MioTypeMioType vs Wispr Flow: which Mac dictation app fits you?
Short answer: if you dictate all day on several devices, Wispr Flow. If you work on a Mac in two languages — say, you think in Chinese and write prompts in English — or you want a free tier with more words and a fully local option, MioType.
We make MioType, so read the table rather than our adjectives. Every Wispr Flow number below comes from its pricing page, checked on October 15, 2026.
Side by side
| MioType | Wispr Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 3,000 cloud words a week; local mode with no limit | 2,000 words a week on desktop, 1,000 on mobile |
| Monthly | $9.99 for 100,000 cloud words | $15, unlimited |
| Yearly | $59.99 (about $5 a month) | $12 a month, billed yearly |
| Pay once | $149 | — |
| Platforms | Mac with Apple silicon | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Where speech is processed | Cloud by default; local Whisper model in Settings | Cloud |
| Translate while you speak | Fn + Left Shift: Chinese in, English out (and back) | Not listed on its site |
| Translate selected text | Fn + Control, in any app | Not listed on its site |
| Personal dictionary | Learns words you correct after dictating | Learns your words; you can also add them |
| Languages | Translation between 20 languages | Transcription in 100+ languages |
Where Wispr Flow wins
Every device. Wispr Flow runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. MioType is a Mac app for Apple silicon, and nothing else. If your day moves between a Mac and a phone, that alone decides it.
Unlimited words. Wispr Flow Pro has no cap. MioType Pro gives you 100,000 cloud words a month — roughly 3,300 a day. Most people never reach that; if you dictate for hours, you might.
Track record. Wispr Flow has been around longer and is more polished. MioType is new.
Where MioType wins
Two languages at once. MioType was built for people who live between Chinese and English. Speak Chinese with Fn + Left Shift and English is typed. Select an English paragraph in a terminal, an editor or a pull request, press Fn + Control, and read it in Chinese right there; select a single word and you get a dictionary card. Wispr Flow's site lists transcription in over 100 languages, not translation.
More free words, and a local mode. The free account is 3,000 cloud words a week against Wispr Flow's 2,000. And if you would rather nothing leave your Mac, MioType can switch to a local Whisper model that needs no account at all.
Price, if you don't dictate all day. $59.99 a year is less than half of Wispr Flow's yearly Pro ($144), and there is a one-time $149 option.
Prompts for coding agents. This is where MioType started: a long, precise prompt to Claude Code or Codex is much faster to say than to type. Fix a term the first time it is misheard — kubectl, useEffect, a project name — and MioType remembers it.
Privacy
Both send audio to the cloud by default. MioType's servers keep no audio and no request text; for each request they record only the word count, request type and time (privacy policy). Your dictation history stays on your Mac unless you turn on Cloud sync. If that is still too much, the local model keeps everything on the machine.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Wispr Flow if you need Windows or a phone, or dictate many hours a day and want no cap.
- Choose MioType if you work on a Mac, switch between Chinese and English, read a lot of English you would rather see in Chinese, or want a local option.
Not sure either is right? The best dictation apps for Mac covers five, and Wispr Flow alternatives sorts them by why you're switching.