# Flit vs DictaFlow

Canonical page: https://flit.fyi/alternatives/dictaflow

Flit formats on your Mac too, so nothing is sent or counted. Checked against DictaFlow's own site in September 2026. Flit is ours.

**Short answer:** Flit is the fully local, buy-once alternative to DictaFlow. On Pro, DictaFlow transcribes on your device, but it sends your text to the cloud for AI formatting, counts those words against an allowance, and needs an account. Pro is $7 a month, or $69 a year. It covers Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, and works inside Citrix and remote desktops, which Flit does not. Flit transcribes and formats on your Mac, so nothing is sent and nothing is counted, and it is one payment you keep. If you dictate on Windows or through a virtual desktop, DictaFlow is built for that. If you write on a Mac, Flit keeps every step on it.

| | Flit | DictaFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Where transcription happens | Your Mac | Your device, on Pro |
| Where AI formatting happens | Your Mac | Cloud |
| Price | $15 once, one Mac | Free 2,000 words/mo. Pro $7/mo or $69/yr |
| Words are counted | No | Yes, cloud words have an allowance |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Platforms | macOS today, Windows in the works | Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android |
| Citrix and remote desktops | No | Yes |
| Languages | 1,600+, all local | 100+ |
| Knows your codebase | Indexes it locally | Not stated |
| Exact times and commands | Fixed rules | Not documented |

## Why people pick Flit

- Formatting happens on your Mac as well, so no sentence is sent anywhere.
- Nothing is counted. There is no cloud word allowance to run out of.
- No account. DictaFlow needs one for paid features.
- One payment, and Flit is yours to keep. A DictaFlow subscription only covers the time you pay for.
- It reads your open project and repairs misheard file and folder names against the real ones.

## Where DictaFlow differs

- Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android as well as Mac.
- A typing mode for Citrix, RDP and other virtual desktops.
- A free tier of 2,000 words a month.

## What decides it

### Local transcription is half the job

DictaFlow keeps audio on your device and sends text to the cloud to format it into emails, lists and notes. Your voice stays put, but your words do not. Flit runs the formatting model on your Mac as well, so the finished text is produced where you spoke it and nowhere else.

### A meter on your own words

Pro includes 100,000 cloud words on the monthly plan and 200,000 on the yearly plan, with unlimited local dictation. The allowance exists because cloud formatting costs money per word. Flit has no cloud step, so there is nothing to meter and nothing to renew every month.

## The verdict

you dictate on Windows, a phone, or inside Citrix and remote desktops

you write on a Mac and want transcription and formatting both kept on it, with one payment

## Questions

**Is DictaFlow local or cloud?**

Both. On Pro it transcribes on your device and uses cloud AI for formatting, with an allowance of cloud words. Flit transcribes and formats on your Mac, with no cloud step.

**Which is cheaper?**

Flit. It is $15 once for one Mac, and it is yours to keep. DictaFlow Pro is $7 a month or $69 a year, and that only covers the time you pay for. DictaFlow does have a free tier of 2,000 words a month.

**Does Flit work in Citrix or on Windows?**

Not yet. Flit is macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon, typing into apps on that Mac, with a Windows version in the works and a waitlist at flit.fyi/windows. For Windows today, or for virtual desktops, DictaFlow covers it and Flit does not.

Every comparison: [Flit alternatives](https://flit.fyi/alternatives). Ranked: [the best dictation apps for Mac](https://flit.fyi/best-dictation-app-for-mac). Flit: [flit.fyi](https://flit.fyi/).