Blurt vs MacWhisper: two different jobs, one model.
MacWhisper turns recordings you already have into text. Blurt turns what you are saying right now into typing. Both run Whisper locally, so the question is which end of the workflow you are standing at.
People compare these two because both say Whisper on the tin, but they are aimed at different tasks. MacWhisper is a transcription workstation: drop in a podcast, a meeting recording or a YouTube link and get a transcript with subtitles and speaker labels. Blurt has no file import at all. It sits in the menu bar and types into whatever app has focus.
Pick by the job in front of you.
Blurt is a keyboard replacement
Hold Fn, speak, release, and the text lands in Slack, an editor, a terminal or a browser field. There are hold, tap-to-toggle and live streaming modes, an optional review step before insertion, and a paste path that restores your clipboard afterwards.
MacWhisper is a transcript workshop
Batch files, watched folders, YouTube and podcast import, subtitle export, speaker recognition, a command line and workflow hooks. Blurt does none of that and has no plans to. If you process recordings for a living, MacWhisper is the buy.
Dictation is an add-on there, the point here
MacWhisper does have system-wide dictation in its Pro tier, and it works. It is one feature inside a transcription app. Blurt spends its entire surface on the dictation loop: engine choice, vocabulary, replacement rules, corrections learned from your edits, and history you can search.
Different price shapes
MacWhisper Pro is a one-time purchase, listed at 64 euros on its own site, having risen from 59 earlier in the year. The App Store edition is sold as a subscription. Blurt is $3.99 a month, $29 a year, or $99 once.
| Blurt | MacWhisper | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Typing by voice into any app | Transcribing recordings and video |
| Push-to-talk dictation | The whole product | Included in the Pro tier |
| File and batch transcription | Not supported | Files, folders, YouTube, podcasts, subtitles |
| Speaker labels | Meeting mode splits You and Others | Speaker recognition across a recording |
| Price (Sept 2026) | $3.99/mo, $29/yr, $99 once | Pro at 64 euros once, or a subscription on the App Store |
| Speech engines | Whisper large-v3-turbo and Parakeet | whisper.cpp models |
| Text cleanup | Local Qwen formatting, no key needed | Cloud AI with your own API key |
| Learns your words | Vocabulary, replacement rules, corrections from your edits | Prompt and vocabulary hints |
Common questions
Can Blurt transcribe an audio file I already have?
No. Blurt only transcribes live microphone input, plus system audio in meeting mode. For an existing recording, MacWhisper is the right tool and we would point you there.
MacWhisper already does dictation. Why add Blurt?
If MacWhisper's dictation covers you, keep it. Blurt is worth a look if you dictate all day and want the details that only matter at that volume: a second faster engine, a dictionary that learns from your corrections, live mode, review before insert, and searchable history.
Do both keep audio on the Mac?
Yes for local transcription in both apps. MacWhisper can also call cloud AI for cleanup if you add an API key. Blurt's formatting model runs locally, so there is no key and no call.
Which handles technical vocabulary better?
Blurt biases the model with your custom vocabulary, applies replacement rules for words it consistently mishears, and suggests fixes it notices in your transcript history. That compounds if you dictate the same product names and jargon every day.
Are these prices current?
Checked on the official site in September 2026, where MacWhisper Pro was 64 euros, up from 59 earlier in the year. App Store subscription figures come from review aggregators rather than the site. Blurt is $3.99 a month, $29 a year, $99 once.
If you are talking, not importing, try Blurt.
Fourteen days with every feature on, no card and no account. Keep MacWhisper for the recordings.
Apple Silicon. 14-day trial, no card and no account. After the trial it keeps working at 20 dictations a day. Every paid plan, Lifetime included, carries a 30-day money-back guarantee.