Is SayControl cheaper than Willow?

Paid monthly, yes: $12 a month against $15. Paid yearly, Willow comes to $12 a month, but that is $143.99 up front. SayControl has no yearly plan, so you can stop after any month.

Is Willow’s free plan unlimited?

Its pricing page says Basic is unlimited on its lighter “Frontier Mini” model, with 20 Scribe uses a week. Its help centre still lists 2,000 words a week. SayControl’s free plan is 2,000 words a week, with cleanup and tones, plus 10 agent conversations to try.

Is Scribe the same as SayControl’s command mode?

Partly. Both rewrite text you’ve selected by voice: shorter, more formal, a list, translated. Scribe also writes drafts from a description and replies using what’s on screen. SayControl’s command mode works on the text that’s there, and when you want an AI’s answer, it opens ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or Perplexity with your question already asked.

Does Willow work with Claude Code?

You can dictate prompts into it, as into any app, and Willow reads code context to spell file names right. It doesn’t tell you when an agent has finished or needs permission. SayControl does, out loud, and you answer the same way.

Which keeps my audio?

Neither keeps it on its servers, by default. SayControl never does; your recent clips stay on your Mac, where you can turn recording off. Willow’s Private Mode, on by default, processes audio briefly and discards it; its opt-in “Help Improve Willow” setting keeps anonymised text, never audio.

What does SayControl not do?

It runs only on a Mac, it needs a connection, it covers 60+ languages to Willow’s 100+, and it doesn’t write drafts from a description. If you need Windows or iPhone, offline dictation or a certified team plan, Willow is the better pick today.

SayControl vs Willow: which Mac dictation app fits you?

Both turn your voice into clean text in any app, and neither keeps your audio on its servers by default. Willow can write for you. SayControl does things for you.

SHSorower Hossan, maker of SayControl·Updated 12 October 2026·7 min read

We make SayControl, so read this knowing that. Every Willow fact here comes from Willow’s own pages, linked at the end and checked on 12 October 2026. Where Willow is the better pick, we say so.

TL;DR

The short answer

For plain dictation these two are close: both clean up your “um”s, change style by app, learn your words and drop your audio once it’s been turned into text. You’d be fine with either.

Pick Willow if you also dictate on Windows or iPhone, want an AI that drafts whole messages from a description, need to work offline, or need SOC 2 and HIPAA for a team. Pick SayControl if you want your voice to do things while you write: drop a screenshot or a file into a sentence, send a question straight to ChatGPT or Claude, and hear your coding agents when they need you.

Nothing ticked yet. If none of these matter to you, both will do the job: try each one’s free plan and keep the one you like.

At a glance

The eleven things people ask about

SayControl and Willow at a glance
Feature	SayControl	Willow
Free plan	2,000 words a week	Unlimited on its lighter model
Pro, monthly	$12 a month	$15 a month
Pro, yearly	No yearly plan	$12 a month
Cleanup and style per app
Rewrite selected text by voice	Pro	20 a week free
Screenshots, files, links by voice		Not available
Ask ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Perplexity		Not available
Coding agents that talk back		Not available
Works offline		Pro
Runs on	Mac	Mac, Windows, iPhone
Languages	60+	100+

Common ground

What both do well

On both, you hold a key, talk, and let go, and the words appear wherever your cursor is. Both fix the sentence you restarted halfway, so “at 4, no wait, 5 p.m.” comes out as 5 p.m.

Hold a key, talk, and it types in any app
Fillers and false starts cleaned up
A style for each app
A dictionary that learns, and shortcuts
Rewrite selected text by voice
Audio not kept on their servers, by default

Privacy is closer than with most rivals, too. Willow’s Private Mode is on by default and drops your audio after it’s processed. SayControl never keeps it on its servers, with nothing to switch.

Two ideas

Scribe or Ask

Here’s the real split. Willow’s Scribe is an AI writer built into the app: press its own shortcut, describe what you want, and it drafts it, using what’s on your screen. Willow pitches it as a reason not to open ChatGPT or Claude at all.

SayControl goes the other way. When you want an AI’s answer, say “ask ChatGPT” (or Claude, Grok or Perplexity) and your question opens there, already asked, in the AI you already use. End a dictation on “…and ask Claude” and the whole thing, screenshot and all, becomes the question. And command mode rewrites what’s on screen: “make it shorter”, “make it formal”, “make it a list”.

Illustration: saying “ask ChatGPT what is the capital of France” opens a chat window with “What is the capital of France?” already asked — Say the question; it opens in that AI, already asked.

SayControl

Ask sends it where you work

Opens ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or Perplexity, already asked
“Take a screenshot and ask Claude” sends both
Command mode rewrites what you selected, on Pro
Needs no permissions: the link does the typing

Willow

Scribe writes it for you

Drafts a message from a description
Replies using what’s on your screen
Rewrites what you selected, by voice
20 uses a week free, unlimited on Pro

Where SayControl goes further

Dictation that does things

In SayControl, you can name a thing in the middle of a sentence and it lands there. Say “take a screenshot” and the picture is pasted where you were writing. Say “attach the payout PDF from downloads” and that file is attached. Your sentence carries on around it.

Here's the bug I mentioned: . It happens on every refresh.

📸 Screenshot taken

take a screenshot

A picture of your screen, pasted mid-sentence. Pick another to watch it land.

Willow doesn’t do this. Its voice commands are for formatting: punctuation, new lines, new paragraphs, and shortcuts that type saved text. SayControl’s controls also open apps and start a terminal in a folder, in any app, on Pro. See everything you can say.

Only in SayControl

Your coding agents talk back

Willow is good at dictating prompts into Cursor, Claude Code or Codex, and reads code context so file names come out right. What it doesn’t do is tell you what the agent did next.

SayControl does. Start a task, walk off, and you’ll hear that a session finished, hit a limit or wants permission. Answer out loud and the reply goes straight into that session. Or talk to all of them at once: “any updates?”, “tell all agents to commit”.

Illustration: a laptop running a coding agent calls out “Finished. What next?” across the room to a coffee mug, answered with “Yes, commit it” — Step away from the desk; the agent tells you when it’s done.

Free accounts get 10 conversations to try it, and Pro includes 300 a month.

Credit where due

Where Willow is ahead

Willow covers more ground in a few places that might decide it for you:

It runs on more devices. Mac, Windows and an iPhone keyboard, with Android on the way. SayControl is Mac only.
It covers more languages. Over 100, and it switches between them as you speak. SayControl covers 60+.
Scribe writes for you. Describe what you want and it drafts it, or replies using what’s on screen, and you get 20 a week free. SayControl’s command mode rewrites what’s there, on Pro.
It works offline. Willow’s Pro plan has an offline mode on your device. SayControl needs a connection.
It’s ready for regulated teams. SOC 2 Type II, a HIPAA BAA you can sign in the app, and a Business plan that enforces zero data retention for everyone. SayControl’s team plan is a conversation for now.

Price

What it costs

Willow’s free plan is generous: its pricing page calls it unlimited on its lighter model, with 20 Scribe uses a week (its help centre still says 2,000 words a week). SayControl’s is 2,000 words a week, with cleanup and tones. Willow Pro is $15 a month, or $12 a month if you pay $143.99 for the year up front. SayControl Pro is $12 a month, with no year up front.

If you use it for12 months

SayControl · Pro, monthly$144
Willow · Pro, monthly$180
Willow · Pro, yearly (paid up front)$143.99

A yearly plan is paid a year at a time, so 12 months on it means paying for a whole year. Prices before tax.

Privacy

What happens to your voice

Both send your audio to the cloud to be turned into words, and both drop it afterwards by default. Willow also lists usage data on its App Store label, has an opt-in that keeps anonymised text to improve its models, and holds SOC 2 Type II.

What SayControl and Willow keep
Feature	SayControl	Willow
Audio kept on their servers?	Never	No, with Private Mode, which is on by default
Used to train models?	No	No; an opt-in keeps anonymised text, never audio

Our privacy policy has the whole round trip.

Every row

The full comparison

Every feature, side by side.

Dictation

Dictate into any app
Hold a key, talk, let go.
SayControlYes
WillowYes
Cleanup
Fillers, false starts and spoken corrections.
SayControlYes
WillowYes
Style for each app
SayControlPersonal, Work, Email, Agents
WillowPreset styles per app
Dictionary and shortcuts
SayControlDictionary and phrases
WillowDictionary and shortcuts
Names spelled right
SayControlRead off your screen
WillowContext awareness (optional)
Languages
SayControl60+
Willow100+
Works offline
SayControlNo
WillowPro

Doing things with your voice

Rewrite selected text by voice
“make it shorter”, “make it formal” on what you selected.
SayControlCommand mode, Pro
WillowScribe, 20 a week free
Write a draft from a description
SayControlNo
WillowScribe
Spoken controls mid-sentence
Screenshots, files, links, terminal and apps, in any app.
SayControlPro
WillowNot available
Ask ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or Perplexity
Say the question; it opens in that AI, already asked.
SayControlPro
WillowNot available
Coding agents that talk back
Claude Code and Codex say when they need you; you answer by voice.
SayControl10 free, 300 a month on Pro
WillowNot available

Privacy

Your audio
SayControlNever kept on our servers
WillowNot kept, with Private Mode on by default

Plans

Free
SayControl2,000 words a week
WillowUnlimited on its lighter model, 20 Scribe uses a week
Pro, paid monthly
SayControl$12 a month
Willow$15 a month
Pro, paid yearly
SayControlNo yearly plan, so no year up front
Willow$12 a month, $143.99 up front
Teams
SayControlEnterprise, priced with you
WillowBusiness $35 a month ($28 yearly) with SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA; Enterprise with SSO

Where it runs

Platforms
SayControlmacOS 13 and later
WillowMac, Windows, iPhone; Android coming

SayControl and Willow, line by line
Feature	SayControl	Willow
Dictation
Dictate into any appHold a key, talk, let go.	Yes	Yes
CleanupFillers, false starts and spoken corrections.	Yes	Yes
Style for each app	Personal, Work, Email, Agents	Preset styles per app
Dictionary and shortcuts	Dictionary and phrases	Dictionary and shortcuts
Names spelled right	Read off your screen	Context awareness (optional)
Languages	60+	100+
Works offline	No	Pro
Doing things with your voice
Rewrite selected text by voice“make it shorter”, “make it formal” on what you selected.	Command mode, Pro	Scribe, 20 a week free
Write a draft from a description	No	Scribe
Spoken controls mid-sentenceScreenshots, files, links, terminal and apps, in any app.	Pro	Not available
Ask ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or PerplexitySay the question; it opens in that AI, already asked.	Pro	Not available
Coding agents that talk backClaude Code and Codex say when they need you; you answer by voice.	10 free, 300 a month on Pro	Not available
Privacy
Your audio	Never kept on our servers	Not kept, with Private Mode on by default
Plans
Free	2,000 words a week	Unlimited on its lighter model, 20 Scribe uses a week
Pro, paid monthly	$12 a month	$15 a month
Pro, paid yearly	No yearly plan, so no year up front	$12 a month, $143.99 up front
Teams	Enterprise, priced with you	Business $35 a month ($28 yearly) with SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA; Enterprise with SSO
Where it runs
Platforms	macOS 13 and later	Mac, Windows, iPhone; Android coming

Questions

What people ask when switching

Sources

Checked on 12 October 2026. Willow and its logo are trademarks of their owner, shown here only to identify the product; SayControl is not affiliated with it. Something out of date? Write to support@saycontrol.com and we’ll fix it.