Compare / Wispr Flow

Claude Whisper vs Wispr Flow

Wispr Flow is a polished commercial dictation service for desktop and phone, with paid plans and team features. Claude Whisper is a free, open-source desktop app that hands your speech to Claude Code’s own voice dictation. Here is where each one fits.

Download for macOS Download for Windows

Written by the developer of Claude Whisper. Facts about Wispr Flow come from its own pages, read in November 2026; every one is listed under Sources.

Quick verdict

Free on top of Claude Code, or a full dictation service

If you already use Claude Code on a Mac or Windows PC and want hold-to-talk dictation in every app without another subscription, Claude Whisper does the job. If you want dictation on your phone as well, richer rewriting (styles, snippets, Command Mode) or team plans with compliance paperwork, Wispr Flow offers much more, for a monthly price once you pass the free allowance.

Pick Claude Whisper if

You already use Claude Code and don’t want another subscription.
You want the source code: it is MIT licensed and on GitHub.
You use Windows on ARM, which Wispr Flow does not support.
You prefer an app whose only connections of its own are update checks on GitHub, and that keeps its history on your computer.

Pick Wispr Flow if

You want dictation on iPhone or Android as well as the desktop.
You don’t use Claude Code or don’t want a Claude account.
You want per-app styles, snippets, a shared dictionary or editing by voice.
Your company needs SSO, admin controls, SOC 2 / ISO 27001 or a HIPAA BAA.

Side by side

Claude Whisper and Wispr Flow compared

	Claude Whisper	Wispr Flow
Price	Free app, MIT licensed. Runs on the Claude account you already use for Claude Code: no extra subscription, no API key	Free with a limited number of words per week; Pro $15/user/month, or $12 billed annually; Growth $23, or $18 annually; Enterprise custom
Platforms	macOS 14 Sonoma or later (Apple silicon or Intel); Windows 10/11 (x64 and ARM64), first version	macOS 12 or later (Apple silicon or Intel), Windows 10/11 on x64, iPhone (iOS 18.3+), Android 13+. No Windows on ARM, iPad or Linux
Phone apps	No	Yes: iPhone and Android
Where speech is processed	Claude Code’s built-in voice dictation, signed in as you; your speech goes to Anthropic through Claude Code. The app’s only connections of its own are to GitHub, to check for updates when you ask	Wispr’s cloud: “Transcription always occurs on the cloud”
Works offline	No: transcription is done by Claude Code’s voice dictation	No: an internet connection is required
AI cleanup	Improve (macOS only, optional): removes fillers and self-corrections, fixes punctuation and the spelling of product names and technical terms. About a second extra. Not on Windows yet	Removes fillers, fixes punctuation and self-corrections; per-app styles (English only); Command Mode to edit by voice (paid plans)
Dictionary and snippets	No custom dictionary; Improve restores the spelling of names and terms	Dictionary that learns names and jargon, voice snippets; shared across a team on Pro and up
Languages	Those Claude Code’s voice dictation supports; pick one in Settings	100+ with auto-detect
How you trigger it	Hold Right Command (Right Ctrl on Windows), speak, let go. Lock hands-free with Right Option / Right Alt or a double-tap. Esc cancels. Every key can be changed	Hold Fn on Mac (Ctrl+Win or Caps Lock on Windows); Fn+Space or a double-tap for hands-free, which stops at 20 minutes
Account	A Claude account, signed in to Claude Code, with voice dictation working	A Wispr Flow account
Teams and compliance	None. It is an independent open-source project with no admin controls or certifications of its own	SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001; HIPAA BAA on Growth and up; SSO/SAML on Growth; SCIM and audit logs on Enterprise
Open source	Yes, MIT	No

Prices as of November 2026, in the currency the vendor shows. Claude Whisper needs Claude Code installed and signed in to a Claude account.

Price

What each one costs

Claude Whisper

The app is free and MIT licensed. There are no plans or word allowances of its own: dictation runs on the Claude account you are already signed in to Claude Code with, and Improve uses your Claude subscription. The catch is that it is only “free” on top of a Claude account that can use Claude Code.

Wispr Flow (as of November 2026)

Free: “Limited words per week”. Wispr’s homepage FAQ says 2,000 words a week; its help center says the allowance differs by platform and account. At the cap, new dictations are blocked until the reset.
Pro: $15 per user a month, or $12 billed annually. Unlimited dictation.
Growth: $23 per user a month, or $18 annually; $33 / $26 with unlimited Notetaker.
Enterprise: custom pricing, billed annually.

Privacy

Where your voice goes

Claude Whisper

The app does no speech recognition of its own. A hidden Claude Code session, signed in as you, transcribes your speech, so the audio goes to Anthropic under your own account. Apart from update checks on GitHub when you ask, the app itself makes no network connections; nothing is sent to Claude as a chat message, and the last 30 dictations stay on your computer. Improve (macOS) sends the transcribed text, not audio, to a separate claude -p process.

Wispr Flow

Audio is processed in Wispr’s cloud. Two switches, “Improve the model for everyone” and Dictation cloud storage, are on by default; cloud storage keeps transcripts, audio and history on Wispr’s servers. Context Awareness, also on by default, reads the text around your cursor and on-screen text (Wispr says it takes no screenshots). Wispr says your data is never sold, it holds zero-data-retention agreements with its AI providers, and only Enterprise gets “Models never trained on your data”.

Platforms

Desktop only, or desktop and phone

Wispr Flow covers more ground: Mac (macOS 12 or later), Windows 10/11 on x64, iPhone and Android. It does not run on Windows on ARM, iPad, Linux, virtual machines or remote desktops.

Claude Whisper is desktop only: macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon or Intel, and Windows 10/11 on x64 or ARM64. The Windows app is a first version without Improve. There is no phone app.

Features

What you get beyond plain dictation

Claude Whisper

Hold-to-talk on Right Command (Right Ctrl on Windows), a hands-free lock, Esc to cancel.
Improve on macOS: tap Shift while talking and Claude removes fillers and self-corrections before pasting.
History of the last 30 dictations; “Paste and press Return” to send straight away.
Pastes followed by a space and puts your clipboard back.

Wispr Flow

Writing styles (Formal, Casual, very casual, Excited) per app category, English only.
Command Mode on paid plans: edit selected text, draft a reply or search by voice.
Dictionary, voice snippets and team sharing; a Notetaker on Mac and Windows.
100+ languages with auto-detect.

Claude Whisper’s limits, plainly

It needs Claude Code installed and signed in to a Claude account, with /voice working. If you do not use Claude Code, it is not for you.
Your speech goes to Anthropic through Claude Code, under your account. It is not an offline or on-device tool.
Desktop only: macOS 14 or later and Windows 10/11. No iPhone or Android app.
The Windows app is a first version: no Improve, no capsule position and no Faster start yet.
The Windows build is not signed yet, so SmartScreen warns on the first launch.
It is unofficial: not made by, affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.

Fair is fair

When Wispr Flow is the better choice

You want to dictate on your iPhone or Android phone, not only on the desktop.
You don’t use Claude Code, or you would rather not tie dictation to a Claude account.
You want more control over the output: per-app styles, snippets, a learning dictionary and Command Mode.
Your team needs SSO/SAML, admin control over model training, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 or a signed HIPAA BAA.
You want a commercial product with its own help center rather than a small open-source project.

FAQ

Questions about Claude Whisper and Wispr Flow

Is Claude Whisper a free alternative to Wispr Flow?

For desktop dictation, yes: the app is free and open source, with no plans of its own. It needs Claude Code installed and signed in to a Claude account, and it has fewer features than Wispr Flow (no phone apps, styles, snippets or team plans).

Do either of them work offline?

No. Wispr Flow needs an internet connection for every dictation, and Claude Whisper relies on Claude Code’s voice dictation, which sends your speech to Anthropic.

Can I run both on the same Mac?

Their default keys differ (Fn for Wispr Flow, Right Command for Claude Whisper), so they can sit side by side. If you move one of them to the other’s key, quit or rebind the other.

Which one cleans up my text better?

Wispr Flow has more cleanup options: styles, a dictionary, snippets and Command Mode. Claude Whisper’s Improve is a single step on macOS that removes fillers and self-corrections and fixes punctuation and term spelling, keeping your words and language.

Is Claude Whisper made by Anthropic?

No. It is an unofficial, independent project that works with Claude Code. It is not made by, affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.

Try Claude Whisper

Free and open source. If Claude Code already works on your computer, setup takes a couple of minutes.

Download for macOS Download for Windows

More comparisons

Sources

Competitor pages were read on 10 November 2026. Prices are as shown there that day.

Claude Whisper README: https://github.com/viachm/claude-whisper#readme
Claude Whisper guide: https://github.com/viachm/claude-whisper/blob/main/docs/GUIDE.md
Wispr Flow pricing: https://wisprflow.ai/pricing
Wispr Flow homepage: https://wisprflow.ai/
What is Flow: https://docs.wisprflow.ai/articles/2772472373-what-is-flow
Supported devices and system requirements: https://docs.wisprflow.ai/articles/1036674442-supported-devices-and-system-requirements
Free-tier word allowance: https://docs.wisprflow.ai/articles/4760791189
Data controls: https://wisprflow.ai/data-controls
Privacy mode and cloud sync: https://docs.wisprflow.ai/articles/4709791908-understanding-privacy-mode-and-cloud-sync
Context Awareness: https://docs.wisprflow.ai/articles/4678293671-feature-context-awareness
Flow styles: https://docs.wisprflow.ai/articles/2368263928-how-to-setup-flow-styles
Command Mode: https://docs.wisprflow.ai/articles/4816967992-how-to-use-command-mode
Hands-free mode: https://docs.wisprflow.ai/articles/6391241694-use-flow-hands-free