BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Fireflies: AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes calls across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, with the AskFred AI chat and native CRM sync. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist BetterDictation when dictating emails, documents, and notes hands-free across mac apps matters most, and Fireflies when recruiting and interview notes matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application.
AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes calls across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, with the AskFred AI chat and native CRM sync.
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
Fireflies.ai joins video calls to record and transcribe meetings, then generates AI summaries, action items, and fully searchable notes. Its AskFred assistant lets you query past meetings in natural language ("what did we decide about pricing?"), while conversation-intelligence features add topic trackers, talk-time, and sentiment analytics. Fireflies works across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, transcribes in a wide range of languages, and integrates natively with CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot plus Slack, Notion, Asana, and Zapier. A free plan covers limited transcription and AI credits for individuals; paid tiers raise transcription and storage limits and unlock team conversation analytics, making it a strong fit for sales, recruiting, and customer-research teams that live in their CRM.
Best suited for
BetterDictation is a free tier with paid upgrades (paid); Fireflies is from $18/mo (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | BetterDictation | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | System-wide dictation that inserts text into any macOS application | Meeting transcription |
| Standout feature | On-device transcription using OpenAI's Whisper on Apple's Neural Engine | AI summaries |
| Team usage | Offline operation for basic dictation with no cloud round-trips | AskFred AI chat |
| Integrations | Support for 100+ languages with automatic punctuation | CRM sync |
| Languages & capture | Push-to-talk and toggle-to-talk recording modes | Conversation intelligence |
| Best-fit workflow | Optional Pro post-processing: stammer correction and automatic formatting | Meeting transcription |
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.
Fireflies
Choose Fireflies if you need sales call capture and crm logging — strengths include powerful meeting search plus the askfred natural-language assistant.
BetterDictation
Fireflies
It depends on your workflow. BetterDictation is strong for dictating emails, documents, and notes hands-free across mac apps, while Fireflies is strong for sales call capture and crm logging. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
BetterDictation is a free tier with paid upgrades and Fireflies is from $18/mo. 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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