Compare
blabe vs Spokenly
Spokenly is a dictation app that is free with local models or your own keys, and it talks to coding agents. blabe is a paid Mac app with transcription included: hold one key and your exact words appear in any app.
The short version
Spokenly suits you if you want free. Its on-device Whisper and Parakeet models cost nothing, work offline and need no account, and you can add your own API keys at no charge from Spokenly. It runs on Mac, Windows, Linux and iPhone, and its sideload build (not the App Store one) has an MCP server so Claude Code, Codex and Cursor can ask you a question and hear your spoken answer.
blabe suits you if you want a focused paid tool with nothing to choose. Transcription is included, and your words appear wherever your cursor is. It runs on Microsoft’s MAI-Transcribe 2, benchmarked 5–10× faster than OpenAI’s, ElevenLabs’ and Google’s transcription models . It is Mac-only.
Side by side
| Feature | blabe | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year, transcription included within a fair-use monthly limit. 2-day free trial, no card. | Free with local models or your own API keys. Pro is $99.99 a year. |
| Rewrites your words by default | No. It removes “um” and “uh” (you can turn that off) and never rewrites with a language model. | Per mode. AI Instructions are optional and drive cleanup and formatting; Pro adds hosted text cleanup. |
| Transcription model | Microsoft’s MAI-Transcribe 2, through blabe’s transcription service. | Your choice of cloud models (MAI-Transcribe 2 is one of them), or Whisper and Parakeet on your Mac. |
| Account or key needed | No provider account or API key. You activate a paid plan with a license key. The trial needs no card, email or signup: install blabe and click Start Free Trial. | None for local models. Pro can need sign-in. |
| Works offline | No. It needs the internet to transcribe. | Yes, with local models. Local Only Mode blocks network requests. |
Which one to choose
When to choose Spokenly
- You want free. Local models have no word caps, no trial clock and no card, and your own keys add no fee.
- You need offline or on-device transcription, or a mode that blocks all network requests.
- You use Windows, Linux or iPhone as well as a Mac.
- You want agents to ask you questions and get spoken answers through its MCP server (sideload build).
- You dictate in many languages: it lists more than 100.
When to choose blabe
- You want transcription included, with no model to choose and no keys to add.
- You want nothing to tune. blabe has no modes and works the same in every app.
- You want your exact words, with no AI Instructions step.
Before you pick blabe. blabe needs the internet and macOS 14 or later. After the 2-day trial it is a subscription: $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year for up to 3 Macs, with transcription included within a fair-use monthly limit. When your trial or subscription ends, new dictation stops until you subscribe. What you've already dictated isn't affected. There is no Windows, Linux or phone app.
Try blabe free for 2 days.
No card. No email, no signup. macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel.