Dictanote: Dictanote is a browser-based, cross-device notes app with built-in real-time speech-to-text voice typing in 50+ languages, plus an AI assistant that transcribes and summarizes voice notes. MacParakeet: Free, open-source local voice app for Apple Silicon Macs offering on-device meeting recording, live transcripts, dictation, and file transcription powered by NVIDIA Parakeet. 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 Dictanote when students and writers drafting notes, articles, or book content hands-free by voice matters most, and MacParakeet when system-wide dictation across applications for privacy-conscious users matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
Dictanote is a browser-based, cross-device notes app with built-in real-time speech-to-text voice typing in 50+ languages, plus an AI assistant that transcribes and summarizes voice notes.
Free, open-source local voice app for Apple Silicon Macs offering on-device meeting recording, live transcripts, dictation, and file transcription powered by NVIDIA Parakeet.
Dictanote is a dictation-powered note-taking app that lets you write notes by speaking instead of typing. Its core voice-typing engine transcribes speech to text in real time across more than 50 languages and 80+ dialects, and supports voice commands for inserting punctuation, paragraphs, and symbols, as well as keyboard shortcuts for starting, stopping, and switching dictation languages. Notes sync across devices and can be organized into notebooks, with offline editing available (though live dictation needs connectivity). Its AI layer, AudioScribe, takes raw voice notes and rewrites them into clean, summarized text—automatically adding punctuation and stripping filler words, repetitions, and "umms." Users can choose summarization levels, apply custom writing styles (such as a business memo or to-do list), dictate in one language and output in another, and connect output to other apps via Zapier or webhooks. It targets writers, students, journalists, and professionals who prefer speaking over typing. Dictanote also offers a companion Chrome extension, Voice In, for dictating into other web apps.
Best suited for
MacParakeet is a free, open-source voice application for Apple Silicon Macs that runs speech recognition entirely on-device using NVIDIA's Parakeet TDT model via FluidAudio CoreML. Beyond system-wide dictation and file or URL transcription, it includes a meeting recording mode with live transcript preview, in-app note-taking, and export, plus meeting calendar integration through macOS EventKit that can show reminders and optionally auto-start recording. Because all speech recognition runs locally, the project states that audio remains on the device, with no cloud speech-to-text, no required accounts, and opt-out telemetry. It supports around 25 European languages with automatic detection and includes a text cleanup pipeline for filler removal, custom word replacements, and snippet expansion. Optional AI features such as summaries, chat, and text formatting can be enabled through cloud or local providers when the user chooses. Built with Swift and SwiftUI and distributed under the GPL-3.0 license, MacParakeet is actively maintained on GitHub and can be installed via a notarized DMG, a Homebrew cask, or built from source. It is positioned as a privacy-respecting, bot-free option for capturing meetings directly from the Mac. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Dictanote is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); MacParakeet is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Dictanote | MacParakeet |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Real-time speech-to-text voice typing in 50+ languages and 80+ dialects | On-device meeting recording with live transcript preview and note-taking |
| Standout feature | Voice commands for punctuation, paragraphs, symbols, and dictation control | Meeting calendar integration via macOS EventKit with optional auto-start |
| Team usage | Custom voice commands to automate text entry and correct errors | System-wide dictation with hotkey and push-to-talk modes |
| Integrations | AudioScribe AI assistant that transcribes and summarizes voice notes, removing filler words | File and URL transcription on the device |
| Languages & capture | Notebooks for organizing notes, with cloud sync across devices and offline editing | Local NVIDIA Parakeet TDT speech recognition with no cloud STT |
| Best-fit workflow | Multilingual AI output (dictate in one language, write in another) and Zapier/webhook integrations | Text cleanup pipeline including filler removal and custom replacements |
Dictanote
Choose Dictanote if you need students and writers drafting notes, articles, or book content hands-free by voice — strengths include strong multilingual coverage with 50+ languages and 80+ dialects.
MacParakeet
Choose MacParakeet if you need capturing and transcribing meetings locally on a mac without a bot — strengths include free and open source with on-device speech recognition.
Dictanote
MacParakeet
It depends on your workflow. Dictanote is strong for students and writers drafting notes, articles, or book content hands-free by voice, while MacParakeet is strong for capturing and transcribing meetings locally on a mac without a bot. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Dictanote is a free tier with paid upgrades and MacParakeet 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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