Superwhisper is a dictation app: you hold a key, speak, and Superwhisper pastes clean, formatted text into the app you're using, with a choice of local or cloud models. Ida, a free Mac app, also writes where you're working, but it can reply, schedule and post in apps like Gmail, Google Calendar and Slack, and it asks before it acts.

How Ida and Superwhisper compare

As of October 2026, based on each company's published documentation and pricing. Plans and pricing Mac requirements

What happens when you ask each one to move a meeting?

Say you want to move a meeting: "Move my call with Jordan to three tomorrow."

With Superwhisper, those words become clean text wherever your cursor is. To move the meeting, you still open Google Calendar, find the call and change the time yourself.

With Ida, you hold the shortcut and say it. Ida finds the call in Google Calendar, prepares the change and shows it to you. Nothing happens until you say so.

Superwhisper describes itself plainly: it "turns your voice into clean, formatted text in any app. It runs on macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android." Around that core it adds custom modes with your own prompts, file transcription, and a Meetings feature on the Mac that records calls without a bot joining and produces a transcript with a summary. Superwhisper introduction

Can Superwhisper send email or schedule meetings?

Not according to its documentation. Superwhisper's Mail mode formats what you say as an email, and Super mode uses what's on screen to shape the text, but in both cases Superwhisper pastes the result and you send it. Built-in modes

Is Superwhisper or Ida more private?

Both let you keep your voice on your Mac, so the answer depends on your settings.

Superwhisper's documentation says "with local models, nothing you say leaves your device," that transcription history is stored locally, and that your audio and text "are not used to train any AI models." Its cloud models run under zero data retention terms with the providers, according to Superwhisper. Local models work offline. Data handling Cloud provider terms

Ida lets you choose in settings: cloud transcription, or on-device transcription that keeps your audio on your Mac and works with no internet.

FAQ

Is Ida a Superwhisper alternative?

For some people. If you use Superwhisper mostly to write replies and messages, Ida can do that and also send them, schedule meetings and post in Slack, after showing you a confirmation. If you rely on Superwhisper's custom modes, file transcription, offline formatting or Windows support, those are Superwhisper's strengths.

Do Ida and Superwhisper work on Intel Macs?

Yes, both run on Intel Macs with macOS 14 or later. Superwhisper recommends cloud models on Intel, since its local models "only run really well on Apple Silicon." Ida supports both Intel and Apple silicon, and you can choose cloud or on-device transcription in settings. Superwhisper’s Intel guidance

Does Ida work offline like Superwhisper?

Yes, for dictation. With on-device transcription selected, Ida dictates with no internet. If you want formatted text with no internet at all, Superwhisper's local models and its small local language model are built for that. Superwhisper’s local language model

Which one should you use?

Choose Superwhisper if

• You want control over models. Superwhisper lets you pick between local Whisper and Parakeet models and cloud models, or bring your own API key.

• You need clean, formatted text offline. Superwhisper's local models and its small local language model format text without internet.

• You transcribe files or meetings. File transcription and Mac meeting recording are built in on Pro.

• You work across devices. Superwhisper runs on Windows, iPhone and Android, and one Pro license covers them.

• You like building your own modes. Custom modes take your own prompts and formatting rules.

Choose Ida if

• Your requests end in an action. A reply sent in Gmail, an event moved in Google Calendar, a message posted in Slack.

• You want to see the result before it happens. Ida shows the confirmation card and waits for you.

• You want simplicity. No models or modes to configure. Hold a shortcut, speak, let go.

• You'd rather not pay. Ida is free, including the actions.

• You sometimes type. You can type a request to Ida instead of speaking.

If your day is mostly long writing, notes and transcripts, Superwhisper has dedicated features for those jobs. If your day is a stream of small replies and calendar changes, Ida handles those for you. For a wider look at the category, see AI voice assistants for Mac: beyond dictation, and for the thinking behind Ida's confirmation step, why Ida asks before it acts.