TL;DR: Hex is for developers wanting a free, native, on-device hold-to-talk dictation app. Otter is for recording, transcribing and summarizing meetings, not typing into other apps. Only Hex is voice driven, and it asks you to learn its commands. 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 Hex vs Otter 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.
Hex vs Otter: side by side
| Hex | Otter | Infina | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (MIT) | Pro $16.99/mo or $8.33/mo billed annually | $8.25/month, billed annually at $99 |
| Free tier | Free | Basic: 300 transcription min/month, 30 min per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports | 2,000 free words, no card required |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows, Linux | web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Chrome | Mac, Windows |
| Where speech is processed | On your computer or in the cloud, by setting | Sent to the vendor's servers | On your computer, works offline |
| How you start talking | Hold or tap a key | Click a button | Say "type", or hold one key |
| Hands-free (no key press) | Yes, with its own voice commands | No. A click to start, Enter to send | Yes |
| Presses Enter by voice | Yes | No | Yes, "send it" |
| Opens apps by voice | Not documented | No | Yes, "open [app]" |
| Cleans up your text | Yes | No | Yes, Infina S1 on your Mac |
| Languages | Per-model language choice (Parakeet, Whisper); list not published | English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese | English on your computer; 100+ with optional cloud transcription on Infina Unlimited |
Prices and platforms for Hex were checked on Hex's own site on October 20, 2026 (source). Prices and platforms for Otter were checked on Otter's own site on October 20, 2026 (source).
Price
- Hex: Free (MIT). Free tier: Free.
- Otter: Pro $16.99/mo or $8.33/mo billed annually. Free tier: Basic: 300 transcription min/month, 30 min per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports.
- Infina: $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99. Free plan: 2,000 free words, no card required.
Platforms
Hex runs on Mac, Windows, Linux. Otter runs on web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Chrome. Infina runs on Mac (Apple Silicon) and Windows 10 or 11, with no phone app.
Privacy
Hex: on your computer or in the cloud, by setting. Otter: sent to the vendor's servers. That is a real difference if your work is confidential.
Choose Hex if
- Developers wanting a free, native, on-device hold-to-talk dictation app. (Hex site)
- On-device recognition (Parakeet, Whisper)
- Hold Option to talk; double-tap Option for hands-free recording
Choose Otter if
- Recording, transcribing and summarizing meetings, not typing into other apps. (Otter site)
- Meeting capture with bot or bot-free desktop recording
- AI summaries, action items, AI Chat across meetings
The option neither covers: hands-free
Neither of these was built for working away from the keyboard. 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
- Hex vs Infina
- Otter vs Infina
- Best Hex alternatives
- Best Otter alternatives
- Hex vs OpenWhispr
- Hex vs Voquill
- Otter vs AudioPen
- Otter vs Aqua Voice
Browse every dictation app comparison, alternatives to every dictation app, voice typing guides for every app, or the Infina facts and specs.
FAQ
Is Hex or Otter better?
Hex is best for developers wanting a free, native, on-device hold-to-talk dictation app. Otter is best for recording, transcribing and summarizing meetings, not typing into other apps. 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, Hex or Otter?
Hex usually works out cheaper. Hex is Free (MIT); Otter is Pro $16.99/mo or $8.33/mo billed annually. Check each vendor's page before buying, since prices change.
Do Hex and Otter work on Windows?
Hex: yes (Mac, Windows, Linux). Otter: yes (web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Chrome). Infina runs on both Mac and Windows.
Can Hex or Otter work without a hotkey?
Hex: Yes, with its own voice commands. Otter: No. A click to start, Enter to send. Infina works with no hotkey at all: say "type" plus your words, then "send it".
Bottom line
Between Hex and Otter, 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.
None of these is the wrong answer for everybody. What differs is which reader each one is right for.
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
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 Wispr Flow or Infina better? Pick Wispr Flow if 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. 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. Wispr Flow costs $15 a month, or $144 a year billed annually; Infina is $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99, unlimited words and unlimited commands.