Head to head
Aqua Voice is a dictation tool that writes your speech at the cursor in apps that accept pasted text. Siri is Apple's built-in voice assistant, and its newest version, Siri AI, is still in beta. Choose Aqua Voice for dictation. Choose Siri for personal search and actions inside Apple apps. Lazur is included as a third option.
The short version
| Feature | Lazur | Aqua Voice | Siri |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main job | Voice assistant for the Mac that sees your screen | Dictation into any app that pastes at the cursor | Conversational assistant with personal context search |
| Dictation | Hold fn to dictate formatted text at the cursor, with snippets and a personal dictionary | Live grammar refinement, custom dictionary, 49 languages | Write with Siri. Not described as a dictation tool for every app |
| Screen awareness | Hold ⌥ ⌘ and Lazur sees your screen, points and circles | Not described on its homepage | Onscreen awareness is listed in Apple's newsroom announcement |
| Step by step guidance | Guides one click at a time and waits for each click | Not described on its homepage | Not described on Apple's Siri page |
| Spoken answers | Answers out loud | Not described on its homepage | Conversational assistant, per Apple's page |
| Price | 3-day Pro trial with no credit card. Pro $18/month or $15/month billed annually | Free tier. Pro $10/month billed annually or $12/month billed monthly | See their pricing page. Apple lists no price and says a fee is planned for expanded access |
| Usage limits | 150 AI actions on Pro, 1,000 on Power. Dictation unlimited on both | 1,000 words on the Free tier. Pro is unlimited words | Daily usage limits on server-side features |
| Platforms | macOS on Apple silicon and Intel. Windows planned, not available | macOS, Windows, iPhone and Android | Siri AI beta on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27 |
| Languages | Not stated in its product facts | 49 languages | Starts in English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish |
| Data handling claims | Audio and screenshot go to AI providers to answer, not stored | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA claims. Privacy Mode stores nothing | Private Cloud Compute. Apple says data is never stored |
| Team features | Not listed in its product facts | Business plan with single sign-on, team billing and usage reports | Not listed on Apple's Siri page |
| Accuracy claims | No accuracy figure in its product facts | 97.4% key-term accuracy, self-reported on its own benchmark | No accuracy figure on the page checked |
| Research in background | Yes, in Lazur's own Chrome tabs | Not described on its homepage | Not described on Apple's Siri page |
Our app
A voice assistant for the Mac that lives in the notch. Hold ⌥ ⌘ to ask about anything on screen, and it answers out loud. Hold fn to dictate.
Pick it if
Alternative
A dictation tool that writes at the cursor in any app that accepts pasted text. Adds live grammar refinement, a custom dictionary and 49 languages.
Pick it if
Alternative
Apple's built-in voice assistant. Siri AI, the newest version, is in beta. It is known for personal context search across Apple apps.
Pick it if
Aqua Voice and Siri solve different problems. Aqua Voice is a dictation tool. You hold a key, speak, and the words appear at your cursor in the app you already use. Siri is a voice assistant. It answers questions, searches your personal context across apps and takes actions in Apple apps such as Messages, Music and Reminders.
Pick by job. If you write by voice most days, Aqua Voice is built for that work. If you want one assistant that knows your Apple apps, Siri is closer to that goal. Both take your voice, which is why people put them side by side.
2.93x
English speech input was faster than typing on touchscreen phones in a 2016 study (153 vs 52 WPM)
Comparing Speech and Keyboard Text Entry for Short Messages in Two Languages on Touchscreen Phones (arXiv:1608.07323)97.4%
Aqua Voice self-reported key-term accuracy on its own benchmark, against 65.1% for Whisper Large v3
Aqua Voice: Homepage46%
U.S. adults who used digital voice assistants such as Siri, in a 2017 Pew survey
Voice assistants used by 46% of Americans, mostly on smartphones, Pew Research CenterThis page also covers Lazur, a voice assistant for the Mac. Lazur appears as a third option. Its facts come from its own product description. Its dictation is included, but it is not the headline feature.
Aqua Voice is the stronger dictation tool on paper and in early reviews. Its homepage says it writes into any app that pastes text at the cursor. It adds live grammar refinement, a custom dictionary for names and technical terms, writing styles and support for 49 languages.
Be careful with the accuracy figure. Aqua Voice reports 97.4% key-term accuracy for its Avalon model on AISpeak-10. That is its own English technical-speech benchmark. On the same test it reports 65.1% for Whisper Large v3. Treat both numbers as the company's claim, not an independent test.
Reviews agree the product is fast and accurate. Product Hunt shows a 5.0 rating from 16 reviews, including founder reviews, so the sample is small. A reviewer on Aestumanda calls it the most accurate and productive dictation tool they have used. That is an opinion. The same reviewer says it can pick up nearby TV or other voices.
Siri handles writing differently. Apple's Siri page lists Write with Siri among its features. The page does not describe Siri as a dictation tool for every app. Open Notes, Mail and your browser, then test both tools in the places you actually type.
Lazur's dictation works the same way at a high level. Hold fn to dictate clean, formatted text at the cursor in any app. Lazur also keeps snippets, a personal dictionary and clipboard slots. Those help if you repeat the same phrases all day.
Open a blank note and dictate the same paragraph in each tool. Include two names and one technical term. Count the fixes you make afterward. Aqua Voice's custom dictionary is the feature to check for names. Siri's result depends on the app you test in.
Siri is the stronger assistant. Apple's page lists a conversational assistant, personal context search across apps, actions in Messages, Music and Reminders, and a Siri app that syncs conversations across devices. It also lists Siri in CarPlay and Write with Siri.
Reviewers praise Siri's personal context search and its conversation. One aggregator, Fello AI, paraphrases early coverage calling the new Siri the first in years worth talking to. The same article calls Apple Intelligence helpful, but not a big change. Both lines are opinions, and the article paraphrases unnamed coverage.
Aqua Voice's assistant features are narrower. Its Max plan adds Voice Commands. An Aestumanda reviewer says the app lacks advanced voice navigation features. If you want a tool that answers questions or takes actions in Apple apps, Siri fits better than Aqua Voice.
Lazur is a voice assistant for the Mac that lives in the notch. Hold ⌥ ⌘ to ask about anything on screen, and Lazur answers out loud. Ask where something is, and Lazur draws a circle and a label around it. Lazur points. It does not click for you.
Ask how to do something, and Lazur guides you one click at a time. It waits for each click. This suits people who want to learn an app rather than hand it over. Say you need the Reply button in Mail. Ask Lazur, and it circles the button. You click it.
Lazur also handles everyday actions by voice. These include timers, Apple Reminders, Calendar events, notes, music and volume, opening apps and links, web search and Shortcuts. Research runs in Lazur's own Chrome tabs through the Lazur for Chrome extension, then returns a summary and a report.
Aqua Voice fits long dictation sessions better. Siri fits personal search and Apple app actions better. Lazur fits on-screen help and step by step guidance better. Pick the tool for the job you do most.
Aqua Voice has a free tier with 1,000 words. Its pricing page lists Pro at $10/month billed annually or $12/month billed monthly. Pro removes the word limit and adds Custom Instructions and a Personal Dictionary. Max costs $19/month billed annually or $24/month billed monthly. It adds Realtime Mode and Voice Commands.
Business is $19 per seat per month billed annually, or $24 per seat per month billed monthly, with a 2-seat minimum. Students get 70% off Pro and Max with a school email. Check the pricing page for current terms before you buy.
Older reviews quote different prices. An Aestumanda review from 2025 lists $8 a month. That predates the current pricing page, so trust the company page for the current figure.
Lazur has a 3-day Pro trial with no credit card. The trial starts when you first open the app. Pro costs $18/month, or $15/month billed annually, and includes 150 AI actions. Power costs $120/month, or $96/month billed annually, and includes 1,000 AI actions. Dictation is unlimited on both.
Say you dictate most days and rarely ask for help on screen. Aqua Voice Pro gives you unlimited words for $10 to $12 a month. Lazur Pro includes unlimited dictation too, but it caps AI actions at 150. Count how often you use the assistant side before you choose.
Many people compare monthly prices and skip annual billing. Both Aqua Voice and Lazur list lower prices when you pay yearly. Check whether the yearly rate fits your budget before you compare the two.
Aqua Voice says it has a SOC 2 Type II audit report and ISO 27001 certification. It says it is GDPR and HIPAA compliant. Protected health information needs a Business Associate Agreement signed in the app. The Max and Business plans include it. Business also adds Zero Data Retention.
Aqua Voice's homepage says Privacy Mode stores nothing on its servers. It does not say whether transcription runs on your Mac or in the cloud. A Product Hunt reviewer says the app needs network access. Ask the company or check its Trust Center before you rely on offline use.
Apple says Apple Intelligence and Siri AI are designed to protect your privacy at every step. Its Private Cloud Compute section says your data is never stored and used only for your requests. Apple's newsroom says personal data is not stored nor made accessible to Apple or anyone else.
Lazur says it listens and looks at the screen only while you hold the shortcut. Audio and the screenshot go to AI providers to answer you, and they are not stored. Content is never used to train AI models. Memory of what you asked stays on the Mac.
Each company makes different claims. Aqua Voice points to audits and retention settings. Apple points to its server design. Lazur points to when it listens. Read the claim that matches your risk. Check the contract terms if you handle client or patient data.
Lazur runs on macOS, on Apple silicon and Intel Macs. Windows is planned, not available. Aqua Voice runs on macOS, Windows, iPhone and Android, according to its homepage. Older Product Hunt reviews asked for iOS and Linux clients, so check the current app store listing.
Siri AI is in beta on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27 and visionOS 27. It needs an Apple Intelligence device set to a supported language. Apple lists English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish at launch.
Apple's newsroom says the most advanced on-device model needs at least 12GB unified memory on an iPad (M4) or a Mac (M3) or later. Siri AI is not available in China or for users under 13. Third-party sources list different chip requirements, so use Apple's device list.
Noisy rooms are the first edge case. The Aestumanda reviewer says Aqua Voice can transcribe nearby TV or other voices. Use a headset with a close microphone when you dictate in a shared space. It cuts the pickup of other voices.
Names are the second edge case. Aqua Voice's custom dictionary is built for names and technical terms. Siri's page does not describe a custom dictionary, so expect more corrections there. Lazur's personal dictionary can hold names too, so test it before you rely on it.
Mixed languages are the third. Aqua Voice lists 49 languages. Siri AI starts in six languages, so check yours before you switch. Lazur's facts do not list a language count. Test it in your own language first.
Lazur uses ⌥ ⌘ for on-screen questions and fn for dictation. macOS has its own Dictation settings. Open System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation and check which key starts it. If macOS and Lazur both use fn, change one of them.
Siri has its own settings in System Settings > Siri & Spotlight on the Mac. Check them before you build a habit. Look in Aqua Voice's settings for its shortcut before you run your first test.
The most common mistake is running several voice tools at once. Each one listens for its own key, and the results can overlap. Use one tool per job, and quit the rest while you test.
A 2016 study from Stanford and the University of Washington compared speech with keyboard entry on touchscreen phones. Speech was 2.93 times faster for English, at 153 words per minute against 52. The study covered short messages, not long documents.
Speech left more errors in the final text. The uncorrected error rate was 1.30% for speech and 0.79% for the keyboard. Speech had a lower corrected error rate, at 5.30% against 11.22%. Proofread dictated text before you send it.
A 2017 Pew survey found that 46% of U.S. adults used digital voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant or Cortana. 42% used them on a smartphone. I found no newer overall adult figure, so treat it as an older snapshot.
People quote the 2.93 figure as if it applies to every task. It does not. The study measured short messages on phones. Your speed in Aqua Voice or Siri depends on your vocabulary, your app and how much you correct.
If you want a closer look at one pair, read Lazur vs Siri. The choice gets clearer once you have dictated a few real messages in each tool.
For dictation, yes, based on the evidence here. Aqua Voice is built for it, and its homepage lists a custom dictionary, live grammar refinement and 49 languages. Apple's Siri page lists Write with Siri but does not describe Siri as a dictation tool for every app. Test both in the apps you use.
Apple does not list a price for Siri AI on its Siri page or in its newsroom release. Apple says expanded access to certain server-side features will be available for a fee in the future. Do not assume it stays free. Check Apple's Siri page before you plan a budget.
Aqua Voice's pricing page lists Pro at $10/month billed annually or $12/month billed monthly. Pro gives you unlimited words. Max costs $19/month billed annually or $24/month billed monthly. Older reviews that quote $8 a month predate the current page.
Reviewers say it needs network access. Its homepage does not say whether transcription runs on your Mac or in the cloud. Do not assume offline use. Ask the company or check its Trust Center before you rely on it with poor signal.
No. Apple says Siri AI is not available in China. It will not initially be available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS or watchOS. It is not available for users under 13. Check Apple's device and region list before you plan around it.
Lazur covers some of what Siri does. It answers out loud, points at things on screen and runs everyday actions such as timers and Reminders. It does not click buttons or operate other apps for you, so you still make the final click.
Each company makes different claims, so compare them on the terms that matter to you. Aqua Voice cites SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, and says Privacy Mode stores nothing on its servers. Apple cites Private Cloud Compute. Lazur says it listens only while you hold the shortcut.
Product names belong to their owners. Lazur is not affiliated with Aqua Voice, Siri. Prices and features come from each company's own site on the date shown; check there before you buy.
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