Aqua Voice vs Superwhisper on Mac in 2026: prices, privacy and which one to pick

Start with the question you are really asking. Do you need dictation that works with no internet, or do you want the lowest cost way to talk into any Mac app? The two apps answer those questions in different ways.

Aqua Voice is a dictation app. Hold a key, speak, and the text pastes at your cursor. Its homepage also lists Edit Mode, Realtime Mode, Deep Context, a custom dictionary, writing styles, 49 languages and transcript history. The site at withaqua.com redirects to aquavoice.com.

Superwhisper is also a dictation app. It types into any app, and it can transcribe offline with local models. Its homepage lists predefined and custom modes, 100+ languages with translation to English, push to talk and Super Mode. A Meetings assistant is Mac only, and file transcription is a Pro feature.

The two overlap a lot. Both aim at the same job, turning speech into clean text in the app you already have open. The real gap sits in how each app handles your audio, what each one costs and which devices each one runs on.

Aqua Voice vs Superwhisper pricing in 2026

Aqua Voice shows its prices on a pricing page at aquavoice.com/pricing. The Free plan is $0 to start and includes 1,000 words. Pro is $10/month billed annually or $12/month month-to-month. It adds unlimited words, custom instructions and a personal dictionary.

Max is $19/month billed annually or $24/month month-to-month. It adds Realtime Mode, voice commands and early access to new features. Business is $19 per seat per month billed annually or $24 per seat month-to-month, with a 2-seat minimum.

Business adds team billing, SSO, usage reports, zero data retention and shared dictionaries. Teams with 100+ seats contact sales. Students with a school email get a 70% discount on Pro and Max.

Superwhisper is harder to price. Its homepage shows a Free tier at $0 and a Pro tier, with Monthly, Yearly and Lifetime toggles. The Pro figure on the page has no decimal point, so this page does not copy it. Its /pricing URL returns a 404 error.

Superwhisper's docs say new users get 3,000 words of free access to all Pro features. Its refund policy gives a 30-day window from the first purchase. Purchases made through the Apple App Store or Google Play do not qualify.

A common mistake is comparing monthly prices only. Check the billing period before you compare. Aqua's annual rate is lower per month than its month-to-month rate. Confirm how your plan bills before you pay.

Privacy: where your audio goes in each app

Privacy is where these two apps differ most. Superwhisper's privacy policy, last updated October 8, 2026, says local model audio and transcripts never leave your device. Cloud audio and transcripts are processed in memory. They are not stored after the request completes.

The same policy says Superwhisper does not use your data to train AI models. It keeps server logs for 30 days. API request metadata does not include audio or transcript content.

Aqua takes a different route. Its homepage says that with Privacy Mode on, nothing is stored on its servers at all. That line describes transcript history. The homepage does not say whether data trains models or which encryption Aqua uses.

Aqua reports SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certification, plus GDPR and HIPAA support. Those are company statements. Protected health information needs a BAA signed in the app, and that comes with Max and Business. We did not open the trust centers to check the audits ourselves.

Do not treat private as offline. A cloud app can have a strict privacy mode and still need the internet to answer. If you handle client files or medical notes, read each vendor's data terms before you dictate real records.

Offline dictation and platforms, with edge cases

Superwhisper lists Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Linux on its homepage. Its download page lists macOS 3.2.1, which needs macOS 13.3 or later. Windows is v1.6.11 for Windows 10 or later. We did not find a Linux download.

Aqua's pricing page lists Mac, Windows, iOS and Android through Google Play. Product Hunt reviewers still ask for iOS, mobile and Linux support. That conflicts with the pricing page, so check the current platform list on Aqua's site before you buy.

Offline use is the biggest gap. Superwhisper's site says offline transcription works. Aqua's site does not say either way. One Product Hunt critic calls Aqua an online tool that needs network access.

Test it yourself in two minutes. Open a blank note and turn Wi-Fi off from Control Center > Wi-Fi. Dictate a paragraph. Then turn Wi-Fi back on, dictate the same paragraph again and compare the results and the speed.

Edge case: check your Mac model and macOS version first. Superwhisper's Mac app needs macOS 13.3 or later. Find your version under Apple menu > About This Mac. Check Aqua's download page for its minimum macOS version, because the pages we read did not list one.

Accuracy claims and how much to trust them

Both apps make accuracy claims. Aqua says its Avalon 1.5 model scored 97.4% key-term accuracy on AISpeak-10. That is Aqua's own English technical speech benchmark, and the company reports the result. Treat it as a company claim.

Reviews help, but the samples are small. Aqua has 5.0 from 16 Product Hunt reviews. Superwhisper has 4.9 from 22 reviews. One Superwhisper reviewer says they sit at around 95 percent accuracy consistently.

Aqua's reviews page says the company selected the coverage and wrote the summaries. It says the page is not an independent review. Read its quotes as selected material, not as a neutral survey.

tl;dv sells its own product, and it wrote a review of Superwhisper. Its informal test gave about 98% on easy everyday text and about 88% on a hard script with names, prices, dates and jargon. It reported no sample size or formal scoring, so treat the result as a rough hint.

The common mistake is testing with easy sentences. Easy text flatters every app. Dictate your own names, product terms and the phrases you use at work, then count the errors.

Why dictation speed matters for long text

Speed is the reason to dictate at all. A 2016 arXiv study found English text entry by speech ran at 153 words per minute. Keyboard entry ran at 52 words per minute, which the study reports as 2.93 times slower.

That study used touchscreen phones and short phrases that people copied. It does not measure a Mac dictation app. A separate typing study, summarized by TypeCRT with 168,960 participants, found a mean of 51.56 words per minute.

Use these numbers as context only. Your own speed matters more. Run the typing speed test and the speaking vs typing test to see your own numbers.

Features that matter day to day

Both apps paste text at your cursor and learn your vocabulary. The day-to-day gaps are smaller and more specific. Superwhisper's Pro plan lets you use your own AI API keys, and Pro covers all cloud and local models.

Aqua gives you a personal dictionary on Pro and shared dictionaries on Business. It has Realtime Mode and voice commands on Max. It also offers MCP, CLI and API integrations, which matter if your dictation feeds a developer workflow.

Superwhisper's Super Mode and predefined modes change how the output looks. Aqua offers writing styles and Edit Mode for the same job. Test both on one paragraph, then decide which output you would keep.

Do not pick the app with the longest feature list. Write down the three things you dictate each day. Score each app on that list only.

Where Lazur fits if you want a third option

Lazur is a voice assistant for the Mac, and dictation is only part of it. It lives in the notch. Hold ⌥ ⌘ to ask about anything on screen, and Lazur answers out loud. Ask where something is, and it draws a circle and a label around it.

Lazur dictates too. Hold fn to dictate clean, formatted text at the cursor in any app. Snippets, a personal dictionary and clipboard slots come with it. Dictation is unlimited on both of Lazur's paid plans.

Lazur also handles everyday actions by voice. Those include timers, Apple Reminders, Calendar events, notes, music, volume, opening apps and links, and web search. Research runs in Lazur's own Chrome tabs through the Lazur for Chrome extension.

Lazur does not click buttons, edit files or operate other apps for you. Ask how to do something, and it guides you one click at a time, waiting for each click. It is Mac only, and Windows is planned, not available.

Lazur Pro costs $18/month, or $15/month billed annually, with 150 AI actions. Power costs $120/month, or $96/month billed annually, with 1,000 AI actions. You get a 3-day Pro trial with no credit card. For a side by side view, read Lazur vs Superwhisper or Lazur vs Aqua Voice.

Which one should you pick

Pick Aqua Voice if you want a cloud dictation app with a free start, Windows support and team billing. Pick it if your team needs a Business plan with zero data retention. Reviewers praise its speed, but those quotes come from a small sample.

Pick Superwhisper if offline use matters to you. Pick it if you want the same app on Windows, iOS or Android, or if you want to bring your own AI keys. Check the macOS 13.3 requirement before you install.

Pick Lazur if you want an assistant that sees your screen, points at things and talks back on a Mac. It suits people who ask for help more than they want text on a page.

Mistakes people make when choosing between them

• Comparing only the monthly price. Aqua's annual rate differs from its month-to-month rate, so check both before you decide.
• Trusting a benchmark the vendor wrote. Dictate your own names and terms before you settle on one app.
• Assuming private means offline. Turn off Wi-Fi from Control Center > Wi-Fi and test the app that way.
• Skipping permissions. Check System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone. If text does not paste, check System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility.
• Paying before the free plan or trial has answered your question.

What to do next

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone and allow the app you want to test.
2. Dictate the same paragraph into each app with Wi-Fi on, then again with Wi-Fi off.
3. Read Superwhisper's privacy policy for data retention and training, then read Aqua's pricing page for the plan you need.
4. Confirm Superwhisper's current price on its own site, since this page does not state it.
5. If you want a screen-aware assistant too, start the Lazur trial from the download page.