A Handy Alternative with a whole notch attached
Handy is a free, open-source speech-to-text app for macOS, Windows and Linux: press a shortcut, speak, and it types into the text field, using local models. It does one job and does it without a paywall. Notchy's dictation uses Apple's on-device speech model, pastes into whatever app had focus when you stop, ends itself after 2.5 seconds of silence and never runs longer than two minutes.
Looking for Handy itself? It lives at handy.computer.
- Handy price
- Free
- Handy requires
- macOS, Windows and Linux
- Notchy price
- $24.99 one-time, 7-day free trial
Why use Notchy instead of Handy?
- Nothing to configure
No model downloads — Apple's on-device recogniser is already installed. Grant the mic and dictate.
- Dictation from the ⌘K palette
Start it from Notchy's command palette or your own hotkey, and watch the word count grow in the notch.
- Everything else in the notch
Now Playing with synced lyrics, clipboard history, file shelf, HUDs, timers, Face Unlock and AI usage limits in the same app.
- Where Handy does more
It's open source, cross-platform and runs Whisper-class local models. If you want to read or modify the code, Handy is the one.
Everything Notchy does, in one app
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
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- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Custom islands through the local developer API (off by default)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 134 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple silicon
The honest verdict on Handy
Handy is the right call if you want open-source dictation on any OS. On a Mac, if you'd also like the notch to do something useful, Notchy gives you dictation and the rest of the toolkit for a one-time $24.99.
Handy alternative — FAQ
Is Handy free?
Yes. Handy is free and open source, per handy.computer.
Is Notchy open source like Handy?
No. Notchy is a one-time $24.99 purchase and its source isn't published.
Which works offline?
Both. Handy runs local models; Notchy requires Apple's on-device recognition.
Can I install Handy with Homebrew?
Yes, `brew install --cask handy`, per its README. Notchy downloads from notchy.dev.