See the difference, live
Aqua Voice refines your words as you speak: punctuation, formatting, and technical terms landed in real time.
Aqua Voice vs Superwhisper summary
Aqua Voice and Superwhisper are both dictation apps for Mac, Windows, and iPhone. The difference is architecture: Superwhisper runs speech models on-device for privacy and offline use, while Aqua runs its own model, Avalon, in the cloud for real-time speed and published accuracy (97.4% on technical terms; #1 proprietary on the OpenASR leaderboard at its October 2025 debut). Superwhisper offers a $249.99 lifetime license; Aqua Pro is $10/month billed annually.
You dictate code, AI prompts, or technical terms; you want accuracy you can verify against public benchmarks; you want real-time streaming and screen-context awareness using a model hosted on managed servers.
Keeping your audio fully on-device is non-negotiable; you want to work offline; you'd rather pay once for a lifetime license; you need a language outside our 49; or you want to bring your own model.
Why we built our own speech model
When we started dictating code and AI prompts, the off-the-shelf speech models most dictation tools build on kept mangling technical terms. They're good for everyday speech, but they weren't trained for the vocabulary we use all day.
Generic, off-the-shelf models we tested would turn "Claude Code" into "clawed code," "git checkout" into "get check out," and "kubectl" into various things.
So we built our own model, Avalon. Not because we wanted to. Training speech models is hard and expensive. But off-the-shelf models weren't good enough for how we work.
The numbers
We built AISpeak-10, a benchmark of real clips of developers and AI researchers talking naturally, and measured both models on it:
| Model | Accuracy |
|---|---|
| Avalon (ours) | 97.4% |
| Whisper Large v3 | 65.1% |
On standard speech benchmarks ( OpenASR), Avalon also outperforms Whisper Large v3 across the benchmark suite. Whisper is one of the open models you can run on-device in Superwhisper; this compares Avalon to it on the vocabulary that matters most to developers and power users. Try Aqua Voice free.
AISpeak-10 is Aqua’s English technical-speech dataset. Avalon transcribed the key term correctly in 97.4% of clips, versus 65.1% for Whisper Large v3. This measures key-term recognition, not overall transcript accuracy or a head-to-head test of these apps. See the evaluation and results.
Aqua Voice vs Superwhisper: Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | Aqua Voice | Superwhisper |
|---|---|---|
| Speech model | Avalon (own, purpose-trained) | Local, included Pro cloud, or BYOK |
| Processing | Cloud (server-side) | Local or cloud, by mode |
| Public benchmark | #1 proprietary on OpenASR (Oct 2025 debut) | Model benchmarks in its documentation |
| Technical-term accuracy | 97.4% (AISpeak-10, our benchmark) | Depends on chosen model |
| Real-time output | ✅ Streams as you speak | ✅ (Pro realtime) |
| Screen-context awareness | ✅ | ✅ (Pro context features) |
| Works offline | ❌ (cloud) | ✅ (on-device) |
| Mac/Windows/iPhone | ✅ | ✅ |
| Languages | 49 | 100+ |
| Lifetime license | ❌ | ✅ $249.99 |
| Android | ✅ | Available on Android phones |
| Pro, monthly billing | $12/month | $8.49/month |
| Pro, annual billing | $120/year ($10/month) | $84.99/year (about $7.08/month) |
| Developer API | Avalon API ($0.39/hr) | BYOK, CLI and MCP tools |
| Security model | Cloud; SOC 2 Type II audit report, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA | Audio stays local in local mode |
| Best for | Accuracy, real-time, technical/AI users | On-device privacy, lifetime pricing |
Speech model
Processing
Public benchmark
Technical-term accuracy
Real-time output
Screen-context awareness
Works offline
Mac/Windows/iPhone
Languages
Lifetime license
Android
Pro, monthly billing
Pro, annual billing
Developer API
Security model
Best for
Where Aqua Voice is better
Published, verifiable accuracy
Avalon ranked #1 among proprietary systems on the public OpenASR leaderboard at its October 2025 debut (#6 overall), and scores 97.4% on our AISpeak-10 benchmark. You can check the numbers yourself. Superwhisper documents its own model benchmarks; those are separate tests, not a controlled app-to-app result.
Real-time speed
Avalon runs server-side, so it streams text as you speak using a model hosted on managed servers. On-device tools are gated by your device's hardware, the more accurate the local model, the slower it goes.
Screen-context awareness
The desktop app reads the active window to match what you're doing, code-aware in your editor, casual in Messages. Superwhisper also offers context features on Pro, including selected text and clipboard input.
Technical and AI vocabulary
If you dictate code, prompts, terminal commands, or framework names, Avalon was trained for exactly that. It's the core of why we built our own model.
A model developers can build on
The same model is available through the Avalon API, OpenAI-compatible, at $0.39/hour of audio. Superwhisper provides local and cloud models and also supports external API keys.
Where Superwhisper has the edge
Superwhisper runs on-device by default, so your audio stays on your device and works offline. If keeping audio fully local is non-negotiable, that's a real advantage Aqua doesn't offer.
It also sells a one-time lifetime license ($249.99), supports more languages (100+ vs our 49), and lets you bring your own model (BYOK). It has a devoted Mac power-user community. If any of those is what you're optimizing for, Superwhisper is the honest pick.
What speech model does Superwhisper use?
Superwhisper doesn't run a single speech model. It lets you choose: a selection of models run on-device (including open Whisper-based models), Pro includes cloud models, and you can also bring your own API key (BYOK). That flexibility is the point, and it's why your accuracy and speed depend on which model you pick and how powerful your device is.
We took the opposite path. We trained one model, Avalon, specifically for the speech developers and technical users produce daily, and we run it server-side so it can be larger and more capable than what fits on a laptop. The tradeoff is honest: your audio is processed in the cloud rather than staying on your device.
You can see exactly how Avalon performs on the OpenASR leaderboard and access it directly through our API. When a model's benchmarks are public, you can verify the accuracy claims yourself.
Cloud real-time vs on-device privacy
Superwhisper processes audio on your device by default. That's genuinely better for privacy, your audio never leaves the machine, and it works with no internet connection. On-device, the more accurate models run slower the bigger they get, so speed depends on your hardware; you can instead use included Pro cloud models or bring your own key, at the cost of sending audio off-device.
Aqua processes audio in the cloud. The cost is that you need an internet connection and your audio is sent to our servers (we have a SOC 2 Type II audit report and are ISO 27001 certified and GDPR and HIPAA compliant, and Business lets you apply Privacy Mode across your team). The benefit is real-time streaming on a large model that no laptop can match, plus screen-context awareness, the app reads the active window so it knows you're saying programming terms in your editor and casual text in Messages.
Superwhisper offers local and cloud modes, with realtime and context features on Pro. Aqua uses its own cloud model; compare the exact modes you intend to use.
How to decide
Try both. They're both free to start.
If you work primarily with code or AI tools and care about accuracy you can verify, you'll notice Avalon quickly, especially on technical terms and real-time streaming.
If keeping your audio fully on-device matters more than anything, or you'd rather pay once for a lifetime license, Superwhisper is the better fit.
Spend 10 minutes with each, dictating what you actually type day-to-day. The right choice will be obvious.
Or just ask ChatGPT .
Frequently asked questions
Is Aqua Voice better than Superwhisper?
It depends on your workflow and selected mode. Aqua Voice runs its own model, Avalon, in the cloud with real-time streaming, screen-context awareness, and independent accuracy benchmarks you can verify. Superwhisper offers local and cloud models. Its local modes support offline use; accuracy and speed depend on the selected model and processing mode. If you dictate code, AI prompts, or technical terms, Aqua Voice is the stronger choice.
What's the difference between Aqua Voice and Superwhisper?
Aqua Voice trained and runs its own speech model, Avalon, in the cloud, which enables real-time streaming, screen-context awareness, and a larger, more accurate model than most laptops can run locally. Superwhisper offers local models and included cloud models on Pro. Aqua optimizes for accuracy and speed you can verify; Superwhisper lets you choose local or cloud processing. Both work on Mac, Windows, and iPhone.
Is Aqua Voice more accurate than Superwhisper?
Aqua publishes model-level results for Avalon, and Superwhisper publishes model benchmarks in its documentation. These are separate evaluations, not a controlled comparison of the two apps. Superwhisper supports multiple local and cloud models, so test the mode you would use with your own vocabulary.
What speech model does Aqua Voice use?
Aqua Voice runs Avalon, a model we trained ourselves for technical and AI vocabulary, instead of bundling a general off-the-shelf model. It runs server-side, so it can be larger and more capable than a model that fits on a laptop, and we publish its results on the public OpenASR leaderboard. Developers can use the same model through the Avalon API.
Is Aqua Voice private and secure?
Yes. Aqua Voice has a SOC 2 Type II audit report and is ISO 27001 certified, so our security practices are independently audited. It is also GDPR and HIPAA compliant, and Business lets you apply Privacy Mode across your team. Aqua processes audio in the cloud to run the Avalon model rather than on your device, so most users get independently audited cloud security plus accuracy they can verify. If you need audio to never leave your machine at all, a fully on-device tool is the alternative.
How much does Aqua Voice cost?
Free includes 1,000 words. With annual billing, Pro is $10 per month for unlimited dictation, Max is $19 per month, and Business is $19 per seat per month with a minimum of 2 seats. Students get 70% off Pro and Max with an eligible school email address.
Does Aqua Voice work on Windows, iPhone, and Android?
Yes. Aqua Voice runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android, and one subscription covers all your devices. On iPhone it installs as a custom keyboard, so you can dictate directly into any app.
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 actually produce, reaching 97.4% accuracy on technical terms like programming keywords, framework names, and CLI commands. The desktop app also reads the active window for context, code-aware in your editor and casual in Messages, and the same model is available to developers through the Avalon API.
