Key differences
Raycast bolted dictation onto its launcher. Superwhisper is a dictation product. The gaps show up around offline, file transcription, compliance, and platform reach.
| Superwhisper | Raycast | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, iOS | macOS, iOS (keyboard) |
| Offline mode | Full offline support | Cloud only |
| Privacy | On-device option, SOC 2, HIPAA | Cloud, audio not retained, no SOC 2 or HIPAA listed |
| Languages | 100+ with auto-detect and translation | Auto-detect, no published list |
| AI modes | Super, Voice, Email, Message, custom | Email, Messaging, custom styles |
| Reads screen context | Super Mode reads on-screen text | Reads frontmost app name only |
| Custom vocabulary | Yes | Yes |
| File transcription | Audio and video, with speaker labels | No |
| Meeting recording | Zoom, Teams, Discord, Slack | No |
| Enterprise | SSO, team billing, HIPAA, SOC 2 | Team plans, no compliance certs for dictation |
| Product focus | Dictation-first | Launcher with dictation built in |
| Free tier | Free forever + 15 min Pro trial | Free during beta, expected to be Pro after |
Key differences
Offline vs cloud
Raycast dictation processes audio in the cloud and uses hosted models like OpenAI's GPT-5.4 mini to clean up transcripts. Their docs explicitly say local LLMs aren't part of the current beta. If you lose internet, dictation stops.
Superwhisper runs its speech models on-device. You can work on flights, in coffee shops with bad wifi, or in secure environments where audio can't leave the machine. There are cloud models too if you want them, but the offline path is real.
Compliance
Raycast says voice isn't used to train models and audio isn't retained on their servers. That's a reasonable privacy posture. They don't publish SOC 2 Type II or HIPAA compliance for the dictation product today.
Superwhisper is SOC 2 Type II certified and HIPAA compliant. If you're in healthcare, legal, finance, or any regulated workflow, that matters more than a marketing claim.
Platform coverage
Raycast for Windows exists, but the new dictation feature is macOS plus an iOS keyboard right now. If you split your day across a Mac and a Windows machine, the dictation experience isn't consistent.
Superwhisper runs on macOS, Windows 10/11, and iOS. Same hotkey, same modes, same vocabulary, one license.
Modes and screen context
Both apps let you define styles for different contexts. Raycast ships Email and Messaging styles plus custom styles you can target per app.
Superwhisper's Super Mode reads what's on your screen to shape the output, not just the app name. If you're replying to a long email thread, it can pick up the thread context. You can also write modes with full system prompts.
What Superwhisper does that Raycast doesn't
File transcription with speaker labels. Meeting recording for Zoom, Teams, Discord, and Slack. A Claude Code integration. Translation between languages. Enterprise SSO and centralized billing. These aren't on Raycast's dictation roadmap today.
Where Raycast does well
If you already live in Raycast, having dictation in the same hotkey-driven app is useful. The launcher, AI chat, snippets, and now dictation all share one shortcut surface. The free beta also means you can try it without paying.
Raycast is a launcher that added dictation. Superwhisper is built around dictation. Different scope, both valid depending on what you need.
What people say
Guillermo Rauch
Superwhisper delivers on the dream of an AI-native operating system. The best part: it's insanely fast and does just what you expect.
Pieter Levels
Tried @superwhisperapp today. Very nice. Lets me talk to Cursor and then it codes for me, just gets it right.
Keep comparing
How the leading cloud dictation tool compares on offline support, privacy, and pricing.
Read comparison
Real-time dictation versus the popular Mac file transcription tool.
Read comparison
Alter is an AI desktop assistant. Here's how it overlaps with Superwhisper and where it doesn't.
Read comparisonSupport
