Amical: Amical is an open-source, local-first AI dictation and voice-notes app that transcribes speech to text on your own machine using Whisper and open-source LLMs. Nota: Nota is an AI note-taking and voice app for Apple devices that transcribes speech in real time and uses AI to refine, summarize, and reshape your notes. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Amical when dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting matters most, and Nota when capturing voice brain dumps and ideas on the go, including from an apple watch matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
Amical is an open-source, local-first AI dictation and voice-notes app that transcribes speech to text on your own machine using Whisper and open-source LLMs.
Nota is an AI note-taking and voice app for Apple devices that transcribes speech in real time and uses AI to refine, summarize, and reshape your notes.
Amical is an open-source, MIT-licensed AI dictation application that turns speech into formatted text directly on your device. It runs OpenAI's Whisper for speech recognition locally and uses open-source LLMs (via Ollama) for intelligent processing, so dictation can work offline once a local model is set up; for machines that can't handle local inference, it offers a cloud fallback. Built with Electron and TypeScript, it runs on Mac and Windows as a desktop app with a floating widget interface and configurable hotkeys. Its standout feature is context-aware formatting: it detects the active application and adapts tone and structure accordingly, producing professional text in email, casual phrasing in chat apps, or prompt and command-style output in IDEs and terminals. It supports many languages plus mixed-language dictation, and custom vocabulary for domain-specific terms. Beyond dictation, it is adding smart voice notes with summaries and task generation. It targets privacy-conscious writers, developers, and professionals wanting a free alternative to paid dictation tools.
Best suited for
Nota, made by Hue Network, Inc., is a note-taking and voice-capture app built for the Apple ecosystem. It lets you record voice memos, brain dumps, meetings, and conversations and transcribes them in real time, with multilingual transcription support (the website cites 45 languages). Beyond voice, you can type in a clean editor, sketch with Apple Pencil, or scan documents, whiteboards, business cards, and receipts using OCR. Built-in AI assists let you rewrite, expand, summarize, clarify, polish, and reshape selected text, and users can choose between available models (Gemini, Claude, or OpenAI) or bring their own key. It runs across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, with dictation supported directly from the watch. A free tier offers unlimited local notes, voice capture, AI, and drawing on-device with no account required; a Pro subscription adds cloud sync across devices, higher AI usage limits, more transcription time, and collaboration features. It is aimed at founders, creatives, operators, and anyone who wants flexible thought capture.
Best suited for
Amical is open source (open source); Nota is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Amical | Nota |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local speech-to-text transcription powered by OpenAI Whisper | Real-time multilingual voice transcription (cited at 45 languages) |
| Standout feature | On-device LLM processing via Ollama, with a cloud fallback option | AI assists to rewrite, expand, summarize, clarify, and reshape notes |
| Team usage | Context-aware formatting that adapts tone to the active app (email, chat, IDE, terminal) | Multiple capture modes: voice, typing, Apple Pencil sketching, and OCR scanning |
| Integrations | Multi-language and mixed-language dictation support | Choice of AI models (Gemini, Claude, OpenAI) with bring-your-own-key option |
| Languages & capture | Custom vocabulary for domain-specific terms and configurable hotkeys | Cross-device support across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch |
| Best-fit workflow | Smart voice notes with summaries and task generation (in development) | Cloud sync and collaboration on the Pro tier |
Amical
Choose Amical if you need dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting — strengths include fully open source (mit) and actively maintained with frequent releases.
Nota
Choose Nota if you need recording and transcribing in-person meetings and conversations — strengths include free tier works fully on-device with no account required.
Amical
Nota
It depends on your workflow. Amical is strong for dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting, while Nota is strong for recording and transcribing in-person meetings and conversations. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Amical is open source and Nota is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
You can — some teams pair them when each covers a different part of the meeting workflow.
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