Aqua Voice: Aqua Voice is an AI-powered, system-wide voice dictation app that turns speech into refined text in real time across the apps you already use on Mac and iPhone. BB Recorder: A 100% local, no-bot meeting recorder for Mac and iOS that records, transcribes, and summarizes entirely on-device, built by the BuildBetter team. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Aqua Voice when dictating emails, documents, and slack messages hands-free across desktop apps matters most, and BB Recorder when individuals wanting free, unlimited local meeting recording on mac matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
Aqua Voice is an AI-powered, system-wide voice dictation app that turns speech into refined text in real time across the apps you already use on Mac and iPhone.
A 100% local, no-bot meeting recorder for Mac and iOS that records, transcribes, and summarizes entirely on-device, built by the BuildBetter team.
Aqua Voice is an AI dictation tool built by Aqua Voice, Inc. (a Y Combinator startup) that converts spoken words into written text in real time. Rather than a standalone transcription window, it works system-wide: users hold a key (such as Space) and speak, and the dictated text is inserted into whatever app is in focus, including Gmail, Google Docs, Slack, code editors, and AI chat tools. It runs on macOS and iOS, with the iPhone app now live. Aqua is powered by Avalon, the company's proprietary speech-to-text model trained on prompt-style speech, code, and email, and it refines grammar and phrasing as you talk. It supports context awareness of on-screen content, a custom dictionary for technical terms and names, natural-language editing commands ("make this a list," "rephrase that"), style adaptation, and multilingual input across dozens of languages. It is aimed at developers, knowledge workers, and content creators who want a faster alternative to typing for emails, documents, messages, prompts, and code.
Best suited for
BB Recorder is a local-first meeting recorder built by the team behind BuildBetter, designed for people who want meeting capture without any data leaving their device. Rather than dropping a bot into a video call, BB Recorder captures the computer's system audio directly, links to the user's calendar, and turns rough conversation audio into clean transcripts and summaries. Its defining characteristic is that recording, transcription, summarization, and even live AI chat about the meeting can all run locally using on-device models, so there is no server holding the audio or transcripts. The company frames this as making a data breach architecturally impossible because there is no cloud store to compromise, and it points to SOC 2 and HIPAA considerations along with an AI transparency policy. BB Recorder is positioned as a genuinely free, unlimited option for Mac, with no trial tiers or required registration when using local models, and a companion iOS app extends capture to the iPhone. It is aimed at privacy-sensitive professionals, regulated teams, and anyone who wants automatic meeting notes without a visible bot or a cloud transcription pipeline. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Aqua Voice is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); BB Recorder is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Aqua Voice | BB Recorder |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | System-wide dictation that inserts text into any focused app (Gmail, Docs, Slack, code editors, AI chats) | No-bot capture of system audio directly on the device |
| Standout feature | Avalon proprietary speech-to-text model tuned for technical vocabulary, code, and prompt-style speech | Fully on-device recording, transcription, and summarization |
| Team usage | Custom dictionary for names, brands, and technical terms | Local AI chat to ask questions about a captured meeting |
| Integrations | Natural-language editing commands like 'make this a list' or 'rephrase that' mid-dictation | Calendar linking to associate recordings with scheduled meetings |
| Languages & capture | Context awareness of on-screen content, including code syntax | Available for macOS and iOS |
| Best-fit workflow | Multilingual input across dozens of languages | Built by the BuildBetter team with an AI transparency policy |
Aqua Voice
Choose Aqua Voice if you need dictating emails, documents, and slack messages hands-free across desktop apps — strengths include low-friction, system-wide voice input that works inside existing apps with no per-app setup.
BB Recorder
Choose BB Recorder if you need regulated or privacy-sensitive teams that cannot send audio to the cloud — strengths include local-only processing keeps meeting audio and transcripts off external servers.
Aqua Voice
BB Recorder
It depends on your workflow. Aqua Voice is strong for dictating emails, documents, and slack messages hands-free across desktop apps, while BB Recorder is strong for regulated or privacy-sensitive teams that cannot send audio to the cloud. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Aqua Voice is a free tier with paid upgrades and BB Recorder 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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