Wispim vs Elgato Virtual Prompter
An Elgato Virtual Prompter alternative, and where it isn’t one
Elgato Studio 2.0 adds Virtual Prompter, a free teleprompter for the laptop or monitor you already own, with Voice Sync to follow your voice. Wispim is a native app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows. On a computer the two overlap a lot, and the phone is where they differ.
6 free takes. Mac, macOS 13 or later. 
6 free takes. 64-bit PC, Windows 10 version 2004 or later. 
6 free takes. iPad, iPadOS 16 or later. 6 free takes. iPhone, iOS 16 or later. Who each one is for
Elgato Virtual Prompter is for a laptop or a monitor. It lives inside Elgato Studio, the free app that also runs Elgato’s cameras, capture cards and Prompter hardware. Wispim is an app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows, with a separate browser teleprompter for a simple read.
On a computer the two do the same job: they follow your voice and keep the script near the camera. If you film with a phone, Wispim’s floating window stays on top of the Camera app on iPhone and iPad. We found no phone version of Virtual Prompter on Elgato’s pages.
| Feature | Wispim | Elgato Virtual Prompter |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Native app for iPhone with iOS 16 or later, for iPad with iPadOS 16 or later, for Mac with macOS 13 or later and for a 64-bit PC with Windows 10 version 2004 or later. A separate browser teleprompter runs on supported browsers. | Part of Elgato Studio 2.0, a free download that needs Windows 11 or macOS 15 Sequoia or later, by Elgato’s Virtual Prompter page. It runs on the laptop or monitor you already own, and Elgato’s Prompter hardware is optional. |
| Where the script sits | On iPhone and iPad, a native floating window stays on top of other apps and snaps to a corner in Wide, Tall or Strip shape. Nothing inside it responds to touch. On Mac, a floating panel stays above every app, full-screen ones included, and snaps under the camera. On Windows, a floating panel stays above other windows and can sit right under the camera. | Docked puts it in a strip along the top of your screen, just below the camera. Floating puts it in a window you can move, resize or take full screen on another display, with Virtual Prompter Pro or a connected Elgato Prompter. Their pages do not say whether that window stays on top of other apps. |
| Voice following | Voice mode scrolls to the words you actually said. Pause and it waits; repeat an earlier line and it goes back to it. Sound mode follows the presence of speech instead. | Voice Sync. Their Virtual Prompter page: “Voice Sync listens through your microphone and scrolls as you speak.” Their Studio 2.0 article adds that it waits when you pause, follows along if you skip a line and finds its place again when you go off-script. You can dim the lines you have already read. Free on both systems. |
| Where speech becomes text | On iPhone, iPad and Mac, recognition runs on the device wherever your language supports it. In some cases, your device sends the audio to Apple to turn it into text. On a Windows PC, recognition runs on the PC once the language’s speech model has been downloaded. Microsoft online speech is optional and starts switched off: if you turn it on, Microsoft recognises over the internet the languages outside Wispim’s own speech models. | On Windows, a speech model for each language is downloaded in Studio the first time and runs on your graphics card, so “your voice is processed on your PC”. On macOS, Voice Sync uses “Apple’s built-in speech recognition, the same engine behind macOS dictation”, by Elgato’s Studio 2.0 article. |
| Languages | Interface in 20 languages on iPhone, iPad and Windows, and in 16 on the Mac. Voice following in every language your iPhone, iPad or Mac can recognise, and in 31 languages on Windows. Voice commands in 10. | Eight for Voice Sync, the same on both systems: English, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Polish, and Portuguese for Brazil and for Portugal, by Elgato. Studio’s interface languages are not listed on these pages. |
| Voice commands | Pause, continue, go back a sentence, start over and jump to the end. Ten languages, and the phrases are editable. On Windows they work once the language’s speech model is downloaded. | Not stated on their pages. With an Elgato Stream Deck, a free plugin plays and pauses the script, jumps to the next section and switches between script and chat, even while Studio is in the background. |
| Fixed speed | Constant mode in words per minute. The start delay of off, 5, 10 or 20 seconds is set per script in any mode. | Your script can scroll at a set speed instead of following your voice, by their page. |
| For streams and studios | No chat view and no operator view. | Chat mode shows your Twitch, YouTube or Kick chat in the same spot as the script, so you can read it while looking at the camera. Studio can also show a producer exactly what the presenter sees, on their own monitor. |
| Recording video | On iPhone, yes: the front or back camera, with sound, saved to Photos and never uploaded. Or you record in Camera, Instagram, TikTok or whatever you film with, and the script floats over it. | Elgato Studio records from an Elgato Facecam or Cam Link, with sound from any microphone. While you read, the camera preview can sit behind your script, by Elgato’s Studio 2.0 article. |
| Import a document | TXT, Markdown, PDF, DOCX and RTF. Part of Pro. | Markdown, text, Word, OpenDocument and HTML files, plus RTF on Mac, with their formatting. You can also paste from Google Docs or Notion. |
| Price | Free gives you 6 prompter takes with every prompter feature and unlimited scripts. Pro removes the take limit and adds import from TXT, Markdown, PDF, DOCX and RTF: $9.99 a month, $69.99 a year or $199.99 once, in USD. On a PC you buy Pro in the Microsoft Store, at the same prices. | Elgato Studio is free. Docked, with Voice Sync and Chat mode, is free with no time limits. Floating needs Virtual Prompter Pro, sold by the month, the year or for life on Elgato Marketplace, or a connected Elgato Prompter. Amounts on their page. |
Elgato details last checked on 4 November 2026, from its Virtual Prompter and Elgato Studio 2.0 pages. This is desk research, not a hands-on comparison.
Both follow your voice
The idea is the same. Elgato says Voice Sync listens through your microphone, turns what you say into text and matches it to your script to find your place. Wispim’s Voice mode does that too. Both wait when you pause, Voice Sync follows along if you skip a line, and Wispim goes back when you repeat an earlier one.
Wispim has two more ways to move the text: Sound, which moves while it hears you talk, and Constant, a speed you set. Elgato has a set speed as well. Wispim has five voice commands, and Elgato’s pages list none; with a Stream Deck, its plugin plays, pauses and jumps to the next section. The language lists differ most. Elgato lists eight languages for Voice Sync. Wispim follows every language your iPhone, iPad or Mac can recognise, and 31 languages on Windows.
Where they differ
Wispim runs on iPhone and iPad, where the script floats over the app you film with, and on iPhone it records video with the script in front of you. Elgato’s pages describe Virtual Prompter for a laptop or a monitor, and we found no phone version.
On a computer, Elgato gives more away free: Studio costs nothing, and so does Docked with Voice Sync. Floating is the paid part. Wispim’s free tier is 6 takes with every feature, and Pro removes the limit. Elgato also records from its own Facecam or Cam Link, has Chat mode for Twitch, YouTube and Kick, and shows an operator what the presenter sees. Studio runs Elgato’s cameras, capture cards and Prompter hardware from the same app.
Who should pick Elgato Virtual Prompter
- You read from a laptop or a monitor and want it free: Docked, with Voice Sync, costs nothing.
- You stream and want your chat in the spot where your script is.
- You work with a producer who needs to see what you see.
- You already use Elgato cameras, capture cards or a Prompter, and want them in one app.
Pick Wispim if you film on an iPhone or iPad, where its window floats over the camera app, or if your language is outside Elgato’s eight. If you are comparing more apps, the Mac and Windows surveys cover the others.
Questions
Does Elgato Virtual Prompter need Elgato hardware?
No. Elgato says you can write scripts and use Virtual Prompter on your laptop or monitor without Elgato hardware. Its Prompter and Prompter XL are hardware teleprompters that sit in front of a camera, and while one of them is connected, the Floating placement is included.
Does Elgato Virtual Prompter run on a phone?
Elgato Studio, where Virtual Prompter lives, is a download for Windows 11 and for macOS 15 Sequoia or later. We found no phone version on Elgato’s pages. Wispim runs on iPhone and iPad as well as on Mac and Windows.
Where does each one turn speech into text?
Elgato says that on Windows a speech model for each language runs on your graphics card, so your voice is processed on your PC, and that on macOS it uses Apple’s built-in speech recognition. On a Windows PC, Wispim recognises speech on the PC once the language’s speech model has been downloaded, in 31 languages. Microsoft online speech is optional and starts switched off: if you turn it on, Microsoft recognises over the internet the languages outside Wispim’s own speech models. On iPhone, iPad and Mac, recognition runs on the device wherever your language supports it. In some cases, your device sends the audio to Apple to turn it into text.
What do the free versions include?
Elgato Studio is free, and Virtual Prompter is free when Docked, with Voice Sync and Chat mode included and no time limit. Floating needs Virtual Prompter Pro or a connected Elgato Prompter. Wispim’s free tier is 6 prompter takes with every prompter feature switched on: Voice, Sound and Constant, the floating window and the voice commands. Scripts are unlimited, and Pro removes the take limit and adds import from TXT, Markdown, PDF, DOCX and RTF at $9.99 a month, $69.99 a year or $199.99 once, in USD.