Aside vs Wispr Flow.
Wispr Flow shipped its Notetaker on 5 August 2026, and it records the way we do. The argument left is what you end up holding.
- Wispr Flow$15/moper user for Pro, $12 if you pay for the year
- Wispr FlowMac onlyfor Notetaker today, with Windows and mobile named as coming
- Aside$79 onceand then Aside stops charging you
| What is being compared |  Aside |
Wispr Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Plus. $8/mo all-in, or $79 once (cloud optional) | Limit. $15 / user / mo, $12 billed yearly |
| Free | Limit. 10 meeting trial | Neither. Notetaker on the free plan, weekly meeting limit |
| Where notes live | Plus. Markdown in a folder you pick, Git and Obsidian friendly | Limit. Wispr Flow’s app |
| Transcription | Plus. On your Mac, an open speech model, ~99 languages | Neither. Not stated on their pages |
| System-wide dictation | Plus. Yes, hold fn, transcribed on your Mac | Plus. Yes, and on Windows, iPhone and Android too |
| Speaker labels | Plus. On your Mac, and the mic is already a separate track from the far end | Plus. From your calendar invite, a dictionary and context |
| Meeting languages | Plus. ~99, auto-detected | Limit. “English today, with more languages coming soon” |
| Own model or API key | Plus. Yes. Free from us, your provider bills you, or Ollama for free | Limit. Not offered on any plan, advanced models are Pro |
| MCP for agents | Plus. Included in the $79 | Plus. On the free plan, into Claude and ChatGPT |
| Joins the call | Plus. Never, no bot and no attendee | Plus. “No bot to invite” either |
| Platform | Limit. macOS only | Neither. Notetaker macOS only, their dictation also Windows, iPhone, Android |
| macOS version needed | Limit. macOS 26 or later | Neither. Not published. Mac today, Windows announced |
| Available now | Plus. Downloadable today | Plus. Downloadable today |
| Team features | Limit. None yet | Plus. Central billing on Pro, SSO, SCIM, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 on Enterprise |
Where the two actually differ.
1. The notes are files on your disk
Wispr Flow keeps your meetings inside Wispr Flow. You read them in their app, or you reach them from Claude and ChatGPT over MCP, which is on their free plan and is a good answer. Aside writes each meeting as Markdown into a folder you pick, so the file goes into Git or Obsidian and still opens with Aside deleted.
2. Bring your own model and key
Aside lets you plug in an Anthropic, OpenAI, Kimi or GLM key. We charge nothing for it, and your provider bills you for what you use. Or run Ollama, and nothing leaves the machine and nothing is billed. Wispr Flow lists no bring-your-own-key path on any of its plans, and the advanced thinking models sit inside Pro.
3. We say where the speech becomes text
Aside transcribes with an open speech model on your own machine, and the model is a 1.5 GB download that runs with the network off. Wispr Flow’s Notetaker page says meeting audio is “encrypted and stored only temporarily on your device and, in some cases, in secure cloud storage” and is deleted after that, which answers where the audio sits and not where it is turned into text. We are not going to guess the rest of that sentence for them.
The free plan is the other real difference, and it runs the other way: their Notetaker is on it and ours is a ten meeting trial. What their page does not print is the number of meetings a week it allows, or how long “standard” retention keeps a note.
Where our own transcription lands against the cloud services is a separate run, written up on the benchmark page.
Every meeting ends up as a Markdown file.
Summary, key points, decisions, action items with owners, open questions, your own notes and the timestamped transcript. All of it Markdown, all of it in the folder you pointed Aside at during setup.
On your disk
Commit it to Git. Open it in Obsidian. Grep it. There is no export button because there is nothing to export from.
In their app
An id, a record, and whatever the app will hand back to you. Wispr Flow’s pricing page calls the free plan’s note retention standard and does not print a number.
Where Wispr Flow is the better answer.
- You want a free plan that keeps working. Theirs includes Notetaker, speaker names and asking across meetings, at a weekly limit. Ours is ten meetings and then it stops.
- You dictate on more than a Mac. Wispr Flow dictates on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android in 100+ languages. Aside dictates on the Mac alone, in about 99, taken from the languages your Mac is set to. Their meeting notes are another matter: their page says Notetaker supports English today, with more languages coming soon, while Aside transcribes a meeting in about 99 and detects them.
- You are moving off Granola with your history. They advertise a one-click import of it. Aside has no importer.
- You need the compliance paperwork. SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, a HIPAA-ready BAA, SSO and SCIM are on their enterprise plan. Aside has none of that and no team layer. Their own page says Notetaker is coming soon to Enterprise, so check that it is there before buying it for the recording.
If none of those are you, and what you wanted was that same no-bot recording with files you own at the end of it, that is the thing Aside is.
Best for.
- Aside. A Mac user who wants meetings recorded without a bot, kept as Markdown files they own, and dictation in the same app.
- Wispr Flow. People who dictate on more than one platform, and anyone who wants a free plan that keeps working.
Aside, pros
- Transcription runs on your Mac, in about 99 languages, detected automatically.
- Every meeting is written as Markdown into a folder you pick.
- Plug in your own Anthropic, OpenAI, Kimi or GLM key, or run Ollama.
Aside, cons
- macOS only. No Windows, no phone.
- Dictation is the Mac only, and its languages follow your Mac’s language list.
- The free tier is a ten meeting trial, not a plan that keeps working.
Asked before switching.
What’s the best Wispr Flow Notetaker alternative for Mac?
If what you want is the same no-bot capture with the notes ending up as files you own, Aside is the closest thing. macOS only, $79 once, transcription on your own Mac, Markdown out the other end. If you want it free, in more languages, or dictation on Windows and the phone as well as the Mac, Wispr Flow is the better call today.
How much is Wispr Flow in 2026?
Checked on 6 August 2026: the free plan is $0 and includes Notetaker on the Mac, with a weekly meeting limit and what their pricing page calls standard note retention. Pro is $15 per user per month, or $12 per user per month billed annually, and adds higher meeting limits, longer retention and unlimited dictation. Enterprise is contact sales, and their page notes Notetaker is coming soon to it.
Can I use my own API key with Wispr Flow?
Their plans do not list a bring-your-own-model or bring-your-own-key option, and the advanced thinking models are part of Pro. Aside takes an Anthropic, OpenAI, Kimi or GLM key and charges nothing for it, and your provider bills you for what you use. Ollama runs on your Mac, so nothing is billed at all.
Can I import my Wispr Flow notes into Aside?
Not automatically, no. Aside reads a folder of Markdown, so whatever you can get out of Wispr Flow you can drop in, but there is no importer. It goes the other way for Granola users: Wispr Flow advertises a one-click import of a Granola history, and Aside has nothing like it.
Where does Wispr Flow keep my meetings?
In Wispr Flow, and you reach them through their app or through Claude and ChatGPT over MCP. On the audio their Notetaker page says it is “encrypted and stored only temporarily on your device and, in some cases, in secure cloud storage”, and deleted after that limited period. Aside writes Markdown files into a folder on your own Mac, which you can put in Git or open in Obsidian, with no cap and no expiry.
Does either of them join the call?
No. Both capture the Mac’s own audio, so neither shows up in the participant list. Wispr Flow puts it as “no bot to invite”, and by August 2026 Granola, Otter and Fathom can all record without a bot too.