This breakdown focuses on accuracy feel, latency, pricing/licensing, and platform fit. We reference public documentation and keep the summary current so you can make a clear call for your workflow.
Short answer
- Pick Voice Type if you want consistent accuracy and predictable latency with a one-time App Store purchase.
- Pick Wispr Flow if you need provider-managed storage or editing and are comfortable with a cloud workflow.
At a glance
Finalization speed
Voice Type finalizes in under 2 seconds regardless of dictation length—the streaming architecture processes audio as you speak. Wispr Flow latency depends on network round-trips and audio length.
Accuracy via beam search
Voice Type uses beam search decoding with RNNoise preprocessing for higher accuracy on technical terms. Custom vocabulary priming follows Whisper best practices.
Punctuation handling
Voice Type has near-parity with Dragon Dictate for spoken punctuation ('period', 'comma', 'new paragraph'). A key feature for professional dictation users.
Privacy posture
Voice Type processes entirely on-device—audio never leaves your Mac. Wispr Flow uploads audio to cloud servers.
Licensing
Voice Type is a one-time Mac App Store purchase ($19.99). Wispr Flow requires ongoing subscription (~$10/month).
Who should choose what
Choose Voice Type if…
- •You need consistent sub-2-second finalization regardless of length.
- •You want Dragon-level punctuation support built in.
- •You dictate technical terms and need custom vocabulary.
- •You prefer on-device privacy with no audio uploads.
Choose Wispr Flow if…
- •You need cloud-managed editing or storage.
- •Your team prefers provider-hosted workflows.
- •You want AI-powered automatic formatting.
- •Your network is consistently fast and stable.
Technology references
- OpenAI Whisper (GitHub) - Open-source speech recognition model
- RNNoise (GitHub) - Neural network noise suppression
- Apple Core ML - On-device machine learning framework
- Apple Metal - GPU acceleration for ML inference