Talkhawk
A Wispr Flow alternative built for Windows
Updated October 25, 2026. Prices and features checked on Wispr Flow's own pricing page and help center.
Talkhawk does Wispr Flow's core job on Windows: hold Ctrl + Win, talk, and clean text appears in the app you're using. It costs $72 a year, half of Wispr Flow's yearly price, and it turns speech into text on your PC instead of in the cloud.
| Talkhawk | Wispr Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid plan | $9 a month, or $6 a month billed yearly ($72 a year) | $15 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly ($144 a year) |
| Free plan | Unlimited dictation | 2,000 words a week on desktop |
| Where speech becomes text | On your PC | In Wispr's cloud |
| Dictation without internet | Yes | No |
| Shortcuts on Windows | Ctrl + Win to talk, + Space for hands-free, + Alt for Command Mode | The same defaults (new setups may start on Caps Lock) |
| Removes filler words, applies corrections | Yes, with Pro | Yes |
| Command Mode | Yes, with Pro | Yes |
| Snippets and personal dictionary | Snippets free, dictionary with Pro | Yes |
| Languages | 25 European languages | 100+ languages |
| Platforms | Windows | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android |
Why Windows users look for a Wispr Flow alternative
Wispr Flow made hold-to-talk dictation feel normal: you hold a key, talk the way you think, and get text you'd actually send. Three things send people looking for something else.
- Price. Pro is $15 a month, or $144 a year on the annual plan. If you mostly dictate into Slack, email and an AI chat, that's a lot for one habit.
- Your audio goes to the cloud. Wispr Flow's security page says it plainly: "Wispr Flow processes dictated audio in the cloud to turn speech into text." For some jobs and some people, that's a dealbreaker.
- The free plan runs out. 2,000 words a week on desktop is about 15 minutes of talking.
What Talkhawk does the same way
If you're used to Flow, Talkhawk will feel familiar on day one.
- Hold Ctrl + Win to talk, let go to paste. Add Space to go hands-free, add Alt for Command Mode.
- Polish removes filler words, keeps your corrections ("let's meet at five, actually six" becomes "Let's meet at 6."), and adds punctuation and lists.
- Command Mode rewrites selected text by voice: "make this shorter", "more formal", "translate to German".
- Snippets expand a spoken phrase into saved text, and with Pro your dictionary teaches it names and jargon.
- It adapts to the app you're in: casual in Slack, paragraphs in Outlook, exact identifiers in VS Code and Cursor.
What's different
The big difference is where your voice goes. Talkhawk runs an open speech model, NVIDIA Parakeet, on your processor. Recording and recognition never leave your PC, and dictation keeps working with no internet. Only Pro's Polish and Command Mode send text, never audio, to Talkhawk's server to be rewritten. Turn Polish off and nothing leaves your computer.
Running on your PC also makes it quick. On a recent desktop processor, a 24-second recording becomes text in about a second.
Where Wispr Flow is the better choice
An honest comparison has to say this part too.
- You use a Mac, iPhone or Android phone. Talkhawk is Windows only. Flow covers all four.
- You dictate in many languages. Flow lists 100+ languages. Talkhawk understands 25 European languages.
- You need it for a team. Flow sells team and enterprise plans with shared dictionaries and admin controls.
- You want meeting notes. Flow has a Notetaker for meetings. Talkhawk only does dictation.
Switching takes two minutes
- Install Talkhawk and open it once. Settings opens with a microphone check.
- Quit Wispr Flow, or turn off its startup option. Both apps listen for Ctrl + Win, so running both types each dictation twice.
- Add your dictionary words and snippets in Talkhawk's Settings, under Snippets and words.
- Hold Ctrl + Win and talk.
Questions
Is Talkhawk cheaper than Wispr Flow?
Yes. Talkhawk Pro is $9 a month, or $6 a month billed yearly ($72 a year). Wispr Flow Pro is $15 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly ($144 a year). Talkhawk's free plan has no word limit, and Pro is free for the first 14 days; Wispr Flow's free plan allows 2,000 words a week on desktop.
Can I keep the Ctrl + Win shortcut I use with Wispr Flow?
Yes. Talkhawk uses Ctrl + Win to talk, Ctrl + Win + Space for hands-free and Ctrl + Win + Alt for Command Mode, the same keys as Wispr Flow's Windows defaults. Quit Wispr Flow first so both apps don't type the same dictation.
Does Talkhawk work offline?
Dictation does, because speech recognition runs on your PC. Polish and Command Mode need an internet connection. Wispr Flow processes dictated audio in the cloud, so it needs a connection to dictate.
Does Talkhawk work on Mac or iPhone?
No. Talkhawk is Windows only. If you dictate on a Mac, iPhone or Android phone, Wispr Flow covers all of them.