BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Dovetail: Customer insights platform that centralizes interviews and feedback, with AI transcription, analysis, search, and a research repository. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist BetterDictation when dictating emails, documents, and notes hands-free across mac apps matters most, and Dovetail when building a searchable repository of customer insights matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application.
Customer insights platform that centralizes interviews and feedback, with AI transcription, analysis, search, and a research repository.
BetterDictation is a system-wide dictation tool for macOS that converts speech into typed text inside any application. Users trigger it with a keyboard shortcut (Option+Space) and can choose push-to-talk or toggle-to-talk modes; the transcribed text is then inserted directly where the cursor sits. It runs OpenAI's Whisper model locally on Apple's Neural Engine, so basic transcription works fully offline and, per the vendor, no audio recordings or transcripts are stored. It supports 100+ languages and applies automatic punctuation. The app requires Apple Silicon (M1 or newer); Intel Macs are not supported. An optional Pro add-on adds stammer correction, automatic formatting, and post-processing of dictations. It is aimed at people who write or capture text frequently, such as founders, engineers, and writers, who want to dictate emails, documents, notes, and messages rather than type them. Because it works across all apps, it can be used to capture spoken notes alongside meetings, though it is a general dictation utility rather than a dedicated meeting-recording assistant.
Best suited for
Dovetail is a customer insights and research platform that centralizes qualitative data from user interviews, sales calls, support tickets, and research studies into a single repository powered by AI. Teams can upload or import interview recordings and let Dovetail handle AI transcription, then analyze the material to turn raw feedback into structured intelligence. Its AI capabilities include automatic analysis, AI chat and search across customer data, AI dashboards that visualize trends alongside business metrics, and AI docs for creating shareable outputs. The research repository organizes studies, transcripts, tags, and highlights so insights remain searchable and reusable across projects, and highlight reels let teams clip and share video evidence of key moments. Dovetail supports transcription in multiple languages and includes redaction of sensitive information for privacy. It connects to other tools through integrations and an API so customer signals can flow across a team's stack. Used by product, design, research, and customer experience teams, Dovetail aims to replace assumption-based decisions with evidence drawn directly from customer conversations and feedback. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
BetterDictation is a free tier with paid upgrades (paid); Dovetail is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | BetterDictation | Dovetail |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | System-wide dictation that inserts text into any macOS application | AI transcription of interview and meeting recordings |
| Standout feature | On-device transcription using OpenAI's Whisper on Apple's Neural Engine | Automatic analysis that turns raw feedback into structured insights |
| Team usage | Offline operation for basic dictation with no cloud round-trips | AI chat and search across all customer data |
| Integrations | Support for 100+ languages with automatic punctuation | Research repository for transcripts, tags, and highlights |
| Languages & capture | Push-to-talk and toggle-to-talk recording modes | Highlight reels and video clips of key moments |
| Best-fit workflow | Optional Pro post-processing: stammer correction and automatic formatting | AI dashboards, AI docs, and sensitive-information redaction |
BetterDictation
Choose BetterDictation if you need dictating emails, documents, and notes hands-free across mac apps — strengths include runs locally on-device for privacy; vendor states no audio or transcripts are stored.
Dovetail
Choose Dovetail if you need transcribing and analyzing user research interviews — strengths include centralizes interviews and feedback from many sources in one repository.
BetterDictation
Dovetail
It depends on your workflow. BetterDictation is strong for dictating emails, documents, and notes hands-free across mac apps, while Dovetail is strong for transcribing and analyzing user research interviews. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
BetterDictation is a free tier with paid upgrades and Dovetail 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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