Can I open-source Superscribe?

KINDA · partial or early alternatives
price $38/moyou'd save $456/yrcategory 🗣️ dictationreplaced by 0 people

Kinda. Whisper cover the core of Superscribe, but they're early or partial — expect gaps like call capture on your existing number (carrier forwarding into a CallKit softphone) and glitch-free live word-by-word insertion tuned per app: terminals, Electron editors, browser contenteditables.

why people still pay

They pay for the phone rail (answer calls normally on the number they already have, no bot, no second device) and for everything downstream arriving pre-filed: transcripts semantically matched to the right client and project using their own GitHub activity as context, then turned into searchable history, invoices, and CRM drafts.

what you lose

xcall capture on your existing number (carrier forwarding into a CallKit softphone)

xglitch-free live word-by-word insertion tuned per app: terminals, Electron editors, browser contenteditables

xauto-filing: dictations and calls alike are matched to the right project via embeddings (enriched with GitHub repo context) plus live commit activity during the work block, so billable time lands on the right client without tagging

xthe workspace around the transcripts: semantic search, invoice-ready PDF reports, CRM note drafts, a public API, and an MCP server

xWindows parity and signed, notarized auto-updating installers

the open-source alternatives

These projects already replace it, free.

WWhisperState-of-the-art speech-to-text you can run locally — the engine behind most transcription startups.75kaug 2026open source↗

What each one is, in full: Whisper

no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real

share on X ↗"I just replaced Superscribe ($38/mo) with open source"
the numbers

Superscribe pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
superscribe pro$18/user$14.33/userDesktop dictation on Mac and Windows, AI cleanup, time tracking, templates, project context, and reports
business voice$38/user$30.40/user1+ seats; pooled call minutes, existing-number routing, live transcription, AI summaries, and Pro for every seat
travel passcustom—7 days of Superscribe Phone with included call hours

free tierNo permanent free tier verified; Pro has a no-card try-now flow, but the official page publishes neither a trial duration nor a numeric usage allowance.

billingPro monthly or $172/year; Business Voice monthly or yearly at a stated 20% discount; Travel Pass is a one-time 7-day purchase

hidden costsBusiness Voice's pooled call-minute quantity and overage treatment are not publicly disclosed. More than 10 seats moves to sales; Travel Pass also hides its included call-hour number.

verified 2026-08-14 · source ↗

questions
Can I open-source Superscribe?

Kinda. Whisper covers the core of Superscribe, but there are real gaps: call capture on your existing number (carrier forwarding into a CallKit softphone), glitch-free live word-by-word insertion tuned per app: terminals, Electron editors, browser contenteditables. Read the honest list above before committing.

How much does Superscribe cost?

Superscribe costs about $38/month (Business Voice, checked 2026-07-30), which is $456 per year.

What do I lose by replacing Superscribe?

Honestly: call capture on your existing number (carrier forwarding into a CallKit softphone); glitch-free live word-by-word insertion tuned per app: terminals, Electron editors, browser contenteditables; auto-filing: dictations and calls alike are matched to the right project via embeddings (enriched with GitHub repo context) plus live commit activity during the work block, so billable time lands on the right client without tagging; the workspace around the transcripts: semantic search, invoice-ready PDF reports, CRM note drafts, a public API, and an MCP server; Windows parity and signed, notarized auto-updating installers. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Superscribe?

Yes: Whisper (State-of-the-art speech-to-text you can run locally — the engine behind most transcription startups.)