Speakhold
Speakhold vs MacWhisper
MacWhisper is a transcription workbench: drop in a file, get text. Speakhold is the other shape: hold a key and talk, or press record on a call, and the text comes to you.
Different jobs
MacWhisper is excellent at files: podcasts, interviews, lecture recordings, batch jobs, with many models, subtitles and export formats. Its dictation and meeting features came later and sit beside that. Speakhold started from the other end: dictation into whatever app is in front, and recording the call you are on right now, with the notes written when it ends. If you have a folder of audio to transcribe, MacWhisper. If you want to type by voice and get minutes without a bot, Speakhold.
Where they differ
| Speakhold | MacWhisper | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, MIT licence | Free tier; Pro is a one-off licence |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Dictation into any app | Yes, hold a chord, left/right-specific | Yes |
| Record a live call, both sides, no bot | Yes, stops itself when the call ends | Meeting transcription in Pro |
| Notes written automatically | Yes, Claude Code on your Mac, your key, or Apple Intelligence | Summaries via AI features |
| Transcribe audio files | No, dictation and live calls only | Yes, its main job: batch, subtitles, many formats |
| Runs on-device | Yes | Yes |
As of October 2026. Corrections welcome via pull request.
Can Speakhold transcribe a file?
Not from the app. The source has a headless flag used for testing that takes two WAV files, but there is no UI for it. MacWhisper is the right tool for files.
Is the model the same?
Both use Whisper family models on Apple Silicon. Speakhold defaults to Large v3 Turbo through WhisperKit and offers Parakeet for long meetings.
Try it
Free · MIT · macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon · brew install --cask sturzael/tap/speakhold
Compared with Willow Voice · Wispr Flow · Superwhisper · MacWhisper · Fireflies · Otter · How to record a call without a bot