Beam vs Willow
Beam and Willow are both personal productivity tools. Beam is aimed at developers and creators, while Willow is aimed at freelancers and small businesses. Beam costs less, from $12/mo versus $15/mo for Willow. Both have a free plan.
Open individual windows from one Mac as native windows on another
AI voice dictation and writing agent that works in any app
| Pricing | Freemium · $12 | Freemium · $15 |
| Starting price | $12/mo | $15/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Developers, Creators, Freelancers, Small businesses | Freelancers, Small businesses, Enterprise, Creators |
| Platforms | macos | macos, windows, ios |
| Country | — | US · 2025 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Beam if
Developers and creators with two Apple silicon Macs who want a remote app to behave like a local window instead of a full screen share.
- Uses one remote app without taking over the whole desktop
- Window traffic goes directly between your Macs, not through Beam's servers
- Free plan has no card requirement and no limit on host Macs
Look elsewhere if: People who need to reach Windows or Intel machines or control a whole remote desktop across platforms (Jump Desktop, Parsec).
Choose Willow if
Professionals and developers who write a lot of email, chat messages and AI prompts on Mac, Windows or iPhone and want to speak instead of type.
- Works system-wide, so no per-app plugins are needed
- Cleans and formats text instead of producing raw transcripts
- Wally and style memory adapt drafts to email, Slack or prompts
Look elsewhere if: Android users or people who mainly want grammar and style polishing of text they type themselves (Grammarly, Wordtune).
Beam vs Willow pricing
Beam
- Free$0Host unlimited Macs, join share links, 20 minutes a day of use
- Monthly$12/moUnlimited use on every Mac you own, send share links
- Yearly$84/yrSame as Monthly; works out to $7/mo billed annually
- Lifetime$199One-time payment, all future updates, direct connections
- Team$12/seat/moOr $84/seat/yr; 20% off from 10 seats, one invoice
Willow
- Basic$0Frontier Mini dictation model, 20 Scribe uses per week
- Pro$15/moPer user; Frontier Pro model, unlimited Scribe; $12 billed annually
- Business$35/moEnforced zero data retention, HIPAA, admin; $28 billed annually
- EnterpriseCustomSSO/SAML, invoice billing, MSA and DPA, usage API
Beam · Key features
- Single windows from another Mac open as native windows with Dock and Command-Tab entries
- Beam several windows at once or share an entire display
- Direct typing, shortcuts, two-way resizing, app audio and clipboard sync
- Works with headless Mac minis and Mac Studios that have no display
- Encrypted Mac-to-Mac connection on local Wi-Fi or over Tailscale
- Guest share links open one window in any browser, view-only by default
Cons
- macOS only, with Apple silicon and Sonoma or later required on both Macs
- Free use is capped at 20 minutes a day
- Devices without the Mac app, such as phones, only get browser links
Willow · Key features
- Hotkey voice dictation into any text field on Mac, Windows and iPhone
- Automatic filler removal, punctuation and app-aware formatting
- 100+ languages with switching, plus whisper and offline modes
- Auto-learning dictionary for names, product terms and abbreviations
- Scribe drafts emails and replies from a spoken brief or rewrites highlighted text
- Wally chat agent that iterates on drafts and learns your style per app
Cons
- No Android app yet; it is listed as coming soon
- Free plan uses a weaker model and caps Scribe at 20 uses a week
- Enforced zero data retention and HIPAA require the $35 Business plan
Beam vs Willow: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Beam or Willow?
Beam starts at $12/mo and Willow at $15/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Beam and Willow have a free plan?
Yes, both Beam and Willow have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.