Riff and Superwhisper
Superwhisper is dictation for Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. Each mode pairs a voice model, local or in the cloud, with optional AI processing, and a Meeting mode summarizes recorded calls. Riff dictates on a Mac with Apple Speech, which is part of macOS, and writes meeting notes around the ones you typed, with each line citing the transcript.
Facts about Superwhisper are as of September 28, 2026, each linked to Superwhisper’s own page.
| Riff | Superwhisper | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Plus One Pro, $19.99/mo or $199/yr | Pro $8.49 a month or $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once |
| Free tier | None | Local Whisper models, vocabulary, and up to two modes |
| Where transcription runs | On your Mac | On your Mac or in the cloud, by model |
| Local voice models | Apple Speech, with Parakeet and Cohere Transcribe as downloads | Whisper from 75 MB to 3 GB, with Parakeet and Cohere Transcribe on Pro |
| Where writing runs | Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, or the model on your Mac | Superwhisper’s cloud by default, or S1-mini on your device |
| Account required | No | No, for offline use |
| Trains models on your data | No | No |
| Dictation key | Hold fn, or double-tap it for hands-free | Option-Space by default |
| Custom vocabulary | Words, replacements, and snippets | Vocabulary hints and replacements |
| Meeting notes without a bot | Yes, and Riff notices when a call starts | Meeting mode, with system audio on Pro |
| Notes written around yours | Yes | No, Meeting mode summarizes the recording |
| Citations to the transcript | Every line Riff writes | No |
| Speakers in meeting notes | Me and Them, from separate tracks | Speaker labels appear in History only, not in summaries |
| App technology | Native Swift app in the App Sandbox | Native Mac app |
| Platforms | Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 27 | Mac with macOS 14, Windows, iPhone, and Android |
The main difference
Superwhisper lets you pick the models. Its free plan runs Whisper models you download, and Pro adds Parakeet, Cohere Transcribe, and cloud models. Riff starts with Apple Speech, which is part of macOS, and writes with Apple’s Private Cloud Compute or the model on your Mac, so there is nothing to choose before you start.
For meetings, Superwhisper’s Meeting mode turns a recording into a summary with decisions and action items. Riff gives you a notepad during the call and writes the notes around it afterward, with each line tied to the transcript and the audio. Riff also notices when a meeting app starts using your microphone and offers to take notes. Meeting notes describes how.
When Superwhisper is the better choice
Superwhisper is the better choice if you want a one-time purchase, since a lifetime license costs $249.99. It is also the better choice if you want to choose among local and cloud models for each mode, if you dictate on Windows, iPhone, or Android, if your Mac can’t run macOS 27, or if you want voice control of coding agents, since Superwhisper works with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and others.
If you want dictation and meeting notes in one Mac app, with notes written around yours, Riff covers that. Notes written around yours shows how.