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. VoicePen: Apple-native AI app that records and transcribes meetings, lectures, and voice memos, then turns them into summaries and rewritten notes. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Amical when dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting matters most, and VoicePen when transcribing lectures and turning them into study notes 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.
Apple-native AI app that records and transcribes meetings, lectures, and voice memos, then turns them into summaries and rewritten 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
VoicePen is a voice-first AI note taker built natively for the Apple ecosystem, running across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. The app records and transcribes spoken audio into text, handling everything from short memos to long lectures, meetings, podcasts, and imported recordings. Once a recording is transcribed, VoicePen uses AI to generate easy-to-read summaries, structured notes, and study materials, and it offers a large set of rewrite options to reformat transcripts into bullet points, professional formats, or more casual styles. It can pull in audio and video from sources such as files, Voice Memos, Zoom recordings, podcasts, and YouTube, and it separates and labels different speakers within a transcript. A chat feature lets users ask questions about the transcribed content to surface key takeaways and action steps. VoicePen supports many languages, includes offline recording, and syncs data through iCloud, positioning itself as a personal second-brain capture tool for individuals who think and work by talking rather than typing. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Amical is open source (open source); VoicePen is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Amical | VoicePen |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local speech-to-text transcription powered by OpenAI Whisper | Records and transcribes meetings, lectures, memos, and imported audio/video |
| Standout feature | On-device LLM processing via Ollama, with a cloud fallback option | AI-generated summaries plus 25+ rewrite and reformatting options |
| Team usage | Context-aware formatting that adapts tone to the active app (email, chat, IDE, terminal) | Speaker separation and labeling within transcripts |
| Integrations | Multi-language and mixed-language dictation support | Chat-with-your-notes Q&A to extract takeaways and action steps |
| Languages & capture | Custom vocabulary for domain-specific terms and configurable hotkeys | Imports from Voice Memos, Zoom recordings, podcasts, YouTube, and files |
| Best-fit workflow | Smart voice notes with summaries and task generation (in development) | Multilingual transcription with offline recording and iCloud sync |
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.
VoicePen
Choose VoicePen if you need capturing and summarizing in-person meetings and 1:1 conversations — strengths include native across iphone, ipad, apple watch, and mac with icloud sync.
Amical
VoicePen
It depends on your workflow. Amical is strong for dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting, while VoicePen is strong for capturing and summarizing in-person meetings and 1:1 conversations. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Amical is open source and VoicePen 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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