The free, open-source Voquill alternative for Mac and Windows
Glimpse gives you free, unlimited dictation with every local model, on your own Mac or PC, with no subscription. Voquill is open source too, and adds Linux, phone apps, and an optional paid cloud.
Last updated September 23, 2026See the full Glimpse vs Voquill comparison
The short answer
Pick Voquill if
- You need Linux, or a phone keyboard from the same app.
- You want sync across devices, or a hosted cloud with no API keys to set up.
- You want a voice chat assistant built in.
Pick Glimpse if
- Free, unlimited dictation on Mac or Windows. No account, no word cap.
- Pay once, not monthly. Licenses start at $25.
- Your pick of local models: Whisper, Parakeet, Qwen3-ASR, or Apple's built-in speech model.
- Meetings, recordings, and audio or video files, transcribed on your machine with speaker labels.
- Frequent updates. 1.3 shipped in September 2026.
Side by side
| Feature | Glimpse | Voquill |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free dictationFrom $25 one-time | Free, Pro $8/mobilled yearly ($96) |
| Free tier | Unlimited dictationno word or time limit | Personal planoffline mode or your own API key |
| Open source | Yes, AGPL-3.0audit it on GitHub | Yes, AGPLv3enterprise directory excluded |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | No | Yes |
| iOS and Android | No | Yeskeyboard app, daily word limit on free |
| Local transcription | Yes, by defaultWhisper, Parakeet, Apple Speech, more | Yeslocal Whisper, optional GPU |
| Cloud transcription | Optionalyour own provider key | Optionalyour own key or Voquill's cloud |
| AI cleanup | Yes, your own LLMlocal or cloud, with a license | Yesyour own key, Ollama, or Voquill's cloud |
| Custom dictionary and replacements | Yes | Yes |
| Per-app styles | YesPersonalization, with a license | Yeswriting style per app |
| Audio and video file transcription | Yes, Libraryspeaker labels, with a license | Not advertisedfocused on dictation |
| Voice chat assistant | No | Yes |
In detail
Open-source status
Both are AGPL and public on GitHub. Voquill's license file notes that third-party components keep their own licenses and that code in its enterprise directory falls under a separate enterprise license. Glimpse is AGPL-3.0 for the whole desktop app, including the transcription pipeline and the analytics code.
Pricing
Glimpse is a one-time purchase. Voquill Pro is a subscription. Voquill's desktop app has a free Personal plan with offline mode and bring-your-own-key support. Pro is $8 a month billed yearly ($96) and adds cross-device sync and unlimited words on Voquill's cloud. The phone apps are free with a daily word limit. Glimpse dictation is free and unlimited with every local model. A one-time license ($25 for one device, $39 for three) adds the extras: Library, Recording mode, AI Cleanup, Edit Mode, and Personalization. Business is $48 per seat per year.
Platforms
Voquill covers more platforms. Glimpse runs on macOS 14 or later and Windows 10 or later (also on the Microsoft Store). Voquill ships macOS, Windows, and Linux builds (DEB, RPM, and AppImage), plus keyboard apps for iPhone and Android. If you need Linux or a phone app, Voquill is the better fit.
Local models and cloud
Glimpse gives you more local models. Voquill runs Whisper locally, with optional GPU acceleration, or sends audio to a cloud provider or Voquill's own cloud. Glimpse runs locally by default, with Whisper, Distil-Whisper, Parakeet TDT, Parakeet Unified, Qwen3-ASR, Nemotron streaming, and Apple's built-in speech model on supported Macs. Cloud speech providers are optional and use your own key.
Where each project is heading
Voquill, Inc. now leads its homepage with a pathology reporting product, and the general dictation app has its own page at voquill.com/dictation. The desktop app is still released on GitHub (v0.0.651 in August 2026). Glimpse is a dictation app made mostly by one developer, with frequent releases (1.3 in September 2026).
Which should you use?
Pick Voquill if you need Linux or a phone app, or want sync and a hosted cloud without managing keys. Pick Glimpse if you're on Mac or Windows and want free, unlimited local dictation, more models to choose from, meetings and files transcribed on your own machine, and one price you pay once.
Sources checked
Comparison copy was checked against these public sources on September 23, 2026.
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