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

> Aqua Voice vs Superwhisper on Mac in 2026: prices, privacy, offline use and platforms compared fairly, with a clear pick for each type of user.

URL: https://www.lazur.app/compare/aqua-voice-vs-superwhisper
Updated: 2026-11-08

Superwhisper is the better pick if offline dictation matters to you. Aqua Voice is the better pick for a cloud app with a free start, team billing and Windows support. Both type into the Mac app you already use, but they differ on privacy, price and where they run.

## Quick answer

- Superwhisper is the stronger choice for offline dictation, because its local models keep audio on your Mac.
- Aqua Voice is the stronger choice for a free start with 1,000 words, and it has team billing on its Business plan.
- Superwhisper's price is not on this page. Its site has no pricing page, so check it before you pay.
- Lazur is a third option if you want a Mac assistant that sees your screen. Dictation is part of it, not the whole product.

## Side by side

| Feature | Lazur | Aqua Voice | Superwhisper |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Platforms | macOS on Apple silicon and Intel. Windows is planned. | Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, per its pricing page | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Linux, per its homepage |
| Paid entry plan | Pro $18/month, or $15/month billed annually | Pro $12/month month-to-month, or $10/month billed annually | See their pricing page |
| Free option | 3-day Pro trial, no credit card | Free plan at $0 with 1,000 words | Free tier at $0 on its homepage. New users get 3,000 words of Pro access per its docs. |
| Works offline | Not stated | Not stated on its site | Yes. Local models keep audio on your device. |
| Screen awareness | Sees your screen while you hold ⌥ ⌘, and points at things | Deep Context is listed, but its site does not say what it reads | Not described on its homepage |
| Default privacy | Audio and screenshots go to AI providers and are not stored | Privacy Mode stores nothing on its servers | Local model audio stays on device. Cloud audio is not stored after processing. |
| Model training | Content is never used to train AI models | Not stated on its homepage | Not used for training, per its privacy policy |
| Compliance claims | Not stated | SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 reported, per the company | Enterprise is SOC 2 Type II certified, per its homepage |
| Languages | Not stated | 49 languages | 100+ languages, with translation to English |
| Integrations | Shortcuts, Apple Reminders, Calendar, notes and Chrome research | MCP, CLI and API integrations | Your own AI API keys on Pro |
| Mac version needed | Not stated | Not stated on the pages we read | macOS 13.3 or later |

**Our take:** Pick Aqua Voice for a cloud dictation app with a free plan, Windows support and team billing. Pick Superwhisper for offline transcription, local models and the widest set of platforms. Pick Lazur if you want a Mac assistant that sees your screen, answers out loud and dictates too.

### Lazur

A voice assistant for the Mac that lives in the notch. It sees your screen while you hold ⌥ ⌘, points at things, answers out loud and dictates clean text with fn.

- Price: 3-day free trial, then Pro $18/month or Power $120/month (https://www.lazur.app/pricing, checked 2026-11-08)
- Runs on: macOS (Apple silicon and Intel)

### Aqua Voice

A cloud dictation app that pastes text at your cursor. It has a free plan with 1,000 words, Realtime Mode on Max, and Business plans with team billing and zero data retention.

- Price: Free: $0 to start. Pro: $10/month billed annually or $12/month month-to-month. Max: $19/month billed annually or $24/month month-to-month. (https://aquavoice.com/pricing, checked 2026-11-08)
- Runs on: Mac, Windows, iOS and Android (Google Play), per its pricing page

### Superwhisper

A dictation app that types into any app and can transcribe offline with local models. It has modes, Super Mode, a Meetings assistant on Mac, and Pro plans with your own AI keys.

- Price: See their pricing page (https://superwhisper.com/, checked 2026-11-08)
- Runs on: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Linux (Linux listed on homepage, no download found)

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.

![Person speaking to a Mac laptop at a desk while comparing Aqua Voice vs Superwhisper](https://images.lazur.app/content-images/compare/aqua-voice-vs-superwhisper/aqua-voice-vs-superwhisper-1-5ac690.jpg)

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.

- **1,000** words included on Aqua Voice's Free plan, per its pricing page ([source](https://aquavoice.com/pricing))
- **3,000** words of free access to Pro features for new Superwhisper users, per its docs ([source](https://superwhisper.com/docs))
- **30 days** Superwhisper refund window from first purchase, excluding App Store and Google Play purchases ([source](https://superwhisper.com/refund))
- **97.4%** key-term accuracy Aqua Voice claims for Avalon 1.5 on its own benchmark (company claim) ([source](https://aquavoice.com/))

## 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.

**Speech vs keyboard text entry speed in one 2016 study**

- Speech: 153 WPM
- Keyboard: 52 WPM

Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/1608.07323

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](https://www.lazur.app/tools/typing-speed-test) and the [speaking vs typing test](https://www.lazur.app/tools/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](https://www.lazur.app/compare/lazur-vs-super-whisper) or [Lazur vs Aqua Voice](https://www.lazur.app/compare/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.

![Person typing on a laptop keyboard at an office desk](https://images.lazur.app/content-images/compare/aqua-voice-vs-superwhisper/aqua-voice-vs-superwhisper-2-6faf51.jpg)

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](https://www.lazur.app/download).

![Home office desk with a laptop and notebook for daily writing work](https://images.lazur.app/content-images/compare/aqua-voice-vs-superwhisper/aqua-voice-vs-superwhisper-3-4976f8.jpg)

## FAQ

### Is Aqua Voice better than Superwhisper on Mac?

Neither app is better for everyone. Aqua Voice has a clear free plan and team billing. Superwhisper has offline transcription with local models and runs on more platforms. Pick by the feature you need most.

### Does Superwhisper work offline?

Its homepage says offline transcription works. Its privacy policy says that with a local model, audio and transcripts never leave your device. Test it with Wi-Fi off before you depend on it.

### Does Aqua Voice work offline?

Aqua's site does not say either way. A Product Hunt critic calls it an online tool that needs network access. Turn off Wi-Fi and test it before you assume it works offline.

### How much does Superwhisper cost?

This page does not state a current Superwhisper price. The homepage shows a Free tier at $0. Its Pro figure has no decimal point, so we did not copy it. Check their pricing page before you buy.

### How much does Aqua Voice cost?

Free is $0 to start and includes 1,000 words. Pro is $10/month billed annually or $12/month month-to-month. Max is $19/month billed annually or $24/month month-to-month. Students with a school email get 70% off Pro and Max.

### Can Lazur replace a dictation app?

Lazur dictates too. Hold fn to dictate at the cursor, and dictation is unlimited on both paid plans. It is a voice assistant first, though. Hold ⌥ ⌘ to ask about anything on screen.

### Which Mac do I need for Superwhisper?

Superwhisper's Mac app needs macOS 13.3 or later, according to its download page. Aqua's minimum macOS version is not on the pages we read, so check its download page.

## Sources

1. [Aqua Voice Pricing](https://aquavoice.com/pricing), Aqua Voice, checked 2026-11-08
2. [Aqua Voice (homepage)](https://aquavoice.com/), Aqua Voice, checked 2026-11-08
3. [Aqua Voice Reviews (company-published)](https://aquavoice.com/reviews), Aqua Voice, checked 2026-11-08
4. [Superwhisper (homepage)](https://superwhisper.com/), Superwhisper, checked 2026-11-08
5. [Superwhisper Docs](https://superwhisper.com/docs), Superwhisper, checked 2026-11-08
6. [Superwhisper Download](https://superwhisper.com/download), Superwhisper, checked 2026-11-08
7. [Superwhisper Privacy Policy](https://superwhisper.com/privacy), Superwhisper, checked 2026-11-08
8. [Superwhisper Refund Policy](https://superwhisper.com/refund), Superwhisper, checked 2026-11-08
9. [Aqua Voice on Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/products/aqua/reviews), Product Hunt, checked 2026-11-08
10. [Superwhisper on Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/products/superwhisper/reviews), Product Hunt, checked 2026-11-08
11. [tl;dv: An Honest SuperWhisper Review](https://tldv.io/blog/superwhisper-review/), tl;dv, checked 2026-11-08
12. [Comparing Speech and Keyboard Text Entry for Short Messages in Two Languages on Touchscreen Phones](https://arxiv.org/abs/1608.07323), arXiv, checked 2026-11-08
13. [TypeCRT Typing Research: The Evidence Base](https://typecrt.com/docs/research), TypeCRT, checked 2026-11-08
14. [Lazur website](https://www.lazur.app), Lazur, checked 2026-11-05