Will my Wispr Flow custom dictionary work?

Partially. Whisperstream uses simple word-for-word overrides; most entries from a Wispr Flow custom dictionary copy across without changes. Phrase-level rules and pronunciation hints do not carry over, so you will need to redo those by hand. The dictionary tab in settings is where you paste your list. Most people finish the conversion in one sitting.

Does Whisperstream work with Microsoft Word and Outlook?

Yes. Whisperstream pastes text into whatever window has focus, so Word, Outlook, OneNote, and the rest of Office work the same as Notepad does. There is no Office add-in to install and no special integration to configure. If your cursor can blink in a field, Whisperstream can type into it.

What about ARM Windows?

Not yet. Whisperstream ships x64 builds today; the speech runtime depends on a CPU build we have not yet packaged for ARM64. ARM Windows can run the app under emulation, but performance drops and we do not officially support that path. ARM64-native is on the roadmap. No fixed date.

Comparison

Whisperstream vs Wispr Flow

Local. One-time. Windows.

Whisperstream is a $29-once, on-your-PC dictation app for Windows. Wispr Flow is a $144-per-year cloud app for Mac and Windows. If you prefer paying once and keeping your audio on your machine, Whisperstream is the closer fit.

Updated April 28, 2026

Download Whisperstream See the comparison

At a glance

Whisperstream is a $29-once, on-your-PC dictation app for Windows. Wispr Flow is a $144-per-year cloud app for Mac and Windows. If you prefer paying once and keeping your audio on your machine, Whisperstream is the closer fit. If you need cross-platform reach or cloud-side intelligence, Wispr Flow stays the better answer.

Pricing: $29 once vs $144/year
Where audio goes: Stays on your PC vs uploaded to cloud
Best for: Privacy-first Windows users

The full picture

Side by side

Whisperstream

Wispr FlowWispr Flow

Pricing model

$29 once

$15/mo or $144/yr1

3-year cost

$29 total

$432-$5401

On-device vs cloud

On your PC

Cloud3

Screen-capture for context

Not used

Yes4

Free-tier limit

10 min dictation free (usually several days of use)

Limited weekly words2

Language support

25 languages

100+ languages7

Refund policy

30-day refund

Cancel anytime

Lifetime option

Yes ($29)

No

Sources

Pricing

Whisperstream costs $29 once. Wispr Flow costs $15 a month or $144 a year for Pro. Over three years, that adds up to $432 to $540, all of which stays in your wallet with Whisperstream. Both apps run on Windows; only one of them stops charging after install.

Privacy

Whisperstream transcribes on your PC. Audio never leaves your machine. Wispr Flow uploads audio to its servers for processing, and by default reads on-screen context to sharpen results. Both behaviors are documented in their respective help docs. If you want zero cloud upload, Whisperstream is the simpler answer; if you want cloud-side context, Wispr Flow is built around it.

Wispr Flow's own docs describe both behaviors: Wispr Flow's privacy and data-retention page confirms that audio is transmitted to Wispr servers for transcription, and Wispr Flow's Context Awareness page confirms that nearby on-screen text is sent alongside audio to improve accuracy.

When the other option wins

When Wispr Flow might still be right

There are three real cases where Wispr Flow is the right answer, not Whisperstream.

You use a Mac. Whisperstream is Windows-only; Wispr Flow runs on both Mac and Windows.
Your team needs SSO, SOC 2, or HIPAA ZDR. Whisperstream is a single-user app today; Wispr Flow has the enterprise tier and the paperwork.
Your team is split across Mac and Windows. Wispr Flow keeps everyone on one app; Whisperstream only covers the Windows half today.
You want screen-capture context to sharpen transcription. Wispr Flow ships that as a core feature; Whisperstream skips it on purpose to keep audio local.

For a broader Windows survey beyond this head-to-head, see our Wispr Flow alternatives roundup. If you also work on a Mac and came from the MacWhisper or VoiceInk world, see MacWhisper and VoiceInk for Windows. If your only paid alternative consideration is the free built-in Win+H, the closer comparison is Whisperstream vs Win+H.

If none of those apply, here is how most Wispr Flow users move over in five minutes.

Switching guide

Switching from Wispr Flow to Whisperstream

01
Cancel your Wispr Flow subscription
Open the Wispr Flow billing page and cancel. Your subscription stays active until the current cycle ends, so you can keep dictating with it while you settle in with Whisperstream.
02
Export your custom dictionary
If you have a custom vocabulary in Wispr Flow, copy it out of the dictionary settings before you cancel. Whisperstream's word-overrides setting accepts the same kind of one-for-one replacements; you will paste them in during step four.
03
Install Whisperstream
Download the installer from this page and run it. The first launch downloads the speech model, about 600 MB, which usually takes a few minutes. After that, everything runs offline.
04
Set your hotkey and dictionary
Open Whisperstream's settings and pick a push-to-talk hotkey; the default is Right Shift, which most users keep. While you are in settings, paste your exported Wispr Flow vocabulary into the dictionary tab.
05
Test it in your real apps
Open the apps you usually dictate into, like Outlook, Word, or your editor, and try a sentence in each. If a word lands wrong, add an override and try again. Most users settle the dictionary in one sitting.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Whisperstream gives you 10 minutes of transcription on first install. At normal dictation pace that is roughly 1,400 words, or six to eight short emails. No account, no credit card; you download, run, and start dictating. After 10 minutes, the trial pauses until you buy a license ($29 once). That is usually enough to confirm the dictation pipeline runs cleanly on your machine before you commit.

Roughly comparable on clean English. Whisperstream uses NVIDIA's open-weight Parakeet TDT v3 model on your CPU; Wispr Flow uses a proprietary cloud model with screen-context augmentation. On clear English speech without domain jargon, the two land in the same accuracy neighborhood. Wispr Flow can edge ahead on heavy technical content because the cloud-side context helps; Whisperstream's word-override dictionary closes most of that gap once you tune it.

No Typing,Just Speaking.Fully Local.

Private dictation for Windows. No cloud processing. No subscription.

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Whisperstream vs Wispr Flow

At a glance

Side by side

Sources

Pricing

Privacy

When Wispr Flow might still be right

Switching from Wispr Flow to Whisperstream

Cancel your Wispr Flow subscription

Export your custom dictionary

Install Whisperstream

Set your hotkey and dictionary

Test it in your real apps

Frequently asked questions

No Typing,Just Speaking.Fully Local.