Dettivo

MacWhisper

MacWhisper is the best Mac app for transcribing audio files you already have on disk. That is the whole job. Dettivo does live dictation, bot-free meeting capture, AI analysis, and a developer surface — and imports audio files too. For new buyers comparing the two, Dettivo covers far more ground; some MacWhisper power users will keep both.

§ Where Dettivo wins

Live dictation hotkeys with direct insertion into the focused app.
Live meeting capture with system audio + mic, no bot.
Quick Note → vault, Meeting Mirror → folder.
AI summary, action items, follow-up draft per meeting.
CLI / REST / MCP for scripting and agent integration.

§ Where MacWhisper wins

File-transcription UX is dialed-in. Drag audio in, done.
Better for batching old recordings, podcasts, exported Zoom MP4s.
No license server. Pay once, run forever, no online check.

§ Where they’re equal

Both are Mac-native, Apple Silicon-first.
Both use Whisper-family local transcription.
Both are one-time purchase, not subscription.

§ Specsheet

Feature	Dettivo	MacWhisper
Surface
Primary job	Live dictation + meetings	File transcription
Hotkey dictation	Yes	No
Direct insertion to focused app	Yes	No
Live meeting recording	System audio + mic	No
Audio file import	Yes — m4a/mp3/wav	Yes — best-in-class
AI meeting analysis	Summary, actions, decisions	No
Quick Note / Mirror	Yes	No
Cost
Pricing	$45 lifetime	$25–$59 one-time

Pulled from public pricing + feature pages. Last reviewed: 07 May 2026

§ Migration

You can keep MacWhisper for batch file transcription and use Dettivo for live dictation + meetings. They don’t step on each other.

Launching April 2026

Dettivo

One license. Three Macs. Forever yours.