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. OpenTranscribe: Self-hosted, containerized web app for transcribing and analyzing audio/video with WhisperX, speaker diarization, search, and collaboration. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Amical when dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting matters most, and OpenTranscribe when collaborative review of transcripts with time-stamped annotations matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
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.
Self-hosted, containerized web app for transcribing and analyzing audio/video with WhisperX, speaker diarization, search, and collaboration.
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
OpenTranscribe is a self-hosted, containerized web application for transcribing and analyzing audio and video files using current AI models. It is built with a FastAPI backend, a Svelte/TypeScript progressive web app frontend, and a Docker-based stack that includes PostgreSQL, Redis/Celery task queues, MinIO object storage, and OpenSearch for full-text indexing. Transcription is handled by WhisperX with the large-v3-turbo model and Faster-Whisper, supporting more than 100 languages, while automatic speaker diarization uses PyAnnote v4 with overlap detection. The project is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and is actively maintained, with v0.4.1 released in April 2026. Beyond transcription, OpenTranscribe provides AI-powered summarization (including BLUF-format and custom JSON schemas), topic extraction, and content analysis through multiple LLM providers such as OpenAI, Claude, vLLM, Ollama, and OpenRouter. Collaboration features include time-stamped comments and annotations, and the platform can automatically import media from local folders, S3, and SMB shares. It also supports a set of cloud ASR providers as alternatives to local transcription, giving teams flexibility between fully local processing and managed services while keeping the application running on their own infrastructure. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Amical is open source (open source); OpenTranscribe is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Amical | OpenTranscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local speech-to-text transcription powered by OpenAI Whisper | WhisperX transcription with large-v3-turbo and 100+ language support |
| Standout feature | On-device LLM processing via Ollama, with a cloud fallback option | Automatic speaker diarization via PyAnnote v4 with overlap detection |
| Team usage | Context-aware formatting that adapts tone to the active app (email, chat, IDE, terminal) | Full-text search and filtering powered by OpenSearch |
| Integrations | Multi-language and mixed-language dictation support | AI summarization, topic extraction, and content analysis via multiple LLM providers |
| Languages & capture | Custom vocabulary for domain-specific terms and configurable hotkeys | Time-stamped comments for collaboration and annotation |
| Best-fit workflow | Smart voice notes with summaries and task generation (in development) | Auto-import from local folders, S3, and SMB shares |
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.
OpenTranscribe
Choose OpenTranscribe if you need teams self-hosting a searchable archive of transcribed meeting and media recordings — strengths include fully self-hosted web app with a complete transcription-and-analysis stack.
Amical
OpenTranscribe
It depends on your workflow. Amical is strong for dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting, while OpenTranscribe is strong for teams self-hosting a searchable archive of transcribed meeting and media recordings. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Amical is open source and OpenTranscribe is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Often yes: teams combine tools when one handles capture and another handles analysis.
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