Сравнение
HoldToType vs Wispr Flow
Wispr Flow is the polished, paid, cloud-based dictation app. HoldToType is the free, open-source one that never sends your voice anywhere. Here is where each one is better, honestly, and how to move if you decide to.
Обновлено · Vitalii Yemets
Who each one is for
Wispr Flow suits you if
you want dictation on a Mac or a phone as well as on Windows, you like text that is rewritten for you on the way, you are fine with an account and a subscription, and your voice going to a certified cloud does not bother you. It is the more finished product: onboarding, writing styles, snippets, a notetaker on Mac.
HoldToType suits you if
you dictate on Windows and want nothing to leave the computer, nothing to pay and nothing to sign up for. It runs offline, its source is open under MIT, and you pick the speech model per language. It is one person's program, not a company's: less polish, more control.
Side by side
Free, no limits
Free up to 2,000 words a week on desktop; Pro at $12 a month on the annual plan, $15 monthly
None
Required
Nowhere: from the microphone to a model on your disk
To Wispr's servers for recognition; SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO 27001 certified
Yes, always
No, it needs a connection
Windows 10 and 11
Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android
Yes, MIT
No
99 with Whisper; narrow, faster models for 25 European languages and for Russian
100+, detected automatically
Nine to choose from, one per language, or a model file of your own
Theirs
Yes, with Nemotron 3.5
No
A small model on your disk with your own prompts, or a server you name
In their cloud, with Formal, Casual and Very casual styles
Your list of words and names, plus voice commands you define
Learns names automatically, and you can add your own
Replacements: say the short phrase, get the long one
Yes, spoken shortcuts
Into 7 languages, with Whisper on your disk
No
On your disk, off by default
In your account on their servers
Not yet; every release publishes its SHA-256
Yes
Wispr Flow prices and features as shown on wisprflow.ai on 9 September 2026.
What you give up when you switch
- Mac and phones. HoldToType runs on Windows only. If you dictate on an iPhone or a Mac, Wispr Flow keeps working there and HoldToType does not exist.
- Cloud rewriting. Wispr Flow's editing runs on large models in its cloud and reads very naturally. HoldToType's post-processing runs a small model on your disk, or a bigger one on a server you name: good at fillers and punctuation, less so at rewriting a paragraph in a new voice.
- Sync between computers. Wispr Flow keeps your dictionary and history in your account. HoldToType keeps them in its folder, so moving to another computer means copying the folder.
- Polish. Wispr Flow has a company behind it, a signed installer and a guided start. HoldToType is one developer's program: Windows warns once before the first launch, and rough edges are fixed release by release.
What you get
- Nothing leaves the computer. The recording goes from the microphone to a model on your disk and is dropped as soon as it has become text. The program's own log counts network requests for every dictation, and the number is zero.
- Nothing to pay and nobody to sign up with. No account, no weekly word limit, no subscription that stops the program when a card expires.
- Open source under MIT. Anyone can read the code and build the same exe from it.
- A model per language. Nine speech models, from a 74 MB Whisper to Nemotron 3.5 with live text on the plate; the program switches by language and takes model files of your own.
- Translation. Speak in one language and get the text in another, seven to choose from, with Whisper doing the work on your disk.
- A portable folder. Copy it to a USB stick; delete it and the program is gone.
How to move from Wispr Flow to HoldToType
- Download the installer from the download section or the portable archive from releases. Windows warns once, because the build is not code-signed yet; the SHA-256 on the releases page lets you check the file.
- Let the first-run wizard pick a speech model for your language, or read which model for which language and choose yourself.
- Keep the habit: Wispr Flow is hold-a-key too. In HoldToType the default is Ctrl+Win; change it under Shortcuts if you prefer the key you are used to.
- Move your words. Open your dictionary in Wispr Flow and type the names and terms you rely on into HoldToType's dictionary; replacements cover what snippets did.
- Set up cleaning up if you want it: post-processing with the built-in prompts for fillers, punctuation and tone, or your own.
- Cancel the subscription and delete the account in Wispr Flow's settings. Your history there stays on their servers until you delete it.
Questions
Is HoldToType as accurate as Wispr Flow?
On everyday speech the two are close: Wispr Flow runs large cloud models, HoldToType runs open models such as Whisper, Parakeet and Nemotron on your processor. Where the cloud wins is rewriting, not hearing. For names and jargon both need a dictionary.
Does HoldToType work without internet?
Yes, always. The only two things that ever go online are the model download and the update check, and both are buttons you press.
Can I keep both?
Yes. They use different hotkeys and neither one installs a keyboard driver. Some people keep Wispr Flow on the phone and HoldToType on the desktop.
Try it next to Wispr Flow
A minute to install and nothing to sign up for. Keep both for a week, then decide.