Aiko
Free Mac App Store Whisper app — drag, drop, done.
Drop your audio. Transcript in seconds. First transcript free, then $2 a file or $8 = 1,000 min
Best for casual users who want a zero-friction free Whisper app from the App Store. Pricing: free.
What it is
Aiko is the free App Store entry point to Whisper on Apple devices. Feature-light but genuinely frictionless — open, drop a file, get a transcript. Good gateway drug for people who aren't sure they need anything fancier.
Watch out for: Smaller model only; no batch processing; no diarization.
Install / use
View Aiko on the App Store apps.apple.comWhat people actually do with Aiko-style transcription
The tool is the means. These are the jobs — each one priced at published rates, each one wired up on its own page.
Features
| Speaker diarization | No |
| Word-level timestamps | No |
| Streaming / real-time | No |
| Languages supported | 99 |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
Aiko vs Whipscribe
| Feature | Aiko | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Desktop apps | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | free | $8–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · $2 single unlock · free instant preview |
| Speaker diarization | No | Yes |
| Word timestamps | No | Yes |
| Streaming | No | No |
| Languages | 99 | 99 |
| Platforms | macOS, iOS | Web, API, MCP |
Where this category is heading
From the vendor changelogs we track weekly — what changed in August 2026, and what it means if you are choosing now.
AssemblyAI moved summarisation onto an LLM this month; every vendor is racing to return action items, quotes and topics with the text rather than as an add-on.
Whipscribe today Every Whipscribe job already returns an insights payload — summary, key quotes, topics and speakers — from the same job id, at no extra charge.
Deepgram shipped self-hosted container images in August — the market is moving toward audio that stays inside a boundary the customer controls, because teams with customer calls or unreleased material are refusing shared model endpoints.
Whipscribe today Whipscribe runs on our own GPUs in a private, secured cloud. Audio is never forwarded to OpenAI or any third-party model.
The fastest-growing way to use a transcription API is not a form — it is Claude, Cursor or a workflow runner calling it mid-task through MCP.
Whipscribe today Whipscribe ships an MCP server: transcribe, search and summarise from an assistant without wiring anything.
AssemblyAI's 1.0 SDK unified async, realtime and sync; Deepgram's CLI went to 0.3. The unit of work is becoming the folder or the bucket, not the file.
Whipscribe today Submit with an Idempotency-Key and a batch_id, poll by job, retry safely. The S3 connector runs a whole prefix in one grant.
Deepgram added Afrikaans, Georgian and Armenian and improved a dozen more this month. Coverage is widening while quality still clusters around English and the large European languages.
Whipscribe today 99+ languages auto-detected. Ask for a language explicitly when you know it — auto-detect on a short or noisy clip is the most common cause of a wrong-language transcript.
Source: Deepgram and AssemblyAI changelogs, scanned 2026-08-24.
Alternatives to Aiko
Polished Mac app for Whisper — the default pick if you're on macOS.
Always-on system-wide dictation for macOS and iOS, powered by local Whisper.
Broadcast-style DAW built for journalists, podcasters, and audiobook producers.
Frequently asked about Aiko
Is Aiko free?
Yes. Aiko is free.
Does Aiko work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
Aiko runs on macOS and iOS. It is not listed for other platforms; check the vendor for anything beyond macOS and iOS.
How do I get started with Aiko?
There is nothing to install — Aiko is used in the browser. Create an account on the vendor's site and upload or connect your audio.
How many languages does Aiko support?
Aiko lists 99 languages. That is the Whisper-family multilingual set, so quality varies by language — English and the large European languages are strongest.
Does Aiko identify different speakers?
No. Aiko does not label speakers; a conversation comes back as one continuous text. If you need speaker labels, that is a separate tool or a different service.
Does Aiko give word-level timestamps?
No — Aiko produces segment or sentence timing only, so subtitle cues can land mid-word.
Can Aiko transcribe live audio?
No — Aiko works on finished files, not a live stream.
Is Aiko HIPAA compliant?
Aiko does not claim HIPAA compliance. For PHI, run it on infrastructure you control or choose a service that will sign a BAA.
What are the limitations of Aiko?
Smaller model only; no batch processing; no diarization.
Who is Aiko best for?
Casual users who want a zero-friction free Whisper app from the App Store.
Does Aiko run offline?
Aiko runs on your own machine as a desktop app. Check whether the model runs locally or calls a cloud service — some desktop tools do both.
Can I use Aiko in the browser?
No — Aiko is a macOS and iOS application, not a web app. You install it rather than sign in to it.
Who makes Aiko?
Aiko is made by Sindre Sorhus.
What kind of tool is Aiko?
In this directory Aiko is filed under desktop app as a desktop app.
What are the alternatives to Aiko?
There is a side-by-side page at /tools/aiko-alternatives comparing Aiko with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.
Whipscribe is a managed faster-whisper + whisperX service. If you want transcripts without running infrastructure, paste a URL or drop a file in the form below — you'll have a transcript in seconds.
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