BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Empathia AI: Empathia AI is an ambient AI medical scribe that records patient encounters and automatically generates clinical notes, letters, and billing codes for clinicians. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist BetterDictation when dictating emails, documents, and notes hands-free across mac apps matters most, and Empathia AI when generating referral letters, consult letters, and patient instructions from recorded visits matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application.
Empathia AI is an ambient AI medical scribe that records patient encounters and automatically generates clinical notes, letters, and billing codes for clinicians.
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
Empathia AI is an AI medical scribe built for clinicians and healthcare practices. Its core engine, EMMA, uses ambient AI to listen to doctor-patient interactions across in-person visits, telehealth, and phone calls, then transcribes the conversation and generates structured, customizable clinical notes. Beyond note-taking, it produces chart summaries, referral and consult letters, form autofill, patient instructions, and suggested ICD/CPT/service billing codes. The platform supports multi-speaker conversations, dictation, and multilingual encounters, and offers specialty-tuned templates across 20+ medical specialties. It works on desktop and mobile and integrates with numerous EMR/EHR systems, including Epic, Athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, DrChrono, Practice Fusion, Elation, and Canadian systems such as Accuro, OSCAR, and Juno. Empathia emphasizes compliance, citing HIPAA, PHIPA, PIPEDA, and GDPR alignment, and notes pre-qualified vendor status with Canada Health Infoway's national AI scribe program. It targets individual practitioners and clinics seeking to reduce documentation time and refocus attention on patient care.
Best suited for
BetterDictation is a free tier with paid upgrades (paid); Empathia AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | BetterDictation | Empathia AI |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | System-wide dictation that inserts text into any macOS application | Ambient AI capture (EMMA) for in-person, telehealth, and phone encounters |
| Standout feature | On-device transcription using OpenAI's Whisper on Apple's Neural Engine | Automatic transcription and structured clinical note generation |
| Team usage | Offline operation for basic dictation with no cloud round-trips | Multi-speaker and multilingual support with dictation |
| Integrations | Support for 100+ languages with automatic punctuation | Specialty-tuned templates across 20+ medical specialties |
| Languages & capture | Push-to-talk and toggle-to-talk recording modes | Suggested ICD/CPT/service billing codes, referral and consult letters |
| Best-fit workflow | Optional Pro post-processing: stammer correction and automatic formatting | EMR/EHR integrations (Epic, Athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, Accuro, OSCAR, and more) |
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.
Empathia AI
Choose Empathia AI if you need clinicians automating post-visit charting and clinical note documentation — strengths include purpose-built for clinical documentation with deep emr integration.
BetterDictation
Empathia AI
It depends on your workflow. BetterDictation is strong for dictating emails, documents, and notes hands-free across mac apps, while Empathia AI is strong for clinicians automating post-visit charting and clinical note documentation. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
BetterDictation is a free tier with paid upgrades and Empathia AI 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.
More head-to-head comparisons involving BetterDictation and Empathia AI.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Bliro: Bot-free AI meeting assistant that transcribes online and in-person conversations from device audio without recording audio or video. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Bluedot: Bot-free note taker for Meet, Zoom, Teams plus mobile recording We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. BoardBreeze: AI software that converts board meeting recordings into compliant, formatted minutes capturing motions, votes, and action items. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Boardable: Board meeting platform for nonprofits with AI-generated minutes, an in-meeting assistant, and AI insights that turn discussion into action items. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Bold: Bot-free AI notetaker by Bold App Studios that records meetings on-device, transcribes with speaker detection, and writes summaries with action items. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Boostlingo: Language access platform whose AI Pro engine delivers live AI captioning, translation, and transcription for meetings, webinars, and events. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Brain Dump: Voice to Markdown: An iOS/iPadOS/Mac app that records voice and transcribes it on-device into editable Markdown notes saved as plain-text files in iCloud or an Obsidian vault. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
BetterDictation and Braindump are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Braindump: Braindump is an AI voice-notes mobile app that records spoken thoughts and meetings, transcribes them, and auto-organizes them into structured, searchable notes. They overlap on ai-meeting-assistants, so the right pick depends on team size, budget, and which meeting workflows you automate.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. BriefMe: Italian mobile app that records conversations, transcribes them automatically, and generates AI summaries with key points, decisions, and action items. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Briefly: AI meeting summaries with CRM and Slack delivery Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Bright Pattern: Bright Pattern is an omnichannel contact center platform that transcribes live and recorded customer interactions and applies AI-powered quality management and analytics across all channels. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.