The #1 Willow Alternative
Onit vs Willow Voice
Looking for a better alternative to Willow? Onit offers free and 100% local voice dictation without compromising on features. Read on to learn how Onit compares to Willow Voice.
Onit: The Free Dictation Alternative
Onit Dictate runs entirely on your Mac—100 % local, 100 % free.
Because it never uses a server, there are no fees: no subscriptions, no one‑time charges, and no word limits.
Local operation also means it works offline, so you can dictate even without Wi‑Fi!
Willow also stores data locally, but unlike Onit it still requires a subscription. Its “offline mode” is behind a paywall—you still have to pay to use it.
Why Onit is the Best Willow Alternative
All the same features, without the price tag.
Feature Comparison
Feature
Onit
Willow
Pricing
For unlimited words
Free
Your voice never leaves your mac
Works offline
Dictation available offline
Improve or polish your transcript
Limited
Model adapts through corrections
Multi-language support
Speak in most languages
Accessible from the screen
Has clickable entry point
Disable per app
Turn off dictation in specific apps
Request specific features
Improve Your Transcripts with AI
Both Onit and Willow automatically remove fillers such as “um”, “uh”, and “like”, so your text comes out clean by default.
Onit also includes QuickEdit, an AI editing layer that lets you:
clean up grammar and mistakes
rewrite transcripts as an email, Slack message, or note
translate text or change tone
QuickEdit uses remote processing but is opt-in and clearly separated from dictation. If you never want remote AI involved, you can simply turn it off in settings.
Willow approaches editing through voice commands. This keeps things voice-first, but it’s also more rigid and gives you less control over the final output.
Dictation That Adapts To You
Onit lets you correct transcription mistakes and train your personal dictation model over time.
This means:
your model adapts to your voice and vocabulary
names, jargon, and quirks stick
accuracy improves the more you use it
Willow remembers corrections for individual words, but personalization doesn’t go as deep or improve as visibly over time.
Want to Influence the Product?
Onit is built by a small team in San Francisco and runs an active Discord community where users can share feedback, report issues, and request features.
Because the team is small and fast-moving, suggestions don’t disappear into a backlog. Many users see their ideas shipped surprisingly quickly.
So, Which One Should You Choose?
Choose Willow if:
you’re fine paying a subscription
you want a cloud-powered dictation tool
you need team/collaboration features
Choose Onit if:
you want completely free voice dictation
privacy and offline support matter
you want direct influence over the product’s direction
If you’ve been looking for a free version of Willow without losing any of the core features, we think Onit is worth a serious look.
Questions & answers.
No cloud. No costs. Just fast, local voice-to-text on your Mac.