Vocco vs MacWhisper
Both run speech recognition on your Mac. MacWhisper started as a file transcription app and is very good at it. Vocco started as dictation for speech that mixes Chinese and English, and added file transcription with speakers.
Pick MacWhisper if most of your work is transcribing files: batch jobs, watch folders, YouTube links, many export formats and a command-line tool.
Pick Vocco if you mainly dictate, if your speech switches between Chinese and English, or if you want recordings with mixed languages transcribed in one pass.
I make Vocco. MacWhisper details are quoted from macwhisper.com, its Gumroad page and docs.macwhisper.com as they read on October 22, 2026.
Side by side
| Vocco | MacWhisper | |
|---|---|---|
| Where transcription happens | On your Mac | "All transcription is done on your device"; optional cloud with your own API keys (source) |
| Engines | Qwen3 ASR, SenseVoice, Paraformer, Whisper, Apple Speech | Whisper, Parakeet, Qwen3-ASR (macOS 26+), WhisperKit |
| Dictation | Hold right ⌘ in any app | Configurable shortcut; not in the App Store version (source) |
| Files with two languages | Handled in one pass | "Not able to transcribe files with multiple languages at the same time" (source) |
| Speaker diarization | Pro, on-device | Pro, local models on M-series Macs; not for dictation |
| File workflow | Several files in a queue; TXT and SRT export | Batch, watch folders, YouTube, CLI, many export formats |
| macOS | 14+, Apple silicon | 14+, M-series (also works on Intel) |
| Price | Free version; Pro $29 once at launch (until November 30, 2026), then $39 | Free version; Pro €64 once (macwhisper.com) |
Where MacWhisper is better
- File transcription depth. Batch processing, watch folders, YouTube, a CLI and far more export formats than Vocco's SRT.
- Intel Macs are supported.
Where Vocco is better
- Mixed-language recordings and dictation. One recording, two languages, one pass.
- Dictation first. Hold-to-talk in every app, with live text while you speak and a local history.
- Qwen3 on older macOS. Vocco runs Qwen3 ASR on macOS 14 and 15 as well.
- Lower Pro price. $29 at launch, then $39, against €64. Both are one-time purchases with a free version.
Questions
Does MacWhisper support Qwen3-ASR?
Yes. MacWhisper's product page lists "Support for Qwen3-ASR (macOS 26.0 and M-series chip required)" among Pro features. Vocco also uses Qwen3 ASR 0.6B as its default downloadable engine and runs on macOS 14 and later.
Can MacWhisper transcribe a file with two languages?
MacWhisper's help center says "MacWhisper is not able to transcribe files with multiple languages at the same time." Vocco's default engine detects language changes inside the recording.
Does MacWhisper have dictation?
Yes, in the version sold on macwhisper.com. MacWhisper's docs say dictation is not available in the App Store version.
How this page was made: MacWhisper details are quoted from macwhisper.com, goodsnooze.gumroad.com and docs.macwhisper.com on October 22, 2026; Vocco details checked against Vocco 1.0.8 on October 28, 2026. Drafted with AI assistance and checked against those sources.
Try Vocco on your Mac
Free to use, with no account and no card; the first 14 days are full Pro. Pro is one payment for all your Macs: $29 at launch until November 30, then $39.
macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon