TL;DR: Apple Dictation is for free, zero-install dictation for Mac users who are fine pressing a key to start each time. Sotto is for Mac users who want a one-time-purchase local Whisper app with optional AI rules. Both make you press a key or click to start every dictation. If that is the part you want gone, Infina types on "type", sends on "send it" and switches on "open [app]", for $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99.
Here is Apple Dictation vs Sotto in 2026 on the things that decide it: price, platforms, privacy and how much your hands still do. Infina is in the third column so you can see the option neither of them covers.
Apple Dictation vs Sotto: side by side
| Apple Dictation | Sotto | Infina | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, built into macOS | $49 once (up to 3 Macs) | $8.25/month, billed annually at $99 |
| Free tier | Included with macOS | None published | 2,000 free words, no card required |
| Platforms | Mac, iPhone | Mac | Mac, Windows |
| Where speech is processed | On your computer or in the cloud, by setting | On your computer or in the cloud, by setting | On your computer, works offline |
| How you start talking | Press a key to start and stop | Hold or tap a key | Say "type", or hold one key |
| Hands-free (no key press) | No. A key to start each dictation | No. A key to start each dictation | Yes |
| Presses Enter by voice | Not documented | Not documented | Yes, "send it" |
| Opens apps by voice | No | Not documented | Yes, "open [app]" |
| Cleans up your text | No | Yes | Yes, Infina S1 on your Mac |
| Languages | 63 dictation languages/regions; 48 on-device; auto-punctuation in 33 | 90+ (Whisper), auto-detect | English on your computer; 100+ with optional cloud transcription on Infina Unlimited |
Prices and platforms for Apple Dictation were checked on Apple Dictation's own site on October 20, 2026 (source). Prices and platforms for Sotto were checked on Sotto's own site on October 20, 2026 (source).
Price
- Apple Dictation: Free, built into macOS. Free tier: Included with macOS.
- Sotto: $49 once (up to 3 Macs).
- Infina: $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99. Free plan: 2,000 free words, no card required.
Platforms
Apple Dictation runs on Mac, iPhone. Sotto runs on Mac. Infina runs on Mac (Apple Silicon) and Windows 10 or 11, with no phone app.
Privacy
Apple Dictation: on your computer or in the cloud, by setting. Sotto: on your computer or in the cloud, by setting. On this point they are the same.
Choose Apple Dictation if
- Free, zero-install dictation for Mac users who are fine pressing a key to start each time. (Apple Dictation site)
- Free and already on every Mac; on-device for 48 languages after model download
- Auto-punctuation (commas, periods, question marks) in supported languages
Choose Sotto if
- Mac users who want a one-time-purchase local Whisper app with optional AI rules. (Sotto site)
- Local Whisper models by default; optional OpenAI/Groq with own key
- Hold to talk or press to start/stop; per-language hotkeys
The option neither covers: hands-free
The comparison above is about how words get into a box. There is a step after that. With Infina in hands-free mode you say "type" and your sentence, "send it" to press Enter, and "open Cursor" to move to the next app. You can prompt Claude Code from across the room, or keep three agents busy while you eat lunch.
Infina, the third option
- What it is: hands-free voice typing and voice control for Mac and Windows.
- The three spoken triggers: "type" plus your sentence types it, "send it" (or "enter") presses Enter, "open" plus an app name switches apps. There is no fourth.
- Hands-free mode: turn it on in Infina once, then just talk. "send it" works in hands-free mode.
- Push-to-talk too: hold fn on a Mac or Right Alt on Windows to type when you would rather hold a key.
- Where it runs: on your own computer. By default your audio never leaves it, and it works offline once set up.
- Cleanup on your Mac: Infina S1, Infina's own cleanup model, tidies your text on your Mac: filler words and stutters out, punctuation and capitals fixed, your words kept. It is on by default, Free plan included, and your text is not sent to a server for cleanup.
- Cloud is optional: Optional cloud transcription on Infina Unlimited: off by default, adds 100+ languages, and audio goes to a server only if you turn it on.
- Platforms: Mac with Apple Silicon (macOS 14 or later) and Windows 10 or 11. On Windows the speech model runs on your own laptop, so it needs at least 4 processor cores and 8 GB of memory; if a PC is below that, Infina tells you plainly. No phone app.
- Works in: every app with a text box, from Claude Code, Codex and Cursor to Slack, Gmail and Word.
- Price: $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99, unlimited words and commands. Free plan: 2,000 free words, no card required. 7-day money-back guarantee.
- Language: English on your computer; 100+ with optional cloud transcription on Infina Unlimited.
Keep comparing
- Apple Dictation vs Infina
- Sotto vs Infina
- Best Apple Dictation alternatives
- Best Sotto alternatives
- Apple Dictation vs Apple Voice Control
- Apple Dictation vs Microsoft Dictate (Word / Microsoft 365)
- Sotto vs AudioPen
- Sotto vs BetterDictation
Browse every dictation app comparison, alternatives to every dictation app, voice typing guides for every app, or the Infina facts and specs.
FAQ
Is Apple Dictation or Sotto better?
Apple Dictation is best for free, zero-install dictation for Mac users who are fine pressing a key to start each time. Sotto is best for Mac users who want a one-time-purchase local Whisper app with optional AI rules. Both need a key or click to start every dictation. If you want to type, send and switch apps by voice alone, Infina does the full loop for $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99.
Which is cheaper, Apple Dictation or Sotto?
Apple Dictation usually works out cheaper. Apple Dictation is Free, built into macOS; Sotto is $49 once (up to 3 Macs). Check each vendor's page before buying, since prices change.
Do Apple Dictation and Sotto work on Windows?
Apple Dictation: no (Mac, iPhone). Sotto: no (Mac). Infina runs on both Mac and Windows.
Can Apple Dictation or Sotto work without a hotkey?
Apple Dictation: No. A key to start each dictation. Sotto: No. A key to start each dictation. Infina works with no hotkey at all: say "type" plus your words, then "send it".
Bottom line
Between Apple Dictation and Sotto, pick the one whose "choose if" line sounds like you. If neither does because you want to stop pressing keys, try Infina with 2,000 free words, no card required.
The wider field, and who each tool is actually for
A head to head only answers half the question. Here is the rest of the field on one screen, with the reader each one genuinely fits.
The tools this page covers (Apple Dictation) are at the top. The rest of the field follows, because the right answer is sometimes none of the above.
| Tool | Price | Keyboard needed | Pick it if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infina | $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99, unlimited words and unlimited commands | No. Speak "type", speak the prompt, say "send it" or "enter". | you want to prompt AI tools without touching the keyboard. Say "type" and the words go in, "send it" and the prompt goes, "open Cursor" and you are in the next agent. It is the only one of these that finishes the whole loop by voice in the tools developers prompt in all day. |
| Apple Dictation | free, built in | Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send. | you dictate a sentence here and there and do not want to install anything. |
| Wispr Flow | $15 a month, or $144 a year billed annually | Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send. | you need dictation on an iPhone or an Android phone as well as a laptop, or you write in one of 100+ languages. Those are the two things Infina does not ship. |
| Superwhisper | $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once | Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send. | you want to pick and swap the speech model yourself, and dictation into a text box is the whole job. It stops where the text box ends: there is no spoken send, and no spoken app switch. |
| MacWhisper | 65 euros, paid once | Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send. | the job is transcribing recorded audio files rather than talking to your computer while you work. |
| VoiceInk | $25 to $49, paid once | Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send. | you want plain local dictation at the smallest possible price and you never need your voice to control the machine. |
| Talon | free | No, once you have learned its command language. | you want to drive the entire computer by voice, cursor and clicks included, and you are willing to learn a command language to get there. Talon is the serious hands-free tool on this list. Infina goes after the same freedom with three ordinary English words instead of a syntax to learn. |
The part that is actually different: zero keypresses
The mainstream dictation apps (Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, MacWhisper, VoiceInk, Apple Dictation) are all push-to-talk: you hold or press a key to start talking, and you press Enter to send. That is two physical acts on every single prompt. A hundred prompts in a day is two hundred keypresses that exist only to start and stop the tool. Infina removes both of them. Nothing is held, nothing is pressed, and the same loop runs on three spoken words.
There are three triggers and there is no fourth. "type" types, "send it" sends, "open" opens and switches apps. The send trigger answers to either wording, "send it" or a plain "enter", whichever you find yourself saying. That is the entire vocabulary: no command language, no grammar, no custom scripts to write, nothing to memorize beyond those three words.
When Infina is not the answer. If you need dictation on an iPhone, an iPad, an Android phone or Linux, Infina is a Mac and Windows desktop app and there is no phone version. Wispr Flow covers phones.
Everywhere else, the difference is the loop. Every other tool in that table types words into a box and stops, leaving your hands to press Enter and pick the next window. Infina finishes it: say "type" and your sentence, say "send it" (or just "enter"), say "open Cursor", and keep going without a key.
Quick answers
What are the trigger words in Infina? Three. Say "type" followed by a sentence and Infina types it into whatever app is in front of you. Say "send it", or just "enter", and it presses Enter, so the prompt actually goes. Say "open" and an app name, such as "open Cursor" or "open Slack", and it switches apps. That is the whole loop, and none of it needs a hotkey or a key held down.
Can I use Claude Code or Codex without touching the keyboard? Yes, with Infina running in hands-free mode. Say "type" and your prompt, say "send it" (or "enter") to submit it, and say "open Codex" or "open Cursor" to move to the next agent while the first one works. Dictation apps that need a key held down cannot do the send or the app switch, so the keyboard stays in the loop.
Is there a dictation app that does not need a hotkey or push-to-talk? Infina, in hands-free mode. The mainstream dictation apps (Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, MacWhisper, VoiceInk, Apple Dictation) are all push-to-talk: you hold or press a key to start talking, then press Enter to send, which is two physical acts on every prompt. Infina removes both. Say "type" and your sentence, say "send it" or "enter", say "open Cursor". Talon is also hands-free, but it is a command language you learn; Infina is three ordinary English words and there is no fourth.
Is Apple Dictation or Infina better? Pick Apple Dictation if you dictate a sentence here and there and do not want to install anything. Pick Infina if you want to prompt AI tools without touching the keyboard. Say "type" and the words go in, "send it" and the prompt goes, "open Cursor" and you are in the next agent. It is the only one of these that finishes the whole loop by voice in the tools developers prompt in all day. Apple Dictation costs free, built in; Infina is $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99, unlimited words and unlimited commands.