One time price, on device, notch UI.
Two Mac apps that both run the model on your own machine. The differences are in what they do after the words land, and in how you pay.
| Feature | Zumbo | Superwhisper |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | One time purchase | Free tier, subscription, and a lifetime option |
| One time price | $15 for one Mac, $20 for three, $79 for ten | Lifetime price published, one time |
| Subscription price | None | $8.49 a month |
| Runs offline | Yes | Yes |
| Engine on device | Yes, inside the app | Yes |
| Custom vocabulary | 21 packs, plus your own words | Custom vocabulary |
| Learns from corrections | Yes, Teach a word once | - |
| Notes in the app | Yes, searchable, with reminders | Meeting notes |
| Meeting mode | Yes, live, on the Mac | Meeting notes |
| Speaker labels | Yes | Labels not stated |
| Lives in the notch | Yes | No |
| Account required | No, ever | Not required to start |
| Languages | 25 European languages, English first | - |
| macOS minimum | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon | - |
| Download size | About 570 MB | - |
| Trial | 3 days, everything unlocked, no card | Free tier |
Read off superwhisper.com on 21 September 2026. A dash means the vendor does not state it on its own public pages, not that the answer is no.
Price model
Zumbo is bought once and that is the only shape it comes in. Superwhisper gives you three ways in: a free tier to try it, a monthly price, and a one time lifetime price for people who would rather not rent software. Both of us therefore have a one time answer; the difference is what it costs and what else comes with it.
One time price
Zumbo's one time price is per household or per team rather than per machine: three Macs for twenty dollars covers a desk, a laptop and the one at home. Superwhisper publishes a lifetime price on its own pricing page; check it there rather than here, because it is theirs to change.
Subscription price
There is no monthly option for Zumbo, deliberately. If you prefer a small recurring cost to a larger up front one, Superwhisper has that and Zumbo does not.
Runs offline
Both work with the network off, which is the thing that separates this pair from the cloud services. On a plane, on a client site that will not admit an unknown app to its network, or on a bad connection, neither of these stops.
Engine on device
Zumbo ships the speech engine inside the download, which is why the download is about 570 MB. There is no model to fetch on first run and no account to attach it to.
Custom vocabulary
This is the widest gap on the page. Superwhisper lets you supply a custom vocabulary, which means you write the list. Zumbo ships twenty one packs for fields like developer tools, legal, medical, design and marketing, switched on by what you say you dictate most, and your own words sit on top of them. You start with a field's language rather than an empty box.
Learns from corrections
Superwhisper does not state that it learns from what you fix. In Zumbo you select the word that came out wrong, type what you meant and press Teach, and it is heard your way from then on. The correction stays on your Mac and the list grows out of your work instead of being typed in up front.
Notes in the app
Superwhisper states meeting notes. Zumbo keeps everything it ever typed, searchable, and adds notes you never paste anywhere: press New note and talk. Say a time and it becomes a reminder, so remind me to call Dana tomorrow at ten sets one for tomorrow at ten.
Meeting mode
Both have an answer for meetings. Zumbo's transcribes the room through the microphone while it happens, with a timestamp for each paragraph, and none of it leaves the machine. On a call, use the speakers rather than headphones and the other side is in the notes too.
Speaker labels
Superwhisper's pages describe meeting notes but do not state that speakers are labelled, so that is a dash rather than a no. Zumbo labels each speaker, with an optional add on download of about 220 MB for the labelling model.
Lives in the notch
Zumbo's whole interface is the notch: it expands for history, settings and the Teach form and retracts again, so it is on screen without occupying a window or a Dock slot. That is a taste question more than a feature, and if you would rather have a normal window, this counts against us.
Account required
Neither makes you sign up before you can try it. Zumbo has no account at all: your licence key activates the app and that is the end of the relationship.
Languages
Zumbo covers twenty five European languages and you pick your main one during setup, after which it writes only in that alphabet. Superwhisper does not state a language count on the pages checked, so this is a dash.
macOS minimum
Zumbo needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later, because the engine runs on the Neural Engine. Superwhisper does not state a minimum on the pages checked.
Download size
The size is the engine. A small dictation download almost always means the work happens somewhere else. Superwhisper does not publish a size on the pages checked.
Trial
Different shapes of the same idea. Superwhisper's free tier lets you keep using a limited version. Zumbo gives you everything for three days with no card, then asks for fifteen dollars once.
Who should pick which
Pick Superwhisper if you want a free tier you can stay on indefinitely, if a monthly price suits you better than a one time one, or if you have already built a vocabulary there and it works.
Pick Zumbo if you want the lower one time price, if your field has its own language and you would rather switch on a pack than write a word list, if you want the app to learn from the corrections you make, or if you want meeting transcripts with each speaker labelled without any of it leaving the Mac.
Both are honest answers to the same question, and either is a better answer than a subscription to a server for work that your own machine can do.
Related: all six Mac dictation apps side by side, Zumbo against VoiceInk, and dictation with the Wi-Fi off.
Are both of these really on device?
Yes. Both state that transcription happens on your Mac. This is the main thing that separates the pair of them from the cloud services, and it is why either one keeps working with the network off.
Which is cheaper?
Zumbo is fifteen dollars once for one Mac and twenty for three. Superwhisper publishes a monthly price and a lifetime price on its own pricing page. Compare them there, since those are theirs to change.
What does Zumbo do that Superwhisper does not state?
Learning from your corrections, speaker labels on meeting transcripts, and a vocabulary that starts from twenty one packs rather than a list you write. Where Superwhisper does not state something, this page says so rather than claiming a no.
Do I have to use a particular key?
No. You choose your own shortcut in Settings and can change it any time. One key starts and stops dictation; which key is up to you.
Can I try Zumbo without paying?
Three days with everything unlocked and no card. If it does not fit your work, nothing happens at the end of it.
Free for 3 days, everything unlocked. Then $15 once. macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon.