Spokenly is a genuinely good voice-to-text app. It runs on Mac and iPhone, transcribes in more than 100 languages, and has earned a 4.9 App Store rating across a userbase north of 100,000. If you are reading this, you are probably already convinced that dictation beats typing and you are just deciding which app to commit to. So this is not going to be a hit piece. It is an honest, feature-by-feature look at how Spokenly and Voice Keyboard Pro differ, and a clear answer to the only question that matters: which one fits the way you actually work.
The short version: Spokenly is the app for people who want maximum control — local models, your own API keys, model selection, offline mode. Voice Keyboard Pro is the app for people who want dictation to simply work the moment they install it, with AI-cleaned text, a push-to-talk hotkey, and a lower price. Both are good. They are built for different people.
What Spokenly Does Well
It is worth being specific about Spokenly's strengths, because they are real and they matter to the right user.
Local, offline transcription
Spokenly can run Whisper and Parakeet models entirely on-device on Apple Silicon. Its "Local Only Mode" blocks all network requests, which means your audio never leaves the machine. For anyone working under strict privacy requirements, on an air-gapped machine, or simply uncomfortable sending speech to a server, that is a compelling feature.
Bring your own API keys
Spokenly lets you plug in your own keys for OpenAI, Deepgram, Groq, Anthropic, or Google and use those cloud models at no markup. If you already pay for one of those services, you can route transcription through it and pay only the provider's raw cost.
Model selection and developer tooling
You can pick which model handles a given transcription, and Spokenly adds an Agent Mode for voice-controlled macOS automation plus an MCP server aimed at AI coding agents like Claude Code and Cursor. For tinkerers and developers, that flexibility is the whole appeal.
If those three things describe what you want, Spokenly is an excellent choice and you should use it. The rest of this article is for everyone else.
Where Voice Keyboard Pro Takes a Different Path
Voice Keyboard Pro is built on a different philosophy: the best dictation tool is the one you never have to configure. Most people do not want to choose a transcription model, manage API keys, or reason about which mode is active. They want to press a key, talk, and have clean text appear. That is the entire product.
Zero setup, nothing to manage
There are no API keys to paste and no model picker to navigate. Voice Keyboard Pro uses a managed Groq Whisper pipeline that returns transcriptions in under a second, and it is configured out of the box. You install it, grant microphone and accessibility permission, and you are dictating within 30 seconds. The tradeoff, stated plainly, is below.
Hold to speak, not toggle
Voice Keyboard Pro uses a push-to-talk hotkey: press and hold to record, release to transcribe and insert text at your cursor. This walkie-talkie model gives you crisp control over exactly what gets captured and eliminates the "is it still listening?" uncertainty of toggle dictation. We wrote about why this matters in detail in Hold to Speak Dictation: Why Push-to-Talk Beats Toggle Dictation.
AI cleanup, on by default
Raw transcription includes your filler words, false starts, and run-on phrasing. Voice Keyboard Pro automatically removes the "ums," fixes obvious grammar, and formats the result, so what lands at your cursor reads like written text rather than a transcript of you thinking out loud. That polish happens without you asking for it.
Same platforms, lower price
Like Spokenly, Voice Keyboard Pro ships a native macOS app and an iPhone keyboard, so you get hands-free text on both your desktop and your phone. Pro is $4.99 per month, compared to Spokenly's $9.99 per month — roughly half.
The Honest Tradeoff
Here is the one place Spokenly has a clear structural advantage: Voice Keyboard Pro is a cloud service. It sends your audio to a transcription server (Groq) and needs an internet connection to work. It does not currently offer a fully offline, on-device mode the way Spokenly's local Parakeet and Whisper models do, and it does not support bringing your own API keys.
If offline transcription is a hard requirement — because of privacy policy, spotty connectivity, or personal preference — that is a legitimate reason to choose Spokenly, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. For most people, on a normal internet connection, the managed cloud approach is what makes the zero-setup, sub-second, AI-cleaned experience possible. Which side of that line you fall on is the real decision. If privacy is your main concern, our approach to it is described on our privacy page — transcribed text stays on your device.
Head to Head
| Feature | Voice Keyboard Pro | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS app + iPhone keyboard | macOS app + iPhone keyboard |
| Transcription | Managed Groq Whisper (cloud) | Local Whisper/Parakeet + cloud models |
| Offline mode | No (cloud-based) | Yes (Local Only Mode) |
| Bring your own API keys | No | Yes (no markup) |
| Model selection | No — managed, just works | Yes — pick your model |
| AI text cleanup | Yes, on by default | Available |
| Activation | Hold-to-speak hotkey | Keyboard / shortcut |
| Languages | Multilingual (Whisper) | 100+ languages |
| Developer / agent tooling | No | Agent Mode + MCP server |
| Pro price | $4.99 / month | $9.99 / month |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes (unlimited local + BYOK) |
A note on the free tiers: Spokenly's is genuinely generous if you are willing to bring your own keys or run local models. Voice Keyboard Pro's value proposition is the opposite — you do not have to bring anything. Each is "free" in a different sense, and which one feels free to you depends on whether you already have API keys and the appetite to manage them.
Which One Should You Choose?
Choose Spokenly if
- You need fully offline, on-device transcription for privacy or connectivity reasons.
- You already pay for OpenAI, Deepgram, Groq, Anthropic, or Google and want to bring those keys.
- You like choosing your own model, or you want voice-controlled automation and MCP tooling for coding agents.
Choose Voice Keyboard Pro if
- You want dictation that works the instant you install it — no keys, no model picker, no configuration.
- You want clean, formatted text rather than a raw transcript, without flipping any settings.
- You prefer the precise control of a hold-to-speak hotkey over toggle dictation.
- You would rather pay $4.99 than $9.99 a month for the same two platforms.
This is not a case where one app is objectively better. Spokenly optimizes for control and flexibility. Voice Keyboard Pro optimizes for simplicity and speed-to-value. If you have read this far and the words "I just want it to work" describe you better than "I want to choose my model," you already know which one to try. If you are weighing other options too, our comparisons with Wispr Flow and Apple Dictation cover the same ground for those tools.
Switching Is Painless
Because both apps live on the same two platforms, trying Voice Keyboard Pro costs you nothing but a few minutes. Install the Mac app or the iPhone keyboard, grant the standard permissions, set your hotkey, and dictate your first sentence. If it fits the way you work, keep it; if you need offline mode, you will know quickly and can go back. You can download Voice Keyboard Pro at voicekeyboardpro.com.
The best dictation app is not the one with the most options. It is the one that disappears — press a key, talk, and your words are simply there.