DreamSeeds · App Research Report · 2026-04-07

GhostType
Speak. Get Text. Everywhere.

System-wide on-device dictation via keyboard extension — hold a key, speak, get perfectly formatted text in any app. Offline, private, one-time purchase vs $10/mo competitors.

Productivity TAM $11.9B One-Time Purchase speech to text
🟢
Research Verdict
GO
Massive HN demand (384 pts), subscription fatigue in category, Google Eloquent validates market but leaves room for premium iOS-native alternative.
7.4
out of 10
01 — Name Research

Candidate names

Recommended
GhostType
com.speechtypestudio.ghosttype
.com Likely Available App Store: Clear
Name .com .io App Store Clear? Trademark Risk Score
GhostType ✅ Free ❌ Taken ✅ Clear Low 8/10
SpeakType ❌ Taken ✅ Free ⚠️ Similar Medium 6/10
DictateAI ✅ Free ✅ Free ✅ Clear Low 7/10
VoiceInk ❌ Taken ❌ Taken ❌ Taken Medium 4/10
WhisperKeys ✅ Free ✅ Free ✅ Clear Low 7/10
02 — Market

Market overview

TAM
$11.9B
Mobile Voice-to-Text Market (2026, 23.5% CAGR)
Growth Rate
23.5%
Year over year
Target User
Writers, students, accessibility users, productivity enthusiasts seeking offline dictation

The mobile voice-to-text market is valued at $11.9B (2026) growing at 23.5% CAGR through 2035. Ghost Pepper's 384 points on Hacker News (175 comments) proves massive demand for local, hold-to-talk speech-to-text. Google's AI Edge Eloquent (launched April 6, 2026) validates the on-device dictation category but is feature-light and free — creating a 12-18 month window for a premium, feature-rich iOS alternative. Current leaders (Wispr Flow $12-15/mo, SuperWhisper $8.49/mo) are subscription-based, creating friction. The subscription-to-one-time-purchase trend continues growing per Adapty's 2026 report (6% increase in one-time purchase apps).

03 — Competition

Top 5 competitors

Monetization model, marketing strategy, and the #1 complaint from users for each.

#1 Wispr Flow ⭐ 4.7 · 500K+
💵 Est. Monthly Revenue

$500K-1M/mo

💰 Monetization
Subscription $12-15/mo

Monthly subscription with limited free tier. Dominant in macOS, growing on iOS.

📣 Marketing

Product Hunt launches, tech influencer partnerships, HN presence.

😤 #1 Complaint

Privacy concerns (cloud processing), 800MB RAM usage when idle, expensive monthly pricing.

#2 SuperWhisper ⭐ 4.4 · 100K+
💵 Est. Monthly Revenue

$100-300K/mo

💰 Monetization
Subscription $8.49/mo

Monthly subscription, some lifetime options. Local Whisper model processing.

📣 Marketing

Developer community word-of-mouth, macOS-first positioning.

😤 #1 Complaint

Mobile app unreliable, complex UX, macOS significantly better than iOS version.

#3 Google AI Edge Eloquent ⭐ New · New (Apr 2026)
💵 Est. Monthly Revenue

$0 (Free)

💰 Monetization
Free (Google)

Free app from Google. On-device dictation. Launched April 6, 2026 — feature-light initial release.

📣 Marketing

Google brand, TechCrunch coverage, Play Store prominence. iOS presence minimal.

😤 #1 Complaint

Feature-light, limited formatting options, no custom vocabulary, Google ecosystem bias.

#4 Otter.ai ⭐ 4.0 · 5M+
💵 Est. Monthly Revenue

$5-10M/mo

💰 Monetization
Subscription $16.99/mo

Freemium with 300 min/mo free. Pro at $16.99/mo. Cloud-focused meeting transcription.

📣 Marketing

Enterprise sales, meeting integrations (Zoom/Teams), content marketing.

😤 #1 Complaint

Cloud-only (no offline), expensive, focuses on meetings not general dictation.

#5 Just Press Record ⭐ 4.2 · 200K+
💵 Est. Monthly Revenue

$50-100K/mo

💰 Monetization
One-Time $4.99

One-time purchase at $4.99. Uses Apple's native dictation — no custom AI.

📣 Marketing

App Store featuring, Apple Watch integration, simple utility positioning.

😤 #1 Complaint

Aging app, relies on Apple's built-in dictation (not AI), limited formatting, no custom vocabulary.

The gap: No one-time-purchase, on-device, smart-formatting dictation tool exists on iOS

Wispr Flow and SuperWhisper charge monthly subscriptions. Google Eloquent is free but feature-light. Just Press Record is outdated. Nobody combines on-device AI formatting + keyboard extension + custom vocabulary + one-time purchase.

04 — ASO

Keyword strategy

🔴 High volume / High competition — use in description only
speech to text dictation voice typing
🟡 Medium volume / Medium competition — title + subtitle targets
transcription app voice to text offline voice notes
🟢 Low competition / Niche — quick ranking wins
offline dictation keyboard dictation speech formatting
ElementRecommended CopyChar Count
App Store TitleGhostType: Voice to Text25/30
SubtitleOffline AI Dictation Anywhere29/30
Primary CategoryProductivity
05 — Scoring

Opportunity score

Market Size
8.5
Competition Level
5.5
Differentiation
7.5
Monetization Clarity
7
Tech Feasibility
8
ASO Opportunity
7
🟢 Overall: 7.4 / 10 — GO

Strong demand signal from HN (Ghost Pepper 384 pts). Subscription fatigue in the category creates opening for one-time purchase model. Google Eloquent validates on-device dictation but is feature-light — 12-18 month window to capture premium segment. WhisperKit/Foundation Models make on-device implementation feasible. Main risk: Google could iterate fast and add features to Eloquent, closing the feature gap.

Biggest RiskBiggest Opportunity
Google Eloquent could add smart formatting and custom vocabulary within 12 months, closing the feature gap One-time purchase model in a subscription-dominated category — subscription fatigue is a proven growth vector
06 — Spec

MVP app spec

Register these in App Store Connect before opening Xcode.

Bundle ID and IAP product IDs must be created in App Store Connect first. Mismatches are the #1 cause of upload failures.

Bundle ID — register this first
com.speechtypestudio.ghosttype

Register in Apple Developer Portal → Certificates, IDs & Profiles → Identifiers

Monetization
Freemium + One-Time

Free: 150 dictations/week. Pro unlock: $7.99 one-time (unlimited). Custom vocabulary pack: $2.99.

IAP Product IDs — create in App Store Connect → In-App Purchases
  • ghosttype_pro_unlock — Unlimited Dictation — $7.99 (one-time)
  • ghosttype_vocabulary_pack — Custom Vocabulary — $2.99 (one-time)
  • ghosttype_format_pro — Advanced Formatting — $3.99 (one-time)
  • ghosttype_bundle_all — Everything Bundle — $12.99 (one-time)
Tech Stack
  • iOS 17+, SwiftUI, Swift 6
  • @Observable for state
  • StoreKit 2 for IAP
  • No backend — fully on-device
  • Speech framework, Foundation Models, Keyboard Extension API, App Intents, Control Center
Target User
Writers, students & accessibility users

Power users who dictate frequently and want formatted, accurate text in any app without cloud dependency.

MVP Core Features

#FeatureWhy It MattersSession
1System-Wide Keyboard ExtensionWorks in any text field across iOS — the core differentiatorS2
2Smart AI FormattingFoundation Models auto-add punctuation, paragraph breaks, code blocks, listsS5
3Custom VocabularyAdd domain-specific terms (medical, legal, code) for accurate recognitionS6
4Offline-First Architecture100% on-device — no audio leaves the phone, works on airplane modeS2
5Control Center Quick LaunchOne-tap access from Control Center for instant dictationS7

9-Session Build Plan

S1
Scaffold + Auth
S2
Keyboard extension + Speech framework integration
S3
StoreKit 2 / IAP
S4
Onboarding flow
S5
Foundation Models smart formatting engine
S6
Custom vocabulary management + domain packs
S7
Control Center widget + App Intents shortcuts
S8
Settings + account management
S9
Push notifications + TestFlight upload
DreamSeeds · App Research · 2026-04-07
GhostType Score: 7.4/10 GO