Hold a hotkey on macOS, speak, and drop transcribed or rewritten text into the active app.
Wave is a strong fit if you want dictation to behave like a Mac shortcut instead of a separate app. Its best trick is placing voice output back into the text field you were already using, with local Whisper for privacy and Groq when speed matters. The main boundary is platform and scope: it is macOS-only and built for text entry, not meeting capture or team knowledge management.
Mac dictation and quick rewrites inside the text field you already use
Skip it if: you need meeting recording, mobile dictation, browser-only use, or multi-speaker transcripts
The app itself is free and open source, so local Whisper dictation is the no-cost path. You start paying only if you choose hosted Groq transcription or AI rewrite features through your own API key. If cloud speed becomes the main reason you use Wave every day, watch Groq usage rather than Wave pricing.
Local Whisper is free; Groq features use your own API key.
Hosted Groq transcription and AI rewrite features use the user's own Groq API key.
Use local Whisper as the default for private text and offline work, then reserve Groq for moments where delay breaks your typing rhythm. Set a separate shortcut for AI Mode so plain dictation and rewrite requests do not blur together.
Hold the shortcut while writing an email, Slack reply, Notion note, Linear update, or browser message, then release to insert text where the cursor already sits. This is the core reason to use Wave instead of opening a separate recorder.
Highlight a messy sentence, hold the shortcut, say the change you want, and let Wave replace the selection in place. It fits quick grammar fixes, shorter replies, more professional tone, and lightweight code comments.
Use on-device Whisper when privacy, offline use, or zero cloud audio is the priority. Switch to Groq only when near-instant transcription or AI Mode is worth using a hosted API key.
Wave's core loop is smaller than most dictation tools: hold Right Option, speak, release, and text appears where the cursor was already blinking. That matters because it removes the usual detour through a separate recorder or input box.
If Wave is close but still misses the job, try one of these instead.
