Aqua Voice vs Loqua summary
Aqua Voice and Loqua are close cousins: both put real-time, cloud dictation behind a global hotkey, clean up your speech, and plug into your tools. The differences are price, platforms, and proof. Aqua Voice is $8/month on Mac, Windows, and iPhone, running its own model, Avalon, with published, independently validated accuracy (97.3% on technical terms). Loqua is a newer macOS-only app at $18-22/month that describes a proprietary engine but publishes no benchmarks.
Two takes on the same idea
Loqua and Aqua Voice pitch nearly the same thing: press a hotkey, talk, and get clean, formatted text in whatever app you're in, with filler words removed, structure added, and a dictionary that learns your terms. If you've used one, the other feels familiar.
So the comparison comes down to three things: what it costs, where it runs, and whether you can verify the accuracy. That's where they diverge.
Accuracy you can verify
Aqua Voice publishes its accuracy and Loqua doesn't. Avalon ranked #1 among proprietary systems on the public OpenASR leaderboard at its October 2025 debut and scores 97.3% on AISpeak, our benchmark of AI and technical terms. Independent reviewers have checked it too: 9to5Mac measured Aqua at 1 error to Apple Dictation's 17 on the same passage.
Loqua describes a proprietary voice AI engine, but it hasn't published benchmarks or independent tests. That doesn't mean it's inaccurate, just that there's no public number to verify, where Aqua's results are out in the open for you to check.
You can see Avalon's results on the OpenASR leaderboard and read more in our Avalon write-up. Try Aqua Voice free.
Where Loqua wins
Named dev-tool integrations. Loqua advertises tailored integrations with VS Code, Terminal, GitHub, Linear, Raycast, Figma, Notion, and Slack. Aqua Voice works system-wide in any app rather than through named hooks, so if you specifically want those tailored integrations, Loqua has them.
A more generous free tier. Loqua's free plan includes 8,000 words per week, versus Aqua Voice's 1,000 lifetime words on the free Starter plan. If you want to use a free tier heavily before paying, Loqua's is larger.
Translation breadth. Loqua advertises translation into nearly 100 languages. Aqua Voice supports 49 languages. If wide language and translation coverage matters most, Loqua has the edge.
Where Aqua Voice is better
Lower price
Aqua Voice Pro is $8/month billed annually. Loqua Pro is $18/month billed yearly, or $22/month monthly, roughly two to three times the cost for the same core job.
Cross-platform today
Aqua Voice runs on Mac, Windows, and iPhone right now, on one subscription. Loqua is macOS-only, with Windows, iOS, and Android listed as coming soon.
Accuracy you can verify
Avalon's results are public: #1 among proprietary systems on the OpenASR leaderboard at its October 2025 debut, 97.3% on AISpeak, and an independent 9to5Mac test. Loqua describes a proprietary engine but publishes no benchmarks.
A track record and a developer API
Aqua Voice is an established product, and the same model is available through the Avalon API, OpenAI-compatible, at $0.39/hour of audio. Loqua is a newer, lightly documented entrant.
Screen-context awareness
The desktop app reads the active window to match what you're doing, code-aware in your editor, casual in Messages, so output fits the app you're dictating into.
Aqua Voice vs Loqua: Feature-by-feature comparison
Aqua Voice
Loqua
Speech model
Avalon (own, benchmarked publicly)
Proprietary engine (Loqua's claim, no benchmarks)
Public benchmark
#1 proprietary on OpenASR (Oct 2025 debut)
None published
Technical-term accuracy
97.3% (AISpeak, our benchmark)
Not published
Independent test
✅ 9to5Mac (1 error vs Apple's 17)
None published
Mac
✅
✅
Windows / iPhone
✅ Available now
Coming soon (per Loqua)
Languages
49
~100 (translation)
Dev-tool integrations
System-wide in any app + Avalon API
Named: VS Code, GitHub, Linear, etc.
Free tier
1,000 lifetime words
8,000 words/week
Pro price
$8/mo ($96/yr)
$18/mo yearly, $22/mo monthly
Best for
Value, cross-platform, verifiable accuracy
Named integrations, big free tier, macOS
How to decide
Pick Aqua Voice if: You want to pay less ($8/month vs $18-22); you need dictation on Windows or iPhone today, not just Mac; you want accuracy you can verify against public benchmarks and independent tests; or you want a developer API and a proven track record.
Pick Loqua if: You want its specific named integrations (VS Code, GitHub, Linear, Raycast, and the rest); you'll lean on a large free tier (8,000 words/week); you need translation across nearly 100 languages; and you're happy on macOS for now.
Aqua Voice is free to start, so you can compare it on the words you actually dictate before paying.
Or just ask ChatGPT.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aqua Voice a good Loqua alternative?
Yes. They share the same idea, a global hotkey that turns real-time speech into clean text in any app, but Aqua Voice is cheaper ($8/month vs Loqua's $18-22/month), runs on Mac, Windows, and iPhone today, and publishes independently verified accuracy. Loqua has deeper named dev-tool integrations and a more generous free tier. If price, cross-platform support, and proven accuracy matter most, Aqua Voice is the stronger pick.
What's the difference between Aqua Voice and Loqua?
Both are real-time cloud dictation apps with cleanup and editor integrations. Aqua Voice runs Avalon, its own model with published, independently validated benchmarks, on Mac, Windows, and iPhone, for $8/month. Loqua is a newer, macOS-only app ($18-22/month) that describes a proprietary engine but publishes no benchmarks, with Windows, iOS, and Android listed as coming soon.
Is Aqua Voice more accurate than Loqua?
Aqua Voice publishes its accuracy and Loqua doesn't. Avalon ranked #1 among proprietary systems on the public OpenASR leaderboard at its October 2025 debut and scores 97.3% on AISpeak, our benchmark of AI and technical terms, and Aqua's accuracy has been validated independently (9to5Mac measured 1 error to Apple Dictation's 17). Loqua describes a proprietary engine but publishes no benchmarks, so there's no public number to verify.
Is Aqua Voice cheaper than Loqua?
Yes. Aqua Voice Pro is $8/month billed annually ($96/year). Loqua Pro is $18/month billed yearly, or $22/month billed monthly, roughly two to three times the price. Loqua's free tier is more generous, though: 8,000 words per week versus Aqua Voice's 1,000 lifetime words on the free Starter plan.
Does Aqua Voice work on Windows and iPhone?
Yes, today. Aqua Voice runs on Mac, Windows, and iPhone on one subscription. Loqua is macOS-only right now, with Windows, iOS, and Android listed as coming soon. If you need dictation beyond a Mac now, Aqua Voice is the cross-platform option.
Does Aqua Voice work with editors and dev tools?
Yes. Aqua Voice works system-wide in any app, your editor, terminal, Slack, email, anywhere you can type, and the desktop app reads the active window for context. Loqua advertises specific named integrations (VS Code, Terminal, GitHub, Linear, Raycast, Figma, Notion, Slack), which is a real strength if you want those tailored hooks. Aqua Voice also offers the Avalon API so developers can build on the model directly.
Is Aqua Voice good for coding and AI prompting?
Yes, it's what Aqua Voice is built for. Avalon was trained on the speech developers and AI users produce, reaching 97.3% accuracy on technical terms like programming keywords, framework names, and CLI commands. It also reads the active app for context and offers the Avalon API for developers.
Why choose Aqua Voice over a newer tool like Loqua?
Aqua Voice has a track record and accuracy you can check: a published OpenASR result, a 97.3% AISpeak score, an independent 9to5Mac test, and a developer API. Loqua is a promising newer entrant, but it's macOS-only today and hasn't published benchmarks for its proprietary engine. Aqua Voice is also cheaper and already cross-platform.