Free for the desktop app. Barside Plus: US$20 a month or US$200 a year. Paid Spaces: creators set their own pricing through Stripe, with Barside taking 8% (5% for Plus subscribers).
Free trial for 14 days, no card required. Then Pro Monthly at $19/month, Pro Annual at $179/year (saving $49 vs monthly), or Pro Lifetime at $499 one-time. Educational discount: 50% off Monthly or Annual with a .edu email address. Cancel anytime.
Key features
Notes with rich formatting including headings, checklists, tables, code and links
Integrated drawing and diagramming with Excalidraw editor
Screen recording that saves directly into notes
Video transcription with timestamps
AI-powered search across all notes and content
Built-in password manager with auto-fill
Video meetings for up to 6 people
Cloud backup with up to 90 days of history for Plus subscribers
Team Spaces with chat, polls and shared notes
AI agents that run on schedule with approval workflow
Hold-to-talk hotkey dictation in Mail, Slack, editors, terminal and browser
Verbatim transcription by default with optional cleanup settings per app
Live partial transcript caption visible while speaking
On-device speech processing on Apple Silicon after model download
Personal dictionary to bias transcription toward names and technical terms
Voice snippets—short trigger words that expand to full text before insertion
Lost-dictation recovery—transcripts and audio preserved if delivery fails
Long-form dictation up to 10 minutes per hold without word limits
Menu-bar native Swift app with no Dock icon or notification popups
Choice of cloud or local transcription with audit log of network activity
What makes it different
Completely free for core features with local-first architecture requiring no account
Replaces 10+ subscription apps in one unified desktop application
AI agents with approval workflow for safe automation
Integrated screen recording and transcription without external tools
Supports multiple operating systems with native desktop integration
Verbatim by default—leaves grammar and slang alone, unlike most AI dictation that automatically tidies speech
On-device recognition option on Apple Silicon keeps your speech processing entirely on your Mac
Transparent claims you can verify—signed, notarized, listed frameworks, and audit log visible in the app
Built by one maker as a native Swift app designed to feel natural with the keyboard
Works system-wide in your text fields without floating windows or interruptions
Barside
Halopen