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. Shadow: A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
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 Shadow when privacy-conscious teams that prefer on-device transcription matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
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 bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant.
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
Shadow is a bot-free AI meeting assistant for macOS that captures meetings by listening to your computer's audio in the background rather than joining the call as a visible participant. Because transcription runs locally on the Mac, the audio does not need to leave the device for that core processing step, which the company positions as a privacy advantage. Shadow can automatically detect when a meeting starts, transcribe the conversation with speaker identification, and turn the discussion into structured notes, summaries, and follow-up items. It also captures on-screen content alongside the spoken audio, so material shared during a call (slides, dashboards, or shared windows) can be reflected in the output. The tool works across common conferencing platforms including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, Slack, and Discord. Users can configure customizable prompts (described as Skills) to generate notes, summaries, or drafted emails, and connect outputs to other tools via webhooks. It is aimed at professionals and teams who want meeting capture without adding another bot to the call. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Aqua Voice is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Shadow is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Aqua Voice | Shadow |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | System-wide dictation that inserts text into any focused app (Gmail, Docs, Slack, code editors, AI chats) | Bot-free capture that records system audio without joining the meeting as a participant |
| Standout feature | Avalon proprietary speech-to-text model tuned for technical vocabulary, code, and prompt-style speech | On-device (local) transcription on macOS |
| Team usage | Custom dictionary for names, brands, and technical terms | Speaker identification during transcription |
| Integrations | Natural-language editing commands like 'make this a list' or 'rephrase that' mid-dictation | Captures on-screen content in addition to spoken audio |
| Languages & capture | Context awareness of on-screen content, including code syntax | Customizable prompts/Skills to generate notes, summaries, and emails |
| Best-fit workflow | Multilingual input across dozens of languages | Webhook integration to connect outputs to other tools |
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.
Shadow
Choose Shadow if you need capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining — strengths include does not add a visible bot to meetings.
Aqua Voice
Shadow
It depends on your workflow. Aqua Voice is strong for dictating emails, documents, and slack messages hands-free across desktop apps, while Shadow is strong for capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Aqua Voice is a free tier with paid upgrades and Shadow 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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