Comparison · Checked
A Willow Voice alternative where every word stays on your device.
Willow is a polished dictation app with AI writing help, a custom dictionary and a free plan. It runs on cloud servers, with an offline mode on the device. Yap recognizes every dictation on your device and has no cloud step at all, on Android too. Here’s how they compare, and when Willow is the better pick.
The main difference
Where your speech goes.
Willow Voice: in the cloud, with an offline mode
- Its security page says: “Willow runs on secure cloud infrastructure in the United States.”
- Its home page also offers an offline mode: “Dictate without an internet connection, powered entirely by your device.” It does not say which features or languages work offline.
- Its privacy policy says: “In Private Mode, Willow does not retain dictated audio, dictated text, or screen content.” Private Mode is on by default, and dictation history is “stored locally on your device for you to view”.
- It reads context from your screen to format text, and Scribe turns rough notes into polished writing.
Source: Willow’s home page, pricing, security page and privacy policy, read Oct 26, 2026.
Yap: on your Mac
- Speech recognition runs on your Mac. Audio is not uploaded to a transcription service.
- Finished text goes to your cursor and into a local History you can copy from or delete.
- After setup, dictation works offline for up to 24 hours after each successful access check. How offline dictation works.
Details: our privacy policy.
Willow Voice and Yap, side by side.
| Feature | Willow Voice | Yap |
|---|---|---|
| Where speech is recognized | On its cloud servers, with an on-device offline mode. Its security page says: “Willow runs on secure cloud infrastructure in the United States.” | On your device: Mac, Windows PC or phone. Audio is not uploaded. |
| Without internet | Has an offline mode: “Dictate without an internet connection, powered entirely by your device.” Its pages do not say what works offline. | Works offline for up to 24 hours after each successful access check. The first launch needs internet. |
| Price | A free Basic plan with a limited dictation model and 20 Scribe uses a week. Pro is $15 USD a month, or $12 USD a month billed annually. | $6.90 USD a month or $69 USD a year, after 3 free days with a free account and no card, and a 10-day trial with a card. No permanent free plan. |
| Devices | Mac, Windows, and iPhone. Android is listed as “Coming soon”. | Apple Silicon Macs (M1 or later) with macOS 13 or later, Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit), iPhone (beta), and Android phones (Android 10 or later, 3 GB of memory or more), on one subscription. No Intel Mac version. |
| Languages | 100+ languages. | Detected from your voice for each recording. On macOS 14 or later, the upgraded engine covers 25 languages; others use compatible local recognition. |
| Tidying and editing | Removes filler words, fixes punctuation and formats for the app you’re in; Scribe rewrites rough notes. Remembers names, product terms, and abbreviations so your words stay accurate. | Removes “um” and “uh” in English, capitalizes sentences and adds a closing period. Spoken commands like “new paragraph” are optional. No AI rewriting. |
| Speed | Says text appears “with text appearing in as little as 200ms”. | A median of 0.56 seconds from releasing the key to finished text on an Apple M5 Pro Mac, about 1.4 seconds on an Apple M2 Pro (our measurement). |
| Your history | Stored on your device. Its privacy policy says history is “stored locally on your device for you to view”. | Kept in a local History on your device, where you can copy or delete it. Up to 5 minutes per recording. |
Willow’s home page, pricing, security page and privacy policy, read Oct 26, 2026. We did not time Willow Voice; how we measured Yap. Yap details reflect the current Mac app.
Being fair
When Willow Voice is the better choice.
Yap does one thing: fast, private dictation that stays on your device. If one of these matters more to you, Willow Voice fits better.
- You want to pay nothing. Willow has a free Basic plan with a limited dictation model and 20 Scribe uses a week. Yap is free for 3 days with a free account and no card, then needs a 10-day trial with a card. It has no permanent free plan.
- You want AI to write for you. Willow’s Scribe turns rough notes into polished writing and matches your tone. Yap writes down what you said, cleaned up lightly.
- You dictate lots of names and jargon. Willow keeps a dictionary of your terms. Yap has no custom dictionary.
- You dictate in a language outside Europe. Willow lists 100+ languages. Yap recognizes 25 languages, English and 24 European languages.
Other Willow Voice alternatives, compared
| App | Best for | Devices | Where speech is recognized | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yap | Private dictation on every device, Android included | Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android | On the device, always | $6.90 a month or $69 a year, after 3 free days |
| Wispr Flow | AI that formats and edits your words | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | In the cloud | Free up to 2,000 words a week on desktop; Pro $15 a month |
| Superwhisper | AI modes and a lifetime license | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | Local models; cloud models in Pro | Free with local Whisper; Pro $8.49 a month or $249.99 once |
| Aqua Voice | Names and jargon, read from your screen | Mac, Windows, iPhone | In the cloud, no offline mode | First 1,000 words free; Pro $10 a month |
| VoiceInk | A one-time purchase, open source | Mac and iPhone | On the device | $25 once for one Mac |
| MacWhisper | Transcribing recordings on a Mac | Mac, iPhone and iPad | On the device | Pro €64 once |
| Handy | Free and open source | Mac, Windows, Linux | On the device | Free |
Prices in USD unless marked, from each app’s own pages. We make Yap. Each name links to our full comparison or, for Handy, to the fact it comes from.
No install, no account
Hear the difference local makes.
This demo downloads a small English speech model into your browser, then turns a sentence of your speech into text inside this tab. Your audio is not uploaded.
It is a separate, smaller model, so it does not represent the Mac app’s speed or accuracy.
Your voice. No app needed.
We’ll guide you through a first-use model download before you speak.
First, a guided download. Then, your voice.
English demo, up to 60 seconds. Audio and text stay in this tab. The model is cached in this browser for next time, while storage is available.
Trying Yap after Willow Voice.
Download and open Yap.
It installs itself in Applications. The setup guide covers microphone and Accessibility access and the one-time speech model download.
Give each app its own shortcut.
Yap listens for Fn by default. If you keep Willow Voice installed, make sure the two apps don’t share a key, or quit Willow Voice while you try Yap.
Dictate where you already write.
Hold Fn, speak, and release. The text lands at your cursor in mail, notes, chats and documents.
Questions people ask.
- Does Willow work offline?
- It has an offline mode: its home page says “Dictate without an internet connection, powered entirely by your device.” Its security page also says “Willow runs on secure cloud infrastructure in the United States.” Yap has no cloud step: every dictation is recognized on your device, and offline use lasts up to 24 hours after each successful access check.
- Is there a Willow app for Android?
- Not yet: its pricing page lists Android as “Coming soon”. Yap runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android with one subscription.
- Is Yap cheaper than Willow?
- Yap costs $6.90 USD a month or $69 USD a year, after 3 free days and a 10-day trial. Willow Pro costs $15 USD a month, or $12 USD a month billed annually. Willow also has a free Basic plan; Yap has no free plan.
- Can I keep Willow installed while I try Yap?
- Yes. If both apps listen for the same shortcut, give each its own first. Yap listens for Fn by default, and you can change it in Settings.
From the library
Dictation Software: How to Choose the Right App
Start with the free dictation already built into your computer or phone, and pay only for what it cannot do: typing in every app, working offline, AI cleanup, a specialist vocabulary or full hands-free control. Four choices decide the rest (on-device or cloud, raw words or AI rewriting, subscription or one-time license, general or specialist), and a short test on your own writing settles the final pick better than any ranking.