Superwhisper alternative for Mac
Glide vs Superwhisper
Both can turn your voice into text on your Mac without sending it to the cloud. They differ in how much you set up and in what else the app does.
Superwhisper facts checked October 18, 2026 on Superwhisper's own website. Plans and features change, so check theirs before you decide.
The short answer
Choose Superwhisper if you want control: your pick of local or cloud models, custom modes with your own prompts, settings per app, a lifetime license, and apps for Windows, iPhone and Android.
Choose Glide if you want dictation with fewer choices to make, just hold Fn and talk, plus an assistant in the same app that sees your screen, answers out loud and does tasks for you.
Side by side
| Glide | Superwhisper | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac (macOS 14 or later) | Mac (macOS 14 or later), Windows, iPhone, Android |
| Free dictation | Free and unlimited on every plan | Unlimited with local models. Cloud models and AI modes are Pro |
| Paid plans | Dictation is never a paid feature | Pro $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once |
| Where your speech is processed | Dictation: on your Mac. Assistant: sent to AI providers to answer, and not stored on Glide’s servers | Your choice per mode: local models on your Mac, or cloud models |
| Start dictating | Hold Fn | Option + Space to start and stop. Hold-to-talk is optional |
| Languages | 25 European languages | Up to 100+, depending on the model |
| AI formatting | Cleans up filler words, punctuation and casing, tidies grammar on Macs with Apple Intelligence. Nothing to configure | Modes for messages, mail and notes, plus custom modes with your own prompt and model (Pro) |
| Custom vocabulary | Not yet | Yes, on the free plan |
| Screen context | The assistant looks at your screen when you ask | Text from the app you are in (Pro). No screenshots |
| Answers out loud | Yes | No |
| Points at things on screen, step by step | Yes | No |
| Does tasks in other apps | Yes: Calendar, Notes, Reminders and 12 connected apps, and it asks before anything is sent | Voice plugins for coding agents |
| Meetings | No | Recording, transcripts and summaries |
Where Glide is different
- Fewer decisions. There is no model to pick and no mode to build. Hold Fn, speak, and cleaned-up text lands where your cursor is.
- Dictation and an assistant in one app. Hold Control and Option to ask about what is on your screen: Glide answers out loud and points at what it means.
- Tasks, not just text. Ask Glide to put something in your calendar or a note and a background agent does it, asking before anything is sent.
Where Superwhisper is stronger
- Model choice and offline AI. Pick local or cloud speech models per mode, bring your own API keys, and format text offline with a local model.
- Deep customisation: custom modes with your own instructions, modes that switch on per app or website, and custom vocabulary on the free plan.
- More places and a lifetime option: Windows, iPhone and Android, and a one-time $249.99 license.
- Compliance and meetings: SOC 2 Type II, self-serve HIPAA and data agreements, and meeting recording with speaker labels.
Switching from Superwhisper
The main change is the key. Superwhisper starts and stops with Option + Space by default; Glide dictates while you hold Fn and stops when you let go.
- If macOS has Fn set to show emoji or start Apple’s dictation, set Press fn key to to Do Nothing in Keyboard settings. Glide shows you where.
- On first launch Glide downloads its speech model, about 460 MB, so dictation can run on your Mac.