Comparer
HoldToType vs Handy
Handy and HoldToType are two answers to the same wish: dictation that is free, open and never leaves the computer. Handy runs on Mac, Windows and Linux and has a large community. HoldToType is Windows only and goes further on the desk: live text, translation, a model per language, editing on your disk. Here is the honest split.
Mis à jour · Vitalii Yemets
Who each one is for
Handy suits you if
you need the same tool on a Mac, on Linux and on Windows, you want the simplest possible program that does one thing, and you value a big community with tens of thousands of users and an active Discord. It is lean, fast and well maintained.
HoldToType suits you if
you are on Windows and want more than transcription: words on screen while you speak, translation into seven languages, a dictionary and replacements, a local model that cleans the text, a different speech model per language, and a portable folder.
Side by side
Free, no limits
Free, no limits
MIT
MIT; the name and logo are not
Windows 10 and 11
Mac, Windows, Linux
Nowhere
Nowhere
Yes
Yes
Nine: Whisper sizes, Parakeet v3, Nemotron 3.5, GigaAM, Canary, Qwen3, Moonshine; or a file of your own
Whisper sizes, Parakeet v2 and v3
Yes, the program switches by language
One active model; Parakeet detects the language
Yes, with Nemotron 3.5
No
Yes, Ctrl+Win by default
Yes, or a toggle
Words, names, replacements, voice commands
Not in the documentation
A local model with your prompts, or a server you name
No
Into 7 languages
No
On your disk, off by default
In the program
Not needed; runs on the processor
Used when available
Not yet
Yes; also winget and Homebrew
One developer; issues on GitHub
Tens of thousands of GitHub stars; Discord
Handy details from handy.computer and its README on GitHub, read on 9 September 2026.
What you give up when you switch
- Mac and Linux. HoldToType is Windows only. If you move between systems, Handy is the one tool that follows you.
- GPU speed. Handy uses a graphics card when it finds one; HoldToType runs on the processor and makes up for it with narrow models.
- A crowd. Handy has tens of thousands of stars, a Discord and many hands on the code. HoldToType has one developer and a GitHub issues page.
- A signed installer and winget. HoldToType is not signed yet, so Windows warns once, and it is not in winget yet either.
What you get
- Live text. With Nemotron 3.5 the words appear on the plate while you are still speaking; Handy shows the text when you let go.
- A model per language. Nine models, and the program switches by language: GigaAM for Russian, Parakeet for Polish, Whisper for translation, each where it is best.
- Translation. Speak in your language and get the text in one of seven others.
- Your words. A dictionary of names and terms, replacements, voice commands you define.
- Editing on your disk. A small model takes out fillers, fixes punctuation and changes tone with prompts you write, or point it at a server of yours.
- A folder, not an install. Copy it to a USB stick; delete it and it is gone.
How to move from Handy to HoldToType
- Download from the download section or the portable archive from releases.
- Pick a model in the wizard. If you used Parakeet in Handy, choose it here too: it is the same model, and the models page says what else there is.
- Handy holds a key too. Set the same keys under Shortcuts, or keep the default Ctrl+Win.
- Add your names to the dictionary; replacements turn a short phrase into a long one.
- Keep Handy on the Mac. Nothing conflicts on Windows either, so you can run both while you decide.
Questions
Is HoldToType a fork of Handy?
No. Handy is written in Rust with Tauri; HoldToType is written in Go around whisper.cpp and sherpa-onnx. They share the open speech models, not the code.
Which is more accurate?
With the same model, the same: both run Whisper and Parakeet unchanged. HoldToType adds models Handy does not ship: Nemotron 3.5, GigaAM for Russian, Canary, Qwen3.
Why is HoldToType Windows only?
Because it hooks into Windows itself: the tray, the hotkey, pasting at the caret. Doing that well on three systems is a different program.
Try it next to Handy
Same models, a different desk. Install both, hold the key in each, and keep the one that fits.