Dictate / Willow vs Dictate
A Willow Voice alternative: plain dictation, on your Mac
Willow is an AI writing assistant you talk to. Dictate is a dictation app: hold a key, speak, release, and what you said is at your cursor, transcribed on your Mac. No subscription. We make Dictate, so here is the comparison from both products' published facts.
Apple Silicon Mac · macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Side by side
As of October 2026, from each product's published information.
| Dictate | Willow | |
|---|---|---|
| Where speech is processed | On your Mac (NVIDIA Parakeet, Neural Engine) | Cloud by default; an Offline mode on Mac and iPhone |
| Works without internet | Yes, always | With Offline mode, on Mac and iPhone |
| Price | $49 once, lifetime license, no subscription | Pro $15/month, or $12/month billed yearly; free plan with unlimited use of a smaller speech model |
| AI writing | None: fillers and stutters removed on your Mac | Built in: style matching, Scribe |
| Languages | 21 European, auto-detected | 100+ on Pro |
| Platforms | Mac (Apple Silicon) | Mac, Windows, iPhone |
Why people look for a Willow alternative
They want their own words
Willow's strength is turning speech into polished writing in your voice. Some people would rather the app typed what they said and left the wording to them. Dictate does that, and fixes recurring mistakes with substitutions you set once ("cooper netties" becomes "Kubernetes").
On-device without a switch
Willow sends dictation to its servers unless you turn on Offline mode. Dictate has only one mode: the recording is transcribed in memory on your Mac and discarded. The only connections it ever makes are on the privacy page.
The subscription adds up
At $144 a year, Willow Pro costs $432 over three years. A Dictate key is $49 once and covers every future update, for life, on all your computers.
Languages without a setting
Dictate detects which of its 21 European languages you're speaking, so an English email and a Spanish reply need no change in between.
When Willow is the better choice
- You want AI to rewrite rough speech into finished, on-tone writing.
- You dictate on Windows or iPhone as well as a Mac.
- Your organisation needs a vendor with SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliance on a business plan.
- You speak a language outside Dictate's 21, or one written in a non-Latin script.
- You have an Intel Mac. Dictate needs Apple Silicon.
If you want simple, private voice typing with no settings, Dictate is the smaller tool.
Comparing AI dictation apps? See Dictate vs Wispr Flow. For apps that only work on-device, see local speech to text on Mac.
Questions
Does Willow work offline?
Partly. Willow is cloud-based by default and offers an Offline mode, turned on in settings, on Mac and iPhone; on Windows it uses cloud processing. Dictate transcribes on your Mac every time, with nothing to switch on.
Is Dictate cheaper than Willow?
Yes. As of October 2026 Willow Pro costs Pro $15/month, or $12/month billed yearly, which is $432 over three years on the yearly plan. Dictate is $49 once.
What do I give up by leaving Willow?
Mainly AI writing. Willow matches your style, learns your vocabulary, and its Scribe feature turns rough notes into polished text. Dictate types what you said, with your own substitutions applied.
Is there a free Willow alternative?
Yes. Apple Dictation is built into macOS and Handy is free and open source. Willow's own free plan offers unlimited use of a smaller speech model. Dictate gives you 7 days free, then costs $49 once.