in the cloud, and its privacy policy says voice note audio is deleted within 48 hours. Free recordings stop at 3 minutes. Prime is $33 for 3 months, $99 a year or $159 for 2 years, with recordings up to 15 minutes and 100 uploads every 4 weeks, on AudioPen's pricing.
We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Facts about other apps come from their own sites and public reviews, checked October 16, 2026. We didn't run tests, and since AudioPen's Mac app works offline too, we won't pretend that's only a Koi thing.
Stay
Stay on AudioPen if
- The rewrite styles are the point. Koi doesn't keep styles to turn a ramble into a post.
- You record on your phone, your Watch or the web. Koi is a Mac app only.
- Price per year matters. Prime is $99 a year; Koi Pro is $192.
- You want a free plan to keep using. Koi has none.
Why people look
Why people look for an AudioPen alternative
AudioPen is well liked: 4.9 from 68 reviews on Product Hunt. The requests there are consistent, though. The 15-minute cap comes up most, then a way to keep the raw words without the rewrite, random sign-outs, and lower prices. Some people also have an Intel Mac, which its Mac app doesn't support.
The list
6 AudioPen alternatives for Mac
1. Koi
Best for: Your own words, with no length cap, finished in a real editor
Tap Fn + ⌥ anywhere and talk. Koi types your own words as you say them, tidied the way you'd type them: the ums go, a stammered word is written once, and chat apps get no full stop at the end. That runs on your Mac with Whisper, offline, in 57 languages, and there's no cap on how long you talk. It runs on Intel Macs as well as Apple silicon, on macOS 14 or later.
Want it rewritten? Select what you dictated and tap Fn + ⌘, then say “make it shorter” or “fix the grammar”. Koi rewrites it in place, the changed words are highlighted, and ⌘Z takes it back. That part uses Koi's AI, which is online. A Koi page is a full editor too, with headings, tables, charts and to-dos, exported to Word or PDF, and Koi records calls and classes into pages of their own.
What you give up: saved rewrite styles, phone and Watch apps, and a free plan. Pro is $20 a month after a 3-day trial that needs a card. Lifetime starts at $59 once, against AudioPen's $159 for 2 years, and climbs as it sells.
2. Letterly
Best for: The closest match: voice notes rewritten in styles, with a lifetime plan
Letterly works much like AudioPen: record a note, pick a rewrite style. It also types into other apps, records meetings up to 90 minutes and supports 90+ languages, on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and the web. It records offline but transcribes in the cloud.
Free covers 10 notes of up to 3 minutes. Pro comes monthly, yearly or as a lifetime purchase, but its prices aren't published on its site.
3. Superwhisper
Best for: Dictation with modes that reshape what you say, on every device
Superwhisper's modes take what you say and shape it for the job: a message, an email, a document. The free tier has local Whisper models, a custom vocabulary and up to two modes without AI. Pro adds unlimited modes, cloud models and file transcription.
Pro is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 for life, and one licence covers Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Its FAQ says Intel Macs work best with its cloud models.
4. Wispr Flow
Best for: Heavy cleanup as you talk, in the cloud, on every platform
Wispr Flow removes filler words, handles your corrections mid-sentence and changes style per app, then inserts the text when you stop. It runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Its data controls page says transcription always happens in the cloud.
Free is 2,000 words a week on desktop. Pro is $15 a month, or $12 billed yearly, and students get 50% off. More in our Wispr Flow alternatives.
5. Monologue
Best for: Voice notes and dictation on Mac, iPhone, iPad and Watch
Monologue does dictation, longer voice notes with summaries and meeting notes, with local models on the Mac that work offline. Smart formatting and syncing need a connection. Pro is $15 a month or $144 a year, after a trial of 1,000 words and 10 notes.
6. Voicenotes
Best for: Memos on every device, with a free weekly allowance
Voicenotes keeps memos and meeting notes in the cloud, with Ask across all of them, on Mac, iPhone, Android, Watch and the web. Free gives 100 transcription minutes a week, and Pro is $9 a month. It doesn't rewrite in styles the way AudioPen does.
Comparison
AudioPen alternatives compared
From each app's own site, checked October 16, 2026. Paid is the cheapest individual plan.
| Rewrite styles | Length limit | Intel Mac | Paid | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AudioPen | Yes | 3 minutes free, 15 on Prime | No | $99 a year | Rambles into clean writing |
| Koi | No; rewrite by asking | None | Yes | $20 a month, or Lifetime from $59 | Your own words, finished in an editor |
| Letterly | Yes | 3 minutes free | Not listed | Not published | The closest match |
| Superwhisper | Modes | Not listed | Best with cloud models | $8.49 a month | Modes on every device |
| Wispr Flow | Style per app | 2,000 words a week free | Not listed | $15 a month | Cloud cleanup |
| Monologue | Formatting | 1,000-word trial | Not listed | $15 a month | Apple devices |
| Voicenotes | No | 100 minutes a week free | Not listed | $9 a month | Memos everywhere |
Raw or rewritten
Raw words or a rewrite: which do you want?
AudioPen's bet is that you'd rather not see what you actually said. For a social post or a quick email, that's often right. For notes you study, a draft you're still shaping, or anything you need to quote, the raw words matter more, and a rewrite can quietly change your meaning.
Koi starts from the other end. It types what you said, minus the ums, and leaves the rewrite to you: by hand, or by asking Koi to change the selected text, with every change highlighted and ⌘Z to undo it. Letterly, Superwhisper and Wispr Flow sit in between, with styles or modes that shape the text as it arrives.
Price
AudioPen vs Koi on price
By the year, AudioPen is cheaper: $99 for Prime against $192 for Koi Pro. Paid up front, the picture changes. AudioPen's longest plan is $159 for 2 years, with no lifetime option. Koi Lifetime is $59 once for the first 25 buyers and rises to $199 as it sells, with unlimited dictation and recorded calls for good.
Lifetime's AI is limited, though: it comes with Koi credit worth a fifth of the price, which never expires, and rewrites and summaries use it up. Typing by voice doesn't. See the plans.
Choosing
Which AudioPen alternative should you pick?
- Rewrite styles, on your phone too? Letterly.
- Your own words with no length cap, on any Mac, finished in an editor? Koi.
- Modes that reshape your words, on every device? Superwhisper.
- Heavy cleanup and the cloud is fine? Wispr Flow.
- Voice notes across Mac, iPhone and Watch? Monologue.
For more apps that keep your voice as notes, see the best voice notes apps for Mac, or our Voicenotes alternatives.
Keep exploring
The best voice notes apps for Mac in 2026
The best note taking apps with voice to text on Mac: Koi, Apple Notes, Voicenotes, AudioPen, Monologue and more, with where audio goes, limits and prices.
Voice to text on Mac, built in or with Koi
How to use voice to text on Mac with Apple's built-in Dictation, step by step, and when Koi does more: Whisper offline, 57 languages, unlimited on every plan.
Notes on your Mac, with tables, charts and math
Koi for Mac is an offline notes app with tables, 11 chart types, LaTeX, to-dos and flashcards. Export to Word or PDF, and start by typing or by talking.
Support
Frequently asked questions
Free recordings stop at 3 minutes and Prime recordings at 15, on AudioPen's pricing page at the time of writing.
Its Mac app, for Apple silicon, transcribes offline. The rewrite into clean writing runs in the cloud.
Koi runs on Intel and Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later, and turns speech into text on the Mac on both.
Not by itself. Koi types your words as said, minus the ums. Select them and ask Koi to make them shorter or fix the grammar, and it rewrites them in place, using its online AI.
No. Its longest plan is $159 for 2 years. Koi Lifetime starts at $59 once and rises as it sells.