1Our pick · The all-in-one local AI assistant
Typilot.
The only entry on this list that does voice plus typing, polish, meetings, notes, and 27 inline AI commands - all locally, on macOS, Windows, and Linux. No cloud round-trip. Lifetime license option. Disclosure: we built it - that is why it is at the top.
2
Handy
Free MIT open-source dictation for Mac, Windows, and Linux - Whisper, Parakeet TDT v3, and Moonshine.
Pros
- +Completely free - MIT licence, no word cap, no account, no subscription
- +Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux - the platforms MacParakeet does not cover
- +Three swappable local ASR engines: Whisper, NVIDIA Parakeet TDT v3, and Moonshine
- +Press-to-record and release-to-transcribe workflow
Cons
- −Voice dictation only - no meeting transcription, no keyboard AI commands, no autocomplete
- −No file or URL transcription workflow
3
VoiceInk
Open-source local Whisper dictation for Apple Silicon Macs with per-app Power Mode.
Pros
- +GPL v3 open source with local Whisper via whisper.cpp
- +Power Mode applies per-app context to dictation output
- +$25-$49 one-time, or free if you build from source
- +Well reviewed: 4,300+ GitHub stars and 4.9/5 from 1,100+ users
Cons
- −macOS only (Apple Silicon, macOS 14.4+) - same platform limit as MacParakeet
- −No meeting transcription and no AI command layer
4
Spokenly
Free local tier on Mac, Windows, and iOS with BYOK cloud routing at zero markup.
Pros
- +Free tier: local Whisper Large-v3 + NVIDIA Parakeet, no word cap, no account required
- +macOS, Windows, and iOS - adds the Windows coverage MacParakeet lacks
- +BYOK routing to OpenAI, Deepgram, Groq, Anthropic, or Google at zero markup
- +MCP server for AI coding agents
Cons
- −No meeting transcription, no keyboard AI commands, no ghost-text autocomplete
- −Pro cloud pipeline is $9.99/mo with no lifetime option
5
OpenWhispr
MIT open-source, free local tier, Mac/Win/Linux, with meeting diarization and MCP server.
Pros
- +MIT open source - free local tier with no word cap, no account
- +Mac, Windows, and Linux builds available
- +Meeting transcription with speaker diarization on the Lazy Edition ($8/mo)
- +MCP server for AI agent and tool integration
Cons
- −No keyboard AI command layer, no ghost-text autocomplete
- −Meeting diarization requires the paid Lazy Edition
6
Glimpse
Free AGPL-3.0 core for Mac and Windows with four on-device ASR engines including Qwen3-ASR.
Pros
- +Free core tier with unlimited dictation, no account, and four local ASR engines: Whisper, Parakeet TDT, Nemotron, and Qwen3-ASR
- +AGPL-3.0 open source on GitHub
- +Adds Windows 10+ alongside macOS 14+
- +Library with speaker labels (up to 8 speakers) on paid tiers
Cons
- −No Linux, no keyboard AI command layer, no ghost-text autocomplete
- −AI Cleanup and Edit Mode need a BYOK LLM on paid tiers ($25 Solo, $39 Plus one-time)
7
FluidVoice
Free GPLv3 macOS dictation with swappable Parakeet, Nemotron, Whisper, and Cohere engines.
Pros
- +Free GPLv3 open source with no word cap, account, or subscription
- +Parakeet TDT v3 (25 languages), Nemotron, Whisper (99 languages), and Cohere engines are swappable
- +Live word-by-word output into the focused app
- +Homebrew install: brew install --cask fluidvoice
Cons
- −macOS 15+ only - no stable Windows or Linux release
- −No meeting transcription, no keyboard AI commands, no autocomplete
8
Meetily
Local meeting-notes app with a free MIT Community Edition for macOS and Windows.
Pros
- +MIT free Community Edition, Rust-built, 12,500+ GitHub stars
- +Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet on-device, with local Ollama for summaries
- +macOS and Windows coverage for meeting capture
- +Pro tier is $10/mo
Cons
- −Meeting-focused - no system-wide dictation, no keyboard AI commands, no autocomplete
- −Speaker diarization still in development; no official Linux build
9
Ghost Pepper
Free open-source macOS menu-bar dictation with local WhisperKit and Qwen cleanup plus meeting notes.
Pros
- +Free, 100% local WhisperKit plus Qwen LLMs on Apple Silicon
- +Hold Control to talk, release to transcribe
- +Meeting transcription with local AI summaries
- +About 2.8k GitHub stars
Cons
- −macOS 14+ Apple Silicon only - same platform limit as MacParakeet
- −No speaker diarization, no keyboard AI commands, no autocomplete