Superwhisper is one of the most capable dictation apps on the Mac, and it earned that reputation honestly. It can run speech recognition entirely on your device, it offers a genuine free tier, and it gives power users a level of control that few competitors match. If you are here, you have likely tried it — and you are weighing whether it is the right long-term home for your dictation, or whether something simpler and more clearly private would serve you better.
Here is the honest framing. Superwhisper is a strong product, and for a specific kind of user it is excellent. But a growing number of Mac users are searching for a Superwhisper alternative for two related reasons: the privacy story is more conditional than it first appears, and the setup asks more of you than many people want to give. This comparison looks at both apps fairly — how they process your voice, how they clean up your speech, and where your data actually ends up — so you can choose the one that fits your work.
What Superwhisper Does Well
Let us give credit where it is due, because Superwhisper deserves it.
- On-device transcription. Superwhisper can download a Whisper model to your Mac and transcribe entirely offline. In that mode, your audio never leaves your computer. For anyone who wants true local processing, this is a real, meaningful strength.
- Model choice. You can pick from several model sizes and engines — from small, fast models up to Whisper large-v3 running locally on Apple Silicon, plus NVIDIA’s Parakeet for English-heavy workflows. Different jobs, different trade-offs.
- A usable free tier. Voice-to-text in any app, 100+ languages, and unlimited use of the smaller models cost nothing. That is generous.
- Deep customization. Custom modes, custom prompts, and configurable behavior per app appeal to tinkerers who want to shape the tool around a specific workflow.
- Works system-wide. Like Dikto, it dictates into virtually any app on macOS, not just a single editor.
If you want maximum control and you are willing to configure it, Superwhisper delivers. The question is what the defaults do, and what happens the moment you reach for its best output.
The Catch: Privacy That Depends on Your Configuration
This is the part that matters most, and it is easy to miss. Superwhisper can be very private. Whether it is private depends entirely on how you set it up and whether you keep it that way.
1. The privacy guarantee only holds in local mode. Offline transcription protects your audio — but only when you have deliberately chosen a local model and stuck with it. The moment you switch to a cloud mode for higher accuracy, your audio is sent to external servers, typically routed through Superwhisper’s proxy infrastructure and cloud AI providers. The best-accuracy cloud path is not the private one.
2. AI cleanup pulls you toward the cloud. The feature that turns raw, rambling speech into clean, send-ready text — removing filler, fixing punctuation, restructuring sentences — is where dictation apps earn their keep in 2026. Superwhisper’s more capable AI processing leans on cloud language models. So the very thing that makes dictation feel finished is also the thing most likely to send your words off-device, and typically to US infrastructure.
3. Audio is saved by default. Superwhisper stores your recordings locally by default, and there is no simple opt-out to stop it from keeping them. That is a footgun for anyone dictating sensitive material who assumed nothing was being retained.
4. Configuration is on you. Choosing the right model, keeping local mode selected, understanding which features route to the cloud — the burden of getting privacy right sits with the user. For power users, that control is the appeal. For most professionals, it is exactly the kind of setup they would rather not have to audit.
None of this makes Superwhisper a bad app. It makes it a conditional one: private if you configure it carefully, private only until you want its best cloud-powered output.
Why Jurisdiction Is the Real Question
Here is the structural point. Run Superwhisper fully local and your audio stays on your Mac — excellent. But the instant you want cloud-grade accuracy or cloud AI cleanup, your voice travels to US-based infrastructure, and that places it under the US CLOUD Act, which can compel American providers to hand over data they hold, regardless of where the customer lives.
For a European professional — or anyone handling client, patient, or legal material — that trade-off is not abstract. You end up choosing between two things you should not have to choose between: the convenience of cloud AI cleanup, and keeping your voice under European law. The right question is not only “is it local?” but “when it isn’t local, whose laws apply?”
Dikto: Cloud AI Cleanup with a Documented Data Path
Dikto is a dedicated macOS dictation app operated by a French company. Audio travels through its Scaleway-hosted backend to Mistral AI’s Voxtral service for transcription; text and prompts may also be sent to Mistral AI for cleanup and other AI actions. Dikto does not intentionally persist raw recordings or full transcripts in its application database. Provider retention, training controls, and processing locations depend on the applicable Mistral plan and settings, and some functions or subprocessors may involve temporary processing outside the EU. See the privacy policy for current details.
1. Automatic AI Cleanup, on Every Dictation
Dikto runs your transcription through a language model that strips hesitations, fixes grammar, adds intelligent punctuation, and restructures speech into clean prose — by default, not as a mode you have to find.
You say: “Um so for the Mercier file we have, how do I put this, two outstanding issues, the first one is the deadline”
Dikto produces: “For the Mercier file, we have two outstanding issues. The first concerns the deadline.”
Ready to send on the first pass.
2. Documented Privacy Practices
Dikto does not intentionally save raw recordings or full transcripts in its application database. Provider-side retention, training controls, and processing locations depend on Mistral’s plan and settings, so Dikto documents the distinction instead of promising an EU-only or zero-retention path.
3. Voice Translation Built In
Dictate in one language and get the text in another, across 30+ languages. Speak in French, send in English or German, without a detour through a separate translator.
4. Strong European-Language Accuracy
Dikto supports French, German, Spanish, Italian, and many other languages through Mistral AI. Accuracy varies with language, microphone quality, accent, and specialist vocabulary, so test important workflows with representative material.
5. AI Tools Beyond Dictation
Rewrite a paragraph in a different tone, summarize a long block, or correct existing text. The AI tools work on any selected text, not only what you just dictated.
6. Simple by Design
One shortcut: press to start, speak, press to stop. No model downloads to manage, no engine to choose, no privacy configuration to audit. It just works everywhere on your Mac.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Criteria | Superwhisper | Dikto |
|---|---|---|
| On-device transcription | Yes (local models) | No (Scaleway + Mistral cloud) |
| AI text cleanup | Best modes are cloud | Yes, by default |
| Privacy by default | Conditional (must choose local) | Dikto DB minimizes voice/transcript storage; provider-dependent |
| Audio retention | Saved by default, no easy opt-out | No intentional storage in Dikto DB; provider-dependent |
| Cloud processing location | US (proxy / cloud AI) | Scaleway + Mistral; see privacy policy |
| Legal context (cloud) | US operator (CLOUD Act may apply) | French operator; provider chain may span other locations |
| Voice translation | Limited | 30+ languages |
| Setup effort | High (models, modes, prompts) | Minimal |
| Platforms | macOS, iOS | macOS (iOS in preparation) |
| Price | Free tier; ~$8.49/mo, $84.99/yr | 9 EUR/mo or 89 EUR/year |
| Free plan | Free tier + paid plans | Ongoing; higher limits for first 7 days; no credit card |
A fair note: if your priority is running everything fully offline with no cloud involvement at all, Superwhisper’s local mode is a legitimate strength that Dikto does not try to match. Dikto instead uses cloud transcription and cleanup through the provider chain described in its privacy policy.
A Word on Pricing
Both apps are affordable, and pricing is not where this decision should turn. Superwhisper offers a free tier and paid plans around $8.49/month or $84.99/year, comparable to Dikto’s 9 EUR/month or 89 EUR/year. Superwhisper has historically offered a one-time lifetime licence, which was attractive; note that its lifetime price was raised significantly in 2026, so if a cheap lifetime deal was part of your reasoning, that math has changed. The point is not that one is cheaper — it is what each subscription places under which legal system.
Who Should Stay on Superwhisper
Be honest about your needs:
- You want transcription that runs fully offline, with audio that never touches any server, and you are happy to configure and maintain that.
- You are a power user who enjoys choosing models, writing custom prompts, and tuning behavior per app.
- You do English-heavy work and want Parakeet’s local speed, or you specifically want on-device Whisper large-v3.
For that profile, Superwhisper is an excellent, deep tool.
Who Should Switch to Dikto
Dikto is the clearer choice when you want polished output without the trade-offs:
- You want cloud-grade AI cleanup — send-ready text on the first pass — but not your voice sitting under US law.
- You value simplicity — one shortcut, sensible defaults, no privacy checklist to audit.
- You are a European professional with GDPR obligations you take seriously — lawyers, clinicians, consultants, anyone handling confidential material.
- You dictate in more than one language and want translation built in.
How to Switch
- Download Dikto from dikto.ai — under a minute to install.
- Start free — ongoing free plan, higher daily limits for the first 7 days, no credit card.
- Set your shortcut — press once to start, speak, press again to stop.
- Compare the same dictation in both apps. Evaluate output quality, setup, and the cloud-provider terms and settings that apply to each workflow.
Conclusion
Superwhisper is a genuinely impressive app, and for the offline-first power user it is hard to beat. But its privacy is conditional — true only while you stay local — and the moment you want its best cloud-powered cleanup, your voice leaves your Mac for US infrastructure. For many people, that is a trade they did not realise they were making.
Dikto’s answer is a France-based product, a documented Scaleway-and-Mistral data path, and no intentional raw-recording or full-transcript storage in Dikto’s application database. Provider-side handling still depends on Mistral’s plan and settings, so review the privacy policy before regulated or highly sensitive use.