When should I choose Glimpse over Superwhisper?

Choose Glimpse if: Every local model is free for dictation, not only Whisper. Parakeet, Qwen3-ASR, and Nemotron too. Open source. Read the code instead of taking anyone's word for it. $25 once, instead of $84.99 a year or $249.99 for lifetime. A local OpenAI-compatible API, a CLI, and a Raycast extension for your own workflows. Switching takes a minute. Your Superwhisper dictionary, replacements, modes, and history come with you.

When should I choose Superwhisper over Glimpse?

Choose Superwhisper if: You want the most polished, mature app and don't mind paying for it. You want dictation on your iPhone or Android phone too. Glimpse is desktop only today. You want cloud models built in, with no API keys to set up. You want an app whose privacy policy says it collects no usage data. You want to record meetings without paying. Superwhisper lists meeting recording on its free plan.

Glimpse vs Superwhisper

Both transcribe on your machine. Glimpse gives you unlimited dictation on every model for free, costs $25 once for the extras, and is open source. Superwhisper is more polished and runs on your phone too.

Last updated October 5, 2026

The short answer

Pick Superwhisper if

You want the most polished, mature app and don't mind paying for it.
You want dictation on your iPhone or Android phone too. Glimpse is desktop only today.
You want cloud models built in, with no API keys to set up.
You want an app whose privacy policy says it collects no usage data.
You want to record meetings without paying. Superwhisper lists meeting recording on its free plan.

Pick Glimpse if

Every local model is free for dictation, not only Whisper. Parakeet, Qwen3-ASR, and Nemotron too.
Open source. Read the code instead of taking anyone's word for it.
$25 once, instead of $84.99 a year or $249.99 for lifetime.
A local OpenAI-compatible API, a CLI, and a Raycast extension for your own workflows.
Switching takes a minute. Your Superwhisper dictionary, replacements, modes, and history come with you.

Side by side

Feature	Glimpse	Superwhisper
Price	Free dictationFrom $25 one-time	$8.49/mo, $84.99/yr, or $249.99 lifetime
Free tier	Unlimited dictationevery model, no limits	Free planall local Whisper models, meeting recording, up to 2 modes
Open source	Yes, AGPL-3.0audit it on GitHub	No
macOS	Yes14+, Apple Silicon and Intel	Yes13.3+
Windows	Yes	Yes
iOS	No	Yes
Android	No	Yes
Local transcription	Yes, by defaultWhisper, Parakeet, Apple Speech, more	YesWhisper, Parakeet
Cloud transcription	Optionalbring your own key	Built inPro
AI cleanup / Edit Mode	Yes, bring your own LLMlocal or cloud, with a license	AI modesPro, BYO key option
Custom dictionary	Yes	Yes
Per-app modes	Yeswith a license	Yes
Audio / video file import	Yeswith a license	YesPro
Meeting / system audio recording	Yeswith a license	Yeson the free plan
Speaker detection	On-devicewith a license	Speaker separationPro
Anonymous telemetry	Opt-outoff with one click	Noneper their privacy policy

In detail

Local by default, cloud if you ask

Pick a local model in either app and your audio never leaves your machine. Both also offer cloud models. In Superwhisper they're built in with a Pro plan. In Glimpse you bring your own API key, and the request goes from your machine straight to that provider. One real difference: Superwhisper's privacy policy says it collects no usage data. Glimpse sends anonymous usage telemetry (never transcripts or audio), and you can turn it off in Settings.

Free dictation, $25 for the extras

Glimpse dictation is free on every model, with no limits. A license for the extras, meeting recording included, is $25, once. Superwhisper's free plan got more generous this year: every local Whisper model has been free since August 2026, and its pricing lists meeting recording and transcription on the free plan too, with up to 2 modes. Pro is $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr, or $249.99 once for lifetime, and one license covers all your devices, phones included. Pro adds cloud models, AI modes, file transcription, and speaker separation. If free meeting recording is what you're after, Superwhisper has the edge. Glimpse's case is every local model for free, not just Whisper, open source, and a one-time price.

Read the code yourself

Glimpse is open source. Superwhisper is closed source, which is a normal business choice and doesn't make it bad, but it means you're taking the team's word for what the app does with your audio and your data. Glimpse is on GitHub under AGPL-3.0. You can read the analytics code, the transcription pipeline, all of it. If you don't trust a privacy claim, you can check it yourself.

Desktop vs. desktop and phone

Both run on Mac and Windows. Superwhisper also has apps for iPhone and Android, so if you want dictation on your phone too, it's the only option of the two today. Glimpse is desktop only for now.

Sources checked

Comparison copy was checked against these public sources on October 5, 2026.