Onit vs. Handy
Both free, both local, both private. But where Handy stops at basic transcription, Onit goes further with automatic filler word removal, formatting, and advanced punctuation, all inside a polished app that's built to be used every day.
Feature comparison
Onit meets the benchmark
Switching to Onit doesn't mean giving anything up. Here's how the two stack up.
Feature
Onit
Pricing
For unlimited words
Free
Free word limit
Dictation cap
Fully local
Your voice never leaves your mac
Works offline
Dictation available offline
AI editing
Improve or polish your transcript
Smart Cleanup
AI removes fillers, fixes formatting & punctuation
Personal statistics
View things like WPM and time saved
Learn vocabulary / Dictionary
Model adapts through corrections
Transcript history
View and manage past dictations
Multi-language support
25+ languages
Works in every app
Insert into any text field on your Mac
Custom hotkey
Hold key to start dictating
Hands-free mode
Double tap key to start dictating
Accessible from the screen
Has clickable entry point (besides menu bar)
iOS app
Dictation on your iPhone
Open Source
Dictation on your iPhone
Prioritized feature request
Request specific features
Smart Cleanup
Dictation that cleans itself up
Handy transcribes what you say and pastes it. That's it. What you say is what you get (including the "um"s, the half-finished sentences).
Onit adds a local AI cleanup layer on top of transcription. Before your text is pasted, Smart Cleanup quietly polishes it: removing filler words, fixing punctuation, formatting numbers and times, and structuring lists. It all happens locally on your Mac, same privacy guarantee, just with an extra step that makes the output actually usable.
What Smart Cleanup handles
Filler word removal ("uh," "um," "like," "you know")
Auto-punctuation and capitalisation
Number and time formatting ("three thirty pm" → 3:30 PM)
Email address formatting
List and structure formatting
and more…
Note: Both Handy and Onit use Parakeet V3 for transcription, so base accuracy is similar. The difference is what Onit does with the transcript before you see it.
The experience
Same values, different products.
Handy and Onit share the same core belief: voice dictation should be free, local, and private. Both run entirely on your Mac, both work offline, and neither sends your audio anywhere.
Where they differ is in scope and intention. Handy is an open-source project designed to do one thing: transcribe speech and paste it. It's minimal by design, and the GitHub readme says as much: it's "trying to be the most forkable" app, not the most polished one. That's a legitimate and admirable goal for a developer tool.
Onit is built for the person who just wants dictation to work. With a polished UI, Smart Cleanup, personal stats, advanced transcript history, and ongoing product development. Onit is perfect for those who want more advanced voice dictation out-of-the-box and a well-considered user experience.
Worth noting is that Onit comes with vast range of configurations and advanced settings for those who like to get a little bit more technical and customize their experience further!
Decision guide
So, which one should you choose?
Choose Onit if…
You want a Smart Cleanup layer to automatically remove filler words and fix formating.
You want a polished, designed app rather than a developer tool.
You want personal stats like WPM, time saved, word count etc.
You want a local dictation model that automatically improves as you use it.
You want a screen handle/clickable access point.
Choose Handy if…
You're a developer who wants to fork or extend the codebase
You want the most minimal possible interface
You need Linux or Windows support
You prefer open-source software
Raw transcription (no cleanup layer) is what you want
FAQ
Can't find your question? Join our Discord 👾 to chat with the team.
Is dictation really free?
Yes, it's guaranteed free for the first 5000 sign-ups!
Do I need an account?
No, and you can still use Onit for free without an account, at least for now. That said, we strongly encourage people to sign up (Google or email+magic link) to secure their free seat! An account will also be useful to connect your experience if you decide to get our upcoming mobile app. Lastly, we rely on user feedback to improve our product, and without your email, we can't reach out and hear your thoughts. At the end of the day it's your call, but Onit stays 100% private regardless!
How can dictation be free?
Because it's local. "Local" means Onit runs on your Mac — not our servers. No cloud processing means no infrastructure costs, so we don't need to charge you. It also means your voice data never leaves your computer.
Does it send my voice to the cloud?
Nope! We take pride in that Onit's Voice Dictation is fully local. However, if you choose to use our other tools, such as QuickEdit, some remote processing is involved.
How is Onit different to Wispr Flow, SuperWhisper or Willow Voice?
Onit Dictate runs entirely on-device, so we made it free. No servers, no subscription, completely free!
How is Onit different to Mac's native dictation?
Transcripts in Onit get processed by a local AI model to remove unwanted filler words like "um" or "like". Onit can also correct grammar mistakes and improves over time to learn your unique vocabulary!
Where can I use Onit Voice Dictation?
Anywhere on your Mac! That includes all your apps and websites.
Is there a dictation shortcut key?
Yes we've set up a universal hotkey for Onit dictation. It's CapsLock by default but you can change it to anything you'd like!
Can I hide the handle at the edge of my screen?
Absolutely! The handle is there as a reminder of how to launch Onit, but feel free to hide it in Settings once you've memorized the shortcut.
