whisper.cppTranscribe recorded audio into text on your own computer.
Free software. Your hardware + a downloaded model.
Voice & transcription
BetterWispr
Free optionOpen sourceLocal
Dictate into Mac apps with local speech recognition and saved transcription history.
What you can use it for
Dictate into Mac apps with local speech recognition and saved transcription history.
- Owner used local Parakeet Ultra dictation to deliver this request into ChatGPT.
- The completed text remained available in the app history.
Workflow coverage and comparison notes
Local dictation into Mac apps without a recurring word allowance. This does not include every paid AI cleanup or cross-device feature. For Superwhisper: Hotkey dictation into other applications using downloaded local speech models. Not complete Superwhisper mode customization, meeting notes, rewriting, file transcription or mobile parity. Supported systems and model requirements differ.
Before you switch
macOS 14+; Apple Silicon recommended. Requires microphone and Accessibility access plus model downloads. Independent accuracy, other languages, meeting notes and AI cleanup have not been tested. Text arrives after recording stops.
Alternatives to these paid apps
Each comparison covers the workflow described above, rather than every paid feature.
More for the same workflow
See alternatives →whisper.cpp
WillowDictate messages, emails and documents directly into the apps where you type.
Free Basic: unlimited Frontier Mini dictation · 20 Scribe uses/week
Dictate text into your apps using local speech models.
Unlimited dictation with free Nano, Fast and Standard models.