Published July 20, 2026 · By Sumbat.T

Willow Voice Alternative: BlabbyAI vs Willow Voice in 2026

Most people talk at roughly 130 to 150 words a minute but type at around 40 (Mobius MD, 2025). That gap is why AI dictation went mainstream, and Willow Voice is one of the names people run into first. It is a genuinely good tool. But if you are on Windows and spend your day prompting ChatGPT and other LLMs, Willow is not built around you, and it is not the cheapest. This is an honest, side-by-side look at BlabbyAI versus Willow Voice, so you can pick the right one.

What Are BlabbyAI and Willow Voice?

Both tools do the same core job: you press a hotkey, speak, and your words appear as typed text wherever your cursor is. Both work system-wide across your apps, browser included. The real differences are which platform each one is actually built for, how they handle AI processing, and price.

BlabbyAI is AI dictation built on OpenAI's Whisper v3 Turbo, one of the most accurate open speech models available. It is Windows-first, built for Windows 10 and 11 from day one, and works system-wide across your apps. Its default is fast, clean transcription, with custom modes you can write yourself for grammar fixes, rewriting, translation, or any format you need. For the wider landscape, see our guide to the best voice typing software in 2026.

Willow Voice is a Mac-first dictation app that launched a Windows build in January 2026 and an iPhone app. It leans on always-on AI editing that cleans up and reformats what you say, supports 100+ languages, and advertises around 200ms latency. It is well-reviewed and feature-rich, and Pro is priced at $15/month. There is no browser extension.

Built for Windows, Not Ported to It

This is the clearest split between the two. Willow Voice started on macOS and treats Mac as its home platform. It added Windows in January 2026, so on Willow, Windows is the platform that came second. BlabbyAI was built for Windows first.

BlabbyAI is the opposite: Windows is the primary platform, built for Windows 10 and 11 from day one, not ported later. That shows up in the small things, how it handles focus across apps, how it behaves with Windows shortcuts, and how it stays out of your way while you write. If Windows is where you work, you want the app that was designed for it first. See our voice typing on Windows 11 guide for setup.

One small bonus: BlabbyAI also has a Chrome extension, which is handy if you are ever on a machine where you cannot install a desktop app, like a Chromebook or a locked-down work laptop. Willow is desktop-only. It is not the main reason to pick BlabbyAI, but it is a nice fallback to have.

Speed and Prompting LLMs: Two Different Philosophies

Willow Voice runs AI post-processing on essentially everything you say: it removes filler words and reformats your text automatically. That is a real strength when you are writing an email and want polished prose with no effort. Willow keeps this fast, around 200ms in its own tests, but the AI edit step is always in the loop.

BlabbyAI takes a different default. Out of the box it gives you straight, fast transcription with no rewrite step, then lets you layer AI on only when you want it through custom modes. That matters a lot when you are prompting ChatGPT, Claude, or another LLM: you usually want your exact words dropped into the box quickly, not a polished paraphrase of them. With BlabbyAI you keep it raw and snappy by default, and switch on a cleanup or formatting mode for the moments you do want it.

Customization: You Write the Instructions

Both tools offer modes, but the control is different. Willow's formatting mostly happens automatically, which is convenient but hard to steer when you want something specific. BlabbyAI puts the prompt in your hands: custom modes are instructions you write yourself.

A few things you can set up in BlabbyAI in seconds:

• Translate as you speak: talk in your language, get clean English (or another language) out.
• Match a format: "turn this into a bulleted summary," or "write it as a short, professional email."
• Keep it raw: exact words, no cleanup, ideal for LLM prompts and code.
• Grammar-only: fix mistakes without changing your voice or tone.

Both apps also cover the everyday basics you would expect. You can teach each one custom words so names, jargon, and acronyms come out spelled right, and both support snippets: say a trigger like "my email" and it types your real email address, so you never have to read personal details out loud. Where BlabbyAI pulls ahead is the mode layer on top, the instructions you write yourself.

BlabbyAI vs Willow Voice: Feature Comparison

One detail worth calling out: Willow's free plan runs a weaker "Frontier Mini" model, and its best model is behind Pro. BlabbyAI gives you the same Whisper v3 Turbo engine on the free tier that paid users get, so what you test is what you keep.

Pricing: BlabbyAI vs Willow Voice

Both let you start free. When you outgrow the free tier, BlabbyAI's unlimited Windows plan is a flat $8.49/month with the ongoing Windows discount. Willow Voice Pro is $15/month , or $12/month billed annually. For the same everyday dictation, BlabbyAI is roughly 43% cheaper month to month.

Which Should You Choose?

Both are capable tools. But if you are on a Windows machine and spend your day writing and prompting LLMs, BlabbyAI is built for exactly that workflow, and it costs less.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

Willow Voice is a well-made, Mac-first dictation app with a strong automatic-polish workflow, and it now runs on Windows too. But BlabbyAI is built for Windows from day one, stays snappy and raw by default for LLM prompting, hands you fully customizable modes, and costs roughly 43% less, with a Chrome extension as a bonus for the days you cannot install anything. If you are on Windows, start free with BlabbyAI and let your own results make the case.