Aqua Voice is the cloud-based, subscription dictation tool tuned for technical vocabulary, with apps on Mac, Windows, and iPhone. Murmur is the Mac-only, $29 lifetime alternative for people who'd rather keep their audio on their own machine.
Verified May 2026 · written by the Murmur team
One-time payment. Free quick mode forever. AI mode and Silent mode unlock with the licence. 14-day trial of Pro, 14-day refund.
$8/month or $96/year. Free tier capped at 1,000 words. iOS Pro is $119/yr. Subscription required because all transcription is cloud.
Three years of Aqua Voice Pro is $288, almost 10x Murmur's lifetime cost. The lifetime model is a bet that you don't want to pay for the same software every year.
| Murmur | Aqua Voice | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $29 lifetime | $96 / year |
| Free tier | Quick mode forever | 1,000 words total |
| Local transcription (audio stays on device) | ✓ | cloud only |
| AI polish / cleanup | ✓ | ✓ |
| Active-window-only screenshot | ✓ | n/a |
| Single-tap vs double-tap gesture | ✓ | |
| Silent polish (no audio) | ✓ | |
| Technical vocabulary tuning | vocab list | Avalon model |
| Custom dictionary size | unlimited | 800 terms |
| Platforms | Mac only | Mac, Win, iPhone |
| Subscription required | required | |
| Works offline | quick mode | |
| Editable polish prompt | ✓ | presets |
Cross-platform. Aqua Voice runs on Mac, Windows, and iPhone (added in early 2026). A single subscription covers all three. Murmur is Mac-only and likely to stay that way for a while. If you split across platforms, Aqua Voice is the right tool today.
Technical vocabulary. Aqua Voice's Avalon model is specifically tuned for technical vocabulary, with an 800-term custom dictionary on top. For medical, legal, programming, or scientific dictation, the cloud-tuned model has a head start over local Whisper plus a hand-curated vocab list.
Bundled processing. Aqua Voice's $96/yr includes the cost of cloud transcription. Murmur asks you to bring your own Claude API key for AI/Silent mode, which means you also pay the Claude API bill (typically a few dollars a month). For very heavy AI users, the bundled pricing may be more predictable.
Real-time feedback. Aqua Voice shows transcription in real time as you speak, which some users prefer for long-form dictation. Murmur transcribes on release of the hotkey; the full transcript appears once.
Audio never leaves your Mac. Murmur runs Whisper locally via Apple's MLX framework. There is no streaming, no cloud transcription, no audio upload. Aqua Voice is cloud-based by architecture; the subscription exists in part because they have to run inference servers. For users in regulated industries, or anyone who'd rather their voice stay on their own machine, this is the whole pitch.
One-time price. $29 once vs $96 every year. Less than four months of Aqua costs more than a lifetime of Murmur. After three years you've paid $288 to Aqua versus $29 to Murmur. The math is dramatic for any long-term user.
The gesture. One hotkey, three modes. Hold to dictate locally. Double-tap and hold to polish with Claude. Double-tap silently to let Claude write from the screenshot alone. Aqua Voice's interaction model is single-mode and consistent across utterances; switching modes per utterance with one key is unique to Murmur.
Active-window-only screenshots. When you opt in to AI mode's screen context, Murmur captures only the focused window. Never the full screen, never other apps, never your desktop. Aqua doesn't take screenshots so this isn't a comparison item; the broader point is that Murmur's privacy posture is built in, not bolted on.
Direct to the AI provider. Murmur talks directly to api.anthropic.com using your own API key. There's no Murmur server in the middle, no metadata collection by us. Aqua's design routes through their cloud by necessity.
Fully editable polish prompt. Aqua Voice offers tone presets. Murmur exposes the raw system prompt: tune it for length, tone, references, anything. If you want fine control over how Claude writes for you, this matters.
The full gesture demo, with live waveform and the polished reply pasted into Mail, lives on the Murmur homepage.
Yes, dramatically. Murmur is $29 once. Aqua Voice Pro is $96 per year. Less than four months of Aqua costs more than a lifetime of Murmur. After three years you've paid $288 to Aqua vs $29 to Murmur.
No. Murmur runs Whisper locally on your Mac via Apple's MLX framework. Audio never leaves the device. Aqua Voice is subscription-only because it requires cloud processing; your audio is sent to their servers for transcription.
Yes. Murmur installs in minutes and works alongside Aqua Voice. Cancel your Aqua subscription whenever you're confident. Custom dictionary entries and snippets need to be re-entered manually; there's no auto-import.
Not yet. Murmur is Mac-only (macOS 12+, Apple Silicon). Aqua Voice runs on Mac, Windows, and iPhone, so if cross-platform is a hard requirement, Aqua stays the right pick.
Aqua's Avalon model is tuned for technical vocabulary. Murmur uses local Whisper plus a vocabulary list you maintain yourself; for most general technical use this works well, but for very specialised domains (medical transcription, legal terminology, dense scientific writing) Aqua's tuned model may be more accurate out of the box.
Quick mode does. Whisper transcription runs entirely on-device. AI mode and Silent mode need internet to call Claude's API. Aqua Voice needs internet for everything because all transcription happens in the cloud.
One hotkey, three modes. Hold Right ⌘ to dictate locally (Quick mode). Double-tap and hold to send the transcript and a screenshot to Claude (AI mode). Double-tap without speaking to send just the screenshot and let Claude write the reply from context (Silent mode).
Quick mode dictation is free forever. Install Murmur, hold Right ⌘, see if the gesture clicks. If you want AI mode and Silent mode, the Pro licence is $29 once with a 14-day trial.