Cue vs MacWhisper: Local Transcription App or a Voice Agent?
MacWhisper and Cue both turn speech into text on the desktop and both record meetings without a bot, but they are built around different jobs. MacWhisper’s official site describes an all-in-one Mac app for transcribing files, meetings and system audio with models that run on the Mac, plus system-wide dictation and optional AI services through your own API keys. Cue is a desktop voice agent for Mac and Windows: voice typing in supported apps, Agent requests from selected text, and meeting capture that feeds the next task. This page compares them from MacWhisper’s own pages and Cue’s published facts.
Dictate into the app you have open, capture a meeting from a recorder you start, then hand reviewed passages to an Agent for a summary, translation or follow-up draft, on Mac or Windows.
Its site describes drag-and-drop file transcription, meeting and system-audio recording, speaker recognition, subtitle export, a free tier and a one-time Pro license.
Pick the job you need now
These are entry points into the same Cue product, account, download, and pricing.
Start from the task on screen
Speak a request and use the current desktop context to prepare work you can review.
Explore Voice Agent workflows →Turn speech into text
Choose your desktop and start with the field where you are already typing.
Capture notes without a bot
Start the desktop capture when you choose, see a progressive transcript, then review structured notes.
Explore meeting notes →Side-by-side workflow comparison
Swipe the table to compare Cue and MacWhisper →
| Workflow | Cue | MacWhisper |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Desktop voice agent. Voice typing in supported apps, Agent requests from selected text, and desktop meeting capture you review. | Its official site calls it the all-in-one Mac app to transcribe it all: audio, video, meetings and system audio, using Whisper, Parakeet and other models run on the Mac. |
| Voice typing | Focus an editable field in a supported app, use the Dictation shortcut shown in your installed version (Option by default on macOS, Right Alt on Windows), speak, then check the inserted text before continuing. Cue shapes dictated text for the place it lands: readable punctuation, paragraphs and concise phrasing before it is inserted. Check names, numbers and meaning before relying on it. | Its feature list names system-wide dictation, automatic grammar improvement, dictation with AI prompts and app-specific prompts. Which of these are free and which need Pro is not stated on the pages checked. |
| Meeting capture | A desktop recorder you start, with nothing joining the participant list. A progressive transcript appears during longer sessions, and structured notes with action items are prepared after you stop. | Its site states it records online meetings in Zoom, Teams, Webex, Skype, Chime, Discord and more, with automatic meeting start and end detection, and that no bots join. |
| File transcription | Record on the desktop or import an authorized recording in Notes, review the transcript, then give reviewed passages to an Agent for a summary, translation or follow-up draft. | Its site lists drag-and-drop transcription of mp3, wav, m4a, ogg, opus, mov and mp4 files, YouTube and media URLs, batch transcription, automatic speaker recognition, and export to subtitles, text, Markdown, PDF, HTML and docx. |
| Where processing happens | Cue’s published Gemma 4 case study measured a lower-latency on-device text-polish step, while cloud speech-to-text remained in the path. Read Cue’s privacy policy for current data handling. | Its site states that transcription runs locally on the Mac with local models, and that optional AI services use your own API keys for providers it names, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, xAI, Azure, Deepseek, Google and OpenRouter, custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints, or local models through Ollama and LM Studio. |
| After the transcript | Select the reviewed passages and make a bounded Agent request for a summary, translation or follow-up draft, then review it in the app where it lands. | Its site lists summarize, chat and custom prompts, transcript translation, and uploads to Notion, Zapier, Obsidian, n8n, Make.com or a custom webhook, plus CLI control. |
| Languages | Check the languages offered in your installed version and test a short sentence in your language before relying on it. | Its site states support for 100 different languages for transcription. |
| Current platforms | macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later. | A Mac app. Its minimum macOS version and any Windows or iOS version are not stated on the pages checked. |
| Starting plan | Cue is free to start. Cue Plus is $19.99/month. | Its site lists a free tier at €0 and MacWhisper Pro as a one-time €64 license with lifetime updates, sold through Gumroad or the App Store. Verify current terms. |
| Best fit | You want dictation, meeting capture and the follow-up task in one desktop app, on Mac or Windows. | You want a dedicated Mac transcription tool for files and recordings, with local models and your own AI keys. |
What MacWhisper does well
MacWhisper is a focused transcription tool, and its official site is specific about what that means: drag a file in and get text, with mp3, wav, m4a, ogg, opus, mov and mp4 supported, YouTube and media URLs, batch jobs, automatic speaker recognition, and export to subtitles, text, Markdown, PDF, HTML and docx. It records online meetings in Zoom, Teams, Webex, Skype, Chime, Discord and more with automatic start and end detection and no bot joining, captures audio from other apps, and offers system-wide dictation with grammar improvement and app-specific prompts. The site states that transcription runs locally on the Mac with local models, and that AI features such as summaries, chat and custom prompts use your own API keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others, or local models through Ollama and LM Studio. Pricing is a free tier and a one-time €64 Pro license with lifetime updates. For someone who transcribes a lot on a Mac and wants to control where the text goes, that is a strong, well-defined offer.
Cue is built for the moment after the transcript. Its voice typing lands in the field you have open and is shaped for that app; when the text needs more, you select it and make an Agent request to rewrite, summarize or translate, then review the result. A meeting is captured from a recorder you start yourself, with nothing joining the participant list, a progressive transcript during longer sessions, and structured notes with action items when you stop. A recording or an authorized imported file goes through the same review step before you hand passages to an Agent. The same account runs on Windows as well as the Mac. Cue publishes one measured result, a lower-latency on-device text-polish step from the Gemma 4 case study, while cloud speech-to-text remained in the path; MacWhisper’s site describes local transcription by default. If you want the transcript as a file, MacWhisper is the direct tool. If you want it to turn into the next piece of work, Cue is built for that.
Official MacWhisper sources
MacWhisper details above were checked on November 7, 2026. Features, plans and platform availability can change, so verify the current source before deciding.
- MacWhisper official site — Positioning as an all-in-one Mac transcription app, local models (Whisper, Parakeet and others), file formats and export options, meeting recording with no bots joining, system-wide dictation, AI services with your own API keys, workflow uploads, 100 languages, and the free €0 tier and one-time €64 Pro license. The page footer identifies www.macwhisper.com as the official website and Gumroad and the App Store as the purchase routes.
- MacWhisper privacy policy — The vendor’s statements about on-device functionality and anonymous licensing analytics, last updated February 14, 2024 per the page.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for transcribing recordings, Cue or MacWhisper?
It depends on what the transcript is for. MacWhisper’s site describes a dedicated Mac transcription app: drag-and-drop files in several formats, YouTube and media URLs, batch jobs, speaker recognition, subtitle and document export, and local models on the Mac. Cue records on the desktop or imports an authorized recording in Notes, asks you to review the transcript, and then lets you give reviewed passages to an Agent for a summary, translation or follow-up draft in the app where you need it. Pick MacWhisper if you want the transcript as a file on a Mac, and Cue if the transcript should become the next piece of work on Mac or Windows.
Does MacWhisper work on Windows?
MacWhisper’s official site describes a Mac app, and no Windows version is stated on the pages checked; its minimum macOS version and any iOS version are also not stated there. Cue runs on macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later with the same account, download and pricing.
Does Cue transcribe locally like MacWhisper?
MacWhisper’s site states that transcription runs locally on the Mac with local models, with optional cloud AI services through your own API keys. Cue publishes one measured result: the Gemma 4 case study reports a lower-latency on-device text-polish step for dictation, while cloud speech-to-text remained in the path. Cue does not claim offline transcription. Read Cue’s privacy policy for current data handling, and MacWhisper’s own pages for its current terms.
Is Cue free?
Cue is free to start. Cue Plus is $19.99/month. Cue runs on macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later, and the same account covers voice typing in supported apps, Agent requests and desktop meeting capture. MacWhisper’s site lists a free tier and a one-time Pro license; check its current page because competitor terms can change.
Start with the workflow you need
Transcribe on the desktop, review the text, then carry it into the task that comes next.
Download free ← Back to alternativesTry a workflow you can check
For Cue, follow recording to agent context: review a transcript, mark what is missing, and hand a source-linked brief to an Agent. This is a Cue exercise, not a head-to-head benchmark or evidence that one product is better.