JustVoice vs Willow Voice
JustVoice — the local Willow Voice alternative
Willow Voice is cloud-based at $15/mo. JustVoice runs locally on your Mac at $5/mo Plus, with a free tier.
At a glance
- JustVoice
- Local Whisper on macOS. Free / $5/mo Plus / $9/mo Pro. 5,000 free words/mo. Code mode, app profiles, custom vocabulary.
- Willow Voice
- Cloud AI dictation app. ~$15/mo. macOS, Windows.
Willow Voice positions itself as a fast cloud AI dictation app. JustVoice goes after the same job — fast voice-to-text on Mac — but does it locally on your machine, at a third of the price, with a real free tier.
Why choose JustVoice over Willow Voice
- Local processing — your audio stays on your Mac
- $5/mo Plus vs Willow ~$15/mo
- Free tier with 5,000 words/month
- Code dictation mode with IDE detection (Pro)
- BYOK AI cleanup using your own Claude or OpenAI API key
- Custom vocabulary, snippets, app profiles
Where Willow Voice still wins
We won't pretend JustVoice is better at everything. Willow Voice has real strengths:
- Cross-platform (Mac + Windows)
- Hosted AI cleanup with no API key needed
Bottom line: If you want local-first voice dictation on Mac at the lowest price, choose JustVoice. If you need Windows parity and don't want to manage an API key, Willow may fit better.
Feature comparison: JustVoice vs Willow Voice
| Feature | JustVoice | Willow Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Local processing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Starting paid price$5/mo vs ~$15/mo | ||
| AI cleanup (BYOK) | ||
| Code dictation | ||
| Windows support | ||
| Custom vocabulary |
The bottom line
JustVoice is the local-first, lower-cost Willow Voice alternative for Mac users.
Frequently asked questions
Is JustVoice really a good alternative to Willow Voice?
Yes. JustVoice covers the same core voice-to-text job — system-wide dictation on macOS — and adds GPU-accelerated local Whisper transcription, custom vocabulary, voice-activated snippets, and a free tier with 5,000 words per month. Most users switching from Willow Voice cite price, privacy, or features as the deciding factor.
Can I keep using both apps side by side?
Absolutely. JustVoice is a one-time download with a free tier — there's no risk in installing it alongside Willow Voice and trying both for a week. Most users settle on one, but they can coexist on the same Mac without conflict.
How long does it take to switch?
Five minutes. Download JustVoice from justvoice.ai/download, sign in (or use the free tier without an account beyond email), grant microphone and accessibility permissions, set a hotkey, and you're dictating into any app immediately. Custom vocabulary and snippets carry no migration overhead — they're entered as you go.
Why is JustVoice so much cheaper than Willow?
Willow runs transcription in the cloud, so they pay per-minute inference costs. JustVoice runs Whisper locally on your Mac's GPU, so we have zero per-user inference cost. We pass the saving on as a $5/mo Plus tier.
Compare JustVoice with other dictation apps
Ready to switch from Willow Voice?
Try JustVoice free with 5,000 words per month. No credit card required.