Dictation
BB Recorder vs Aqua Voice
Aqua's accuracy. Your hardware.
Aqua Voice built a great cloud dictation product with screen context. BB Recorder gets you the same speed and accuracy with a local-first option, custom models, and meeting + screen recording in the same app.
BB Recorder
100% local option · BYO keys + models
Meeting recorder, dictation, and screen recording in one app. Free forever.
Aqua Voice
Speak your thoughts into any app.
Free capped · $8/mo Pro
Key differences
Local inference option
Aqua processes audio in the cloud. BB Recorder can run transcription and cleanup entirely on your Mac — nothing leaves the device when you don't want it to.
Bring your own model
Aqua's Avalon model is proprietary. BB Recorder lets you run Apple Intelligence, drop a Whisper .bin, or a GGUF file, or point at Ollama / LM Studio for any model you pulled.
Custom cleanup prompts
Tune cleanup per-context: tighter for Slack, looser for Google Docs, preserve developer jargon in your terminal. BB Recorder's custom cleaner instructions are yours to write.
Dictation + meetings + screen
Aqua is dictation only. BB Recorder also runs a no-bot meeting recorder and a screen recorder from the same library and hotkeys.
No word or usage cap
Aqua's free tier caps at 1,000 words. BB Recorder is unlimited and free.
Feature comparison
| Feature | BB Recorder | Aqua Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | ||
| 100% local inference option | Yes | No |
| Works fully offline | Yes | No |
| No account required | Yes | No |
| Transcripts never leave device (local mode) | Yes | No |
| Writing workflow | ||
| Global hotkey dictation | Yes | Yes |
| Live cleanup | Yes | Yes |
| Custom cleanup instructions | Yes | partial |
| Context-aware (reads active app) | No | Yes |
| Snippets library | Yes | No |
| AI engine | ||
| Bring your own API keys | Yes | No |
| Bring your own .bin or GGUF model file | Yes | No |
| Swap transcription + chat providers freely | Yes | No |
| Apple Intelligence | Yes | No |
| Scope | ||
| Dictation | Yes | Yes |
| Meeting notes | Yes | No |
| Screen recording | Yes | No |
| Pricing | ||
| Unlimited words, free | Yes | No |
| Free forever for core | Yes | 1,000 words capped |
When Aqua Voice is the better pick
Aqua's screen-aware prompting (it reads your active app to bias transcription toward the right syntax) is genuinely clever. If you primarily vibe-code in Cursor and want that polish built-in, Aqua's context awareness is ahead.
Try it on your next call.
Free. Works offline. No account required.
Rolling it out to a team? BuildBetter adds SSO, admin controls, and a shared workspace.
