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. ScribeBuddy: AI transcription and subtitle tool that converts audio and video to text, generates subtitles, and translates across many languages. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Amical when dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting matters most, and ScribeBuddy when generating multilingual subtitles for podcasts and video content matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
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.
AI transcription and subtitle tool that converts audio and video to text, generates subtitles, and translates across many languages.
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
ScribeBuddy is an AI-powered transcription platform that converts audio and video content into text and subtitles across more than one hundred languages. Users upload recordings or capture live speech, and ScribeBuddy returns a transcript with speaker recognition and timestamps, which can then be summarized, translated, or turned into subtitle files for accessibility and wider reach. The service is positioned for a broad range of source material, including video files, podcasts, meetings and interviews, lectures, voice memos, and YouTube videos, making it relevant to creators as well as professionals who need records of conversations. Beyond core transcription, ScribeBuddy offers AI summaries that distill key information from a recording, real-time live transcription, and translation into a large set of languages so the same content can be repurposed for international audiences. It is available across platforms including iPhone, Android, Mac, and Windows. ScribeBuddy provides a free option for short files alongside pay-as-you-go and paid plans, lowering the barrier for individuals to try the tool before committing while still scaling to larger transcription and subtitling workloads for teams handling meetings, interviews, and media content. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Amical is open source (open source); ScribeBuddy is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Amical | ScribeBuddy |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local speech-to-text transcription powered by OpenAI Whisper | AI transcription of audio and video with speaker recognition and timestamps |
| Standout feature | On-device LLM processing via Ollama, with a cloud fallback option | Subtitle generation for accessibility and content repurposing |
| Team usage | Context-aware formatting that adapts tone to the active app (email, chat, IDE, terminal) | Translation across a large set of languages |
| Integrations | Multi-language and mixed-language dictation support | AI summaries that distill key information from recordings |
| Languages & capture | Custom vocabulary for domain-specific terms and configurable hotkeys | Real-time live transcription of speech |
| Best-fit workflow | Smart voice notes with summaries and task generation (in development) | Cross-platform availability on iPhone, Android, Mac, and Windows |
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.
ScribeBuddy
Choose ScribeBuddy if you need transcribing meetings and interviews into searchable text — strengths include handles meetings, interviews, podcasts, and lectures in one tool.
Amical
ScribeBuddy
It depends on your workflow. Amical is strong for dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting, while ScribeBuddy is strong for transcribing meetings and interviews into searchable text. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Amical is open source and ScribeBuddy is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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