Reed Dictation by W20 Labs
Looking for a Wispr Flow Alternative?
Reed is a free Mac dictation app with speech recognition and cleanup on-device. If you are choosing between Reed and Wispr Flow, start with where you work, which languages you speak, and where you want your speech processed.
Download Reed — FreeApple Silicon (M1 or newer) · macOS 14 or later · English · No account
Reed is free and licensed under the Apache License 2.0.
Published by W20 Labs, the maker of Reed. Features checked against official documentation on .
Reed and Wispr Flow at a glance
This compares Reed’s currently available free Mac app with Wispr Flow. The linked sources explain the requirements and qualifications behind each row.
On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to read both products.
| Feature | Reed | Wispr Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Apple Silicon Macs, macOS 14 or later. Requirements. | Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android (listed as beta in its help overview). Flow overview. |
| Languages | English dictation. Supported language. | More than 100 languages. Language support. |
| Processing | Speech recognition and cleanup run on your Mac. The app blocks network requests from the dictation pipeline. Processing details. | Normal transcription happens in the cloud. Model-training and cloud-storage controls are separate settings. Privacy controls. |
| Offline use | Dictation and cleanup work offline after model download and preparation. Offline setup. | Cloud transcription needs a connection. Its docs also describe saved-audio retry and Turtle Mode’s on-device drafts; see the qualifications below. Recovery and drafts. |
| Text cleanup | Local rules handle fillers, restarts, punctuation, and numbers. An additional on-device tier uses Apple Intelligence where available on macOS 26. Cleanup details. | Smart Formatting handles punctuation and lists; Backtrack handles fillers and self-corrections. Formatting and Backtrack. |
| Mac shortcut | Hold Control + Option, speak, release. The shortcut is customizable. Shortcut setup. | Hold Fn, speak, release; setup uses Control + Option when Fn is unavailable. Shortcuts can be changed. First dictation. |
| Writing in apps | Inserts at your cursor in apps such as Mail, Notes, and Slack, with a paste fallback. Using Reed. | Dictates into text fields, with examples including Slack, Google Docs, and Notion. Using Flow. |
Privacy controls and processing location
Wispr says turning off “Improve the model for everyone” excludes your data from model training, while a separate setting controls dictation cloud storage. Its documentation still describes transcription as cloud-based. These controls matter when assessing Flow; they do not describe the same architecture as local recognition. Read Wispr’s explanation.
Reed keeps speech recognition and cleanup on your Mac. It still makes separate connections for the model download and updates, and has no analytics or crash reports. See What We Collect for exactly what those connections carry. The application receiving your text has its own storage and syncing behavior.
What happens without a connection?
With Reed, complete the one-time speech-model download and preparation before disconnecting. Then dictate into a local document or another app that remains usable offline. See offline requirements and setup.
Wispr’s troubleshooting guide describes retrying saved audio after reconnecting, subject to audio retention settings. It also describes Turtle Mode: on-device drafts can be inserted manually when the cloud is unreachable, with a cloud transcription added to History later. That section does not clearly specify platform availability; check the feature on your device if offline work is essential. Read the recovery and Turtle Mode documentation.
When Wispr Flow may be the better choice
- You write on more than a Mac. Flow lists Windows, iOS, and Android alongside macOS.
- You dictate in languages other than English. Flow documents support for more than 100 languages; Reed currently supports English.
- You want spoken list formatting and self-correction tools. Flow documents Smart Formatting and Backtrack for those workflows.
Explore Wispr’s platform and language overview and formatting guide to check your requirements.
When Reed may be the better choice
- You want your dictation processed locally. Recognition and cleanup run on your Mac.
- You work disconnected. After setup, you can dictate and clean up text without reaching a transcription server.
- You want free English dictation on a supported Mac. Reed has no account, subscription, or trial period. Check the hardware and setup requirements.
Try a typical email, a few names you use often, and a longer note in your own apps. Compare the resulting text and how much editing you need.
Try Reed on your Mac
Download Reed, finish the model setup, and try the shortcut where you already write. See the Reed homepage for workflow examples or follow the setup guide.
Download Reed — FreeApple Silicon · macOS 14 or later · English. Reed is free and licensed under the Apache License 2.0.