Comparison
OpenWhispr makes exactly the gesture we make: hold a key, speak, the text lands at the caret. The question is what stands around that gesture.
As of 19.09.2026
OpenWhispr is a free dictation app under the MIT licence for macOS, Windows and Linux: a hotkey, and the spoken text appears at the caret. You choose between local models such as Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet or a cloud service with your own key, and there is no telemetry. MediSync Dictate does the same and puts on top what a German practice needs: Smart Dictation for clinical text, a guard against invented words, foot pedal and dictation microphone, vocabulary import, and a processor agreement under Art. 28 GDPR.
Praise first, because it is earned. OpenWhispr gets the interaction right, runs on all three operating systems, lets you choose between local and cloud, collects no telemetry, and is open under the MIT licence. For a private individual that is a good choice.
In a practice the work starts after that. A general model spells out a hundred and forty over ninety, sets dosing schedules wrongly, and does not land units reliably. Smart Dictation is trained on exactly that, and the guard throws away any result that invents a word or loses a number.
Then there is the frame, which has little to do with software and still decides whether it gets used: a processor agreement, technical and organisational measures, an operating concept, licence keys for machines with no internet, and someone who answers the phone.
Blood pressure as 140/90, doses as 1-0-1, units and abbreviations right, paragraphs in the right places.
No added word, no lost number. Otherwise the raw text stands.
No cloud key of your own, no second invoice, no second data-protection review. Cloud processing sits in Germany, with no storage.
With the hardware already in the practice. Hold, speak, release, or tap once for hands-free.
Processor agreement under Art. 28 GDPR, security measures and an operating concept, plus licence keys for closed networks.
Enter terms and abbreviations once, say a keyword, get the snippet. Import from Dragon, Wispr Flow and Office.
| Feature | MediSync | OpenWhispr |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | €0 on the free plan, €10 net a month for ProPrice is not the difference here. Dictate Free costs nothing either and dictates locally without limit. | Free |
| On the device | MediSync Local, no network and no account | Yes, local models, or cloud with your own key |
| Operating system | Windows 10 (1809) and newer, macOS 14 on Apple Silicon | macOS, Windows and Linux |
| Medical formatting | Smart Dictation: blood pressure, doses, units, paragraphs | Not published |
| Guard against invented words | Yes; otherwise the raw text stands | Not published |
| Foot pedal and dictation microphone | Supported | Not published |
| Bringing a vocabulary across | From Dragon, Wispr Flow and Office | Not published |
| A contract for a practice | Processor agreement under Art. 28 GDPR, security measures and an operating concept | Not published |
| Closed networks | Licence keys for machines with no internet | Not published |
| Who helps when something breaks | Support, with on-site introduction on Enterprise | The community around the project |
| Open source | No | Yes, MIT licence |
Every price is in the currency the vendor publishes it in. We do not convert dollars into euro: the rate moves, the table does not.
You document clinically and the formatting has to be right; nothing may be invented; you do not want to manage a cloud key of your own; your practice needs a processor agreement; or a foot pedal and dictation microphone are part of the job.
Nothing. It is under the MIT licence and free for personal and commercial use. Dictate Free also costs nothing, and Dictate Pro is €10 net a month.
You bring your own access to a speech service and pay it directly. It also means you hold that contract, review it and settle it yourself. With us the cloud processing sits in Germany and inside our contract.
Yes. MediSync Local recognises and formats on the machine, with no network and no account, and writes no audio to disk.
No. OpenWhispr is, under the MIT licence. If that is your deciding criterion, the answer there is simpler than ours.
Every figure about the other vendor comes from their own page or from a reseller's. Next to each one is the date we read it.