Where they are alike
superwhisper and DeftNib are after the same thing: dictation that runs on your Mac instead of on someone's server. Both are one key for the whole system, both work with Wi-Fi off, both have a free tier that does not expire, both punctuate and clean up what you said. If you came here because you want your voice to stay local, both qualify.
What differs
The difference is the engine, and everything that follows from it. superwhisper ships with a choice of models that you download onto the Mac: Whisper in several sizes (from 75 MB to 3 GB), Parakeet, Cohere Transcribe, and cloud options for people who want them. DeftNib ships with no model at all. It uses SpeechAnalyzer, the engine Apple built into macOS 26, which is already on your Mac and already updated by the system. Whisper and Apple's engine, compared.
| superwhisper | DeftNib | |
|---|---|---|
| Where transcription runs | Your Mac, on a model you download (or their cloud, if you pick one) | Your Mac, on Apple's engine |
| Models | Whisper (whisper.cpp), Parakeet (WhisperKit), Cohere Transcribe, plus cloud options | SpeechAnalyzer, shipped with macOS |
| To download after install | One model at least: 75 MB (Fast) to 3 GB (Ultra) | Nothing |
| App size on disk | Not compared; the models above come on top | 9.7 MB |
| Price | Pro at $8.49 a month; Enterprise on request | One payment of US$ 49, 3 Macs, every 1.x |
| Free plan | Every Pro feature for the first 3,000 words, then the free features stay: unlimited small Whisper models, custom prompts, 100+ languages | 4,000 words a week, every feature, no expiry |
| Platforms | Mac (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows, iOS | Mac (macOS 26, Apple Silicon) |
| Custom modes and prompts | Yes | No; per-app behavior is built in |
| Spanish | One of many languages | Opening marks, voseo and work Spanglish as a main case |
Where superwhisper is the better fit
If you want to choose your model, superwhisper lets you, and a larger Whisper model on a fast Mac is a real option for languages where Apple's engine is weaker. If you have an Intel Mac, it runs there and DeftNib does not. If you want custom modes (a prompt that rewrites your dictation into an email, a summary, a translation) that is a feature it has and DeftNib does not. And if you need Windows or an iPhone app, DeftNib is Mac only and will stay that way.
The same pipeline for a hundred languages is also its territory. DeftNib runs its full cleanup only in English and Spanish, and says so; in the other languages macOS supports you get Apple's native transcription plus your dictionary and snippets.
Where DeftNib is
- Nothing to download. The engine is already on the Mac. The app is 9.7 MB on disk, uses under 30 mb of RAM at rest and 0.1% CPU while idle. When Apple improves the engine, you improve with the next macOS update.
- Spanish as a main case. Opening marks, voseo, fillers and the English inside work Spanish are handled by the pipeline, with real cases in the test suite. The four places Spanish breaks.
- Deterministic cleanup. 15 rule engines do the part that can be proven, and Apple's local model does only the rest, with the rules checking its output. The same dictation gives the same text.
- One price, once. US$ 49 once for 3 Macs, every 1.x version included, 30 day refund. What buying once means.
Switching
Nothing to migrate and nothing to download. Install, run the setup assistant, pick your key. Your dictionary fills as you go: the app proposes words it hears you use repeatedly, and you can add the rest with the way you say them. Everything in the free download.
Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS 26 or later. Free up to 4,000 words a week, no account.
By downloading you agree to the Terms and the Privacy Policy.
Questions
Is DeftNib also local?
Yes. Transcription runs on the speech engine Apple ships with macOS and cleanup runs on your Mac. The app makes four kinds of calls to our servers for licensing and updates, none carrying your voice or your text.
Can I pick the transcription model in DeftNib?
No. It uses the engine macOS provides, so there is nothing to download and nothing to choose. If you want to choose a model, superwhisper is the better fit.
Does DeftNib have modes or custom prompts?
No. It has per-app behavior it decides on its own: the full pipeline in chats, IDEs and email, a literal transcript in the terminal, and snippets that expand verbatim. There is nothing to configure per mode.