The best Wispr Flow alternatives, sorted by what you need
Looking for a Wispr Flow alternative? 8 picks for Mac, sorted by need: unlimited, local and offline, open source, or polished paid. Prices checked October 2026.
Why switch
Why look for a Raycast Dictation alternative
Raycast added Dictation on the Mac in version 0.57, on May 8, 2026, and on Windows in June. Press a hotkey, speak, and Raycast pastes formatted text into the app you're in, with filler words removed and punctuation added. Styles shape the text for an email or a Slack message, Auto Styling picks one by app, and every transcription is saved to a history on your device. On iPhone, the Raycast Keyboard does the same.
If you already live in Raycast, that's convenient. The catches:
- It needs Pro. Raycast's manual calls Dictation a Pro exclusive, and the pricing page leaves it out of Free. Pro is $10 a month or $96 a year.
- It's cloud only. Raycast's privacy docs say your audio is sent to a speech-to-text partner to be transcribed, so it needs a connection. Raycast says the audio isn't kept on its servers and isn't used for training.
- A short word list. Vocabulary holds up to 50 words of 20 characters each.
- A time cap. Each session is limited to 20 minutes, and 5 minutes on iPhone.
- Reading the screen. App Context reads the front app and nearby text, which needs Screen Recording. You can leave it off.
We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Facts come from Raycast's manual, changelog, pricing and privacy pages and from each other app's own site, checked October 21, 2026, in USD.
Built in
How Raycast Dictation works
- Make sure you're on Raycast Pro or higher. Dictation isn't on Free.
- Open Raycast's Dictation settings and allow the microphone. On macOS, also allow Accessibility so text pastes straight into the app; without it, results go to the clipboard.
- Pick your input device and a hotkey. The fn key works, as do modifier combinations.
- Press the hotkey and talk. Press it again to accept, or Escape to cancel. Hold it instead for push-to-talk.
- Add names to Vocabulary with the Add Word to Vocabulary command, and pick or write a Style.
The full setup is in Raycast's Dictation manual, and what happens to your audio is on its AI privacy and security page.
Privacy
Where your voice goes with Raycast, and with a local app
With Raycast Dictation, the audio of each dictation leaves your Mac for a speech-to-text partner, which Raycast doesn't name on its privacy page. Raycast says the audio isn't kept on its servers after the request, that partners are contractually barred from training on it, and that your history stays in a database on your device. With App Context on, nearby text and app details go with the request and are thrown away afterwards.
With a local app, none of that leaves the Mac: the model runs on your computer, so there's nothing to retain. That's also why local apps work on a plane. If neither matters to you, Raycast's handling is reasonable. If either does, pick a local app below. The free one is already on your Mac: Apple's Dictation, which on Apple silicon works offline for supported languages. Our guide to dictating on a Mac sets it up in a minute.
The picks
The best Raycast Dictation alternatives for Mac
1. Koi
Best for: Local, offline dictation with no session cap, and it works from Raycast too
Koi does the speech to text on your Mac, so nothing is sent and it works offline. Tap Fn + ⌥ in any app and words appear while you speak, typed where your cursor is; there's no 20-minute cap. Cleanup happens on the Mac too: filler words go, a correction said out loud in English keeps only the fix, and spoken lists become lists. Like Raycast's Styles, each app can have a Casual or Formal style.
Your words holds up to 300 names and terms, six times Raycast's 50, and a word you fix right after Koi typed it is added by itself. Names on your screen are read on the Mac as you start, never sent. Parakeet v3 is built in, with Whisper, Cohere Transcribe, Qwen3-ASR and Granite Speech a download away.
If you like launching things from Raycast, you can start Koi's dictation, a recording or a call from Raycast, Shortcuts or a koi:// link. Koi also records calls, and tapping Fn + ⌘ starts a call with Koi, which uses cloud AI.
Where Raycast wins: if you already pay for Pro, dictation costs nothing extra, and it runs on Windows and iPhone. Koi is Mac only. Pro is $20 a month after a 3-day trial with a card, or Lifetime paid once, $59 for the first 25 buyers, rising to $199.
2. Wispr Flow
Best for: Cloud dictation with cleanup, like Raycast's, on every platform
If Raycast's cloud cleanup is what you like, Wispr Flow is the dedicated version. It runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and its privacy page says transcription always happens in the cloud. Free is 2,000 words a week on desktop; Pro is $15 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly. See Wispr Flow alternatives.
3. Superwhisper
Best for: Free local dictation, with AI modes on Pro
Superwhisper's free plan has unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, so it works without Raycast Pro or a connection. Pro is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once, and adds modes much like Raycast's Styles, cloud models and file transcription, on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.
4. Handy
Best for: Free, open source, with a Raycast integration
Handy is free and MIT-licensed, runs Whisper or Parakeet on your computer, and its README lists a Raycast integration, so you can keep triggering dictation from Raycast without paying for Pro. It does less cleanup than Raycast. See Handy alternatives.
5. VoiceInk
Best for: Local dictation with a dictionary, for $25 once
VoiceInk transcribes on the Mac, removes filler words, has a dictionary and Smart Replace, and switches modes by app or URL. It's $25 once for one Mac, less than three months of Raycast Pro, and open source under GPLv3. It needs Apple silicon.
6. Whisper Dictation extension
Best for: Local dictation inside Raycast, for tinkerers
A community extension in the Raycast Store that transcribes locally with whisper.cpp and can paste the result or copy it. It needs Homebrew installs of whisper-cpp and SoX and a model file, so it's for people comfortable with Terminal. Its AI refinement can stay local through Ollama, or use Raycast AI, which needs Pro.
Side by side
Raycast Dictation vs its alternatives
| Koi | Raycast Dictation | Wispr Flow | Superwhisper | Handy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $20 a month, or Lifetime from $59 | Raycast Pro, $10 a month or $96 a year | Free; Pro $15 a month | Free; Pro $8.49 a month | Free |
| Speech to text | On your Mac | Cloud partner | Cloud | Local, or cloud on Pro | On your computer |
| Works offline | Yes | No | No | Local models | Yes |
| Session limit | None | 20 minutes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Word list | Up to 300 | Up to 50 | Dictionary | Vocabulary | Not listed |
| Styles by app | Casual or Formal | Styles, Auto Styling | Styles | Modes | No |
| Platforms | Mac | Mac, Windows, iPhone keyboard | Mac, Windows, phones | Mac, Windows, phones | Mac, Windows, Linux |
Over three years Raycast Pro is $288 on the yearly plan, and you get the rest of Raycast with it. Koi Pro paid yearly is $576, and Lifetime is paid once. If you only want dictation and don't need Raycast Pro otherwise, a free local app or a one-time license costs less. Plans are on Koi's pricing page.
When to stay
When Raycast Dictation is the better pick
Stay on Raycast Dictation if
- You already pay for Raycast Pro, so dictation is included.
- You're fine with cloud transcription and don't need to work offline.
- You use its Styles, Custom Instructions and Auto Styling, and they sync through Raycast's Cloud Sync.
- You want the same dictation on a Windows PC and in the Raycast Keyboard on iPhone.
- You dictate into Raycast's Translator.
Choosing
Which Raycast Dictation alternative fits you
- Want dictation that stays on your Mac and works offline, with no session cap? Koi.
- Like Raycast's cloud cleanup and want it everywhere? Wispr Flow.
- Want free and local, without Raycast Pro? Superwhisper's free plan or Handy.
- Want to pay once, little? VoiceInk.
For more apps that never send your voice anywhere, see offline dictation apps for Mac.
Keep exploring
The best Handy alternatives for Mac
Handy alternatives for Mac, checked October 2026: apps that add cleanup, a word list and snippets to local dictation, open source picks and one-time prices.
The best offline dictation apps for Mac
The best apps for offline dictation on Mac: Koi, Apple Dictation, Superwhisper, MacWhisper, VoiceInk, Spokenly and more. What runs on device, and how to check.
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: offline, 100 languages, unlimited on every plan.
Support
Frequently asked questions
No. Raycast's manual calls Dictation a Pro exclusive, and it isn't on the Free plan. Raycast Pro is $10 a month or $96 a year at the time of writing.
No. Raycast says your audio is sent to a speech-to-text partner to be transcribed, and isn't kept afterwards. For offline dictation, use a local app like Koi, Handy or Superwhisper's free plan.
Raycast says audio isn't kept on its servers after the request, isn't used for training, and the history stays on your device. It still goes to a cloud partner to be transcribed.
Each Raycast Dictation session is limited to 20 minutes on the Mac, and 5 minutes on iPhone. Local apps like Koi have no session limit.
Yes. Handy lists a Raycast integration, Koi can be started from Raycast, Shortcuts or a koi:// link, and the community Whisper Dictation extension runs whisper.cpp inside Raycast.