BetterDictation: A macOS speech-to-text app that uses on-device Whisper to turn spoken words into typed text in any application. Swell AI: Swell AI transcribes podcast audio and video with automatic speaker labeling and turns the transcript into show notes, articles, summaries, and social posts. 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 Swell AI when turning a single episode into show notes, a blog article, and social posts for distribution 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.
Swell AI transcribes podcast audio and video with automatic speaker labeling and turns the transcript into show notes, articles, summaries, and social posts.
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
Swell AI is a transcription and content-repurposing platform built for podcasters, content creators, marketers, and agencies. Users upload audio or video, or pull episodes in from sources such as RSS feeds, Apple Podcasts, YouTube links, and cloud storage like Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Swell AI generates a transcript in which speakers are automatically identified and labeled, and provides a transcript editor where you can highlight and clip sections, which the platform saves for reuse across a team. From the same transcript it produces repurposed content: show notes, summaries, long-form SEO articles, newsletters, titles and keywords, and social posts such as LinkedIn posts, Twitter/X threads, and Instagram captions. It can also export highlighted sections as video clips and audiograms, and create an episode-trained chatbot that can be embedded on a site. The platform offers a REST API for custom integrations and a dashboard for managing multiple shows. It is distinct in pairing accurate transcription with a broad, podcast-focused repurposing pipeline rather than transcription alone.
Best suited for
BetterDictation is a free tier with paid upgrades (paid); Swell AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | BetterDictation | Swell AI |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | System-wide dictation that inserts text into any macOS application | Audio and video transcription with automatic speaker identification and labeling |
| Standout feature | On-device transcription using OpenAI's Whisper on Apple's Neural Engine | Transcript editor for highlighting and clipping sections, with AI-suggested compelling segments |
| Team usage | Offline operation for basic dictation with no cloud round-trips | Content repurposing into show notes, summaries, SEO articles, newsletters, and social posts |
| Integrations | Support for 100+ languages with automatic punctuation | Video clip and audiogram export from highlighted transcript sections |
| Languages & capture | Push-to-talk and toggle-to-talk recording modes | Bulk import from RSS feeds, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive) |
| Best-fit workflow | Optional Pro post-processing: stammer correction and automatic formatting | REST API and multi-show dashboard for teams and agencies |
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.
Swell AI
Choose Swell AI if you need transcribing podcast episodes and labeling speakers for an accurate, editable transcript — strengths include combines accurate transcription with a wide range of automated repurposing outputs in one tool.
BetterDictation
Swell AI
It depends on your workflow. BetterDictation is strong for dictating emails, documents, and notes hands-free across mac apps, while Swell AI is strong for transcribing podcast episodes and labeling speakers for an accurate, editable transcript. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
BetterDictation is a free tier with paid upgrades and Swell AI is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary.
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