Bellow vs SuperWhisper

Two Mac apps that both run speech recognition locally. They differ in scope, workflow, and what you're expected to configure.

Written by the Bellow team · Check their site for current pricing and features before deciding.

The short version

SuperWhisper is a broad, highly configurable local-transcription app - multiple models to choose from, file transcription, extensive customisation. Bellow is narrower on purpose: one job, done well, with almost nothing to set up.

Both keep your audio on your Mac, so this comparison isn't about privacy. It's about how much product you want.

Bundled model versus choosing your own

SuperWhisper lets you pick among speech models and trade accuracy against speed. That's genuinely useful if you enjoy tuning.

Bellow ships one model - Whisper Large-v3 Turbo - inside the app. There's nothing to download and no decision to make. The trade is real: you get less control, and a larger installer (~1.5 GB, almost entirely the model). In exchange, it works properly the moment you install it, including with no internet at all.

Scope: one job versus many

SuperWhisper covers transcribing existing audio files as well as live dictation. If you have a folder of recordings to convert, that matters and Bellow won't help - Bellow only transcribes what you say into the mic, live, and pastes it where your cursor is.

The narrow scope is deliberate. Push-to-talk that lands text in the focused app is the whole product, so it can be fast and nearly configuration-free.

Verifiable privacy

Both apps process audio locally, so both are strong here. Bellow adds one thing: it reads its own code-signing entitlements at runtime and shows you the result - network access, none. Since macOS resolves that from the signed binary on disk, it isn't a claim in a settings screen we control. You can check it rather than believe it.

Which to choose

• Choose SuperWhisper if you want model choice, file transcription, and deep configuration.
• Choose Bellow if you want to install it, pick a key, and never think about it again - with a smaller surface area and a verifiable privacy story.