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
Superwhisper
Premium local Whisper dictation for Mac, Windows, and iOS with a $249 lifetime option.
Pros
- +Live system-wide dictation via a global hotkey on macOS and Windows; iOS app for on-the-go dictation
- +99+ languages via Whisper multilingual models; selectable from tiny to large-v3
- +$249 lifetime licence; free tier to try; GPU acceleration on Apple Silicon and NVIDIA
- +Intel Mac + Apple Silicon support; no cloud component at any tier
Cons
- −No Linux support; no keyboard AI command layer or on-demand rewrite; no meeting transcription or diarization
- −More expensive entry point than Phantom Voice ($249 lifetime vs $10)
3
Spokenly
Permanently free local dictation for Mac, Windows, and iPhone covering 100+ languages.
Pros
- +Permanently free: local Whisper large-v3 + NVIDIA Parakeet, no account, no word cap, 100+ languages
- +Runs on macOS, Windows, and iPhone - covers Windows and Intel Mac that Phantom Voice lacks
- +MCP server, Agent mode (voice to macOS automation), bash hooks for power users
- +BYOK cloud at zero markup for optional cloud-quality transcription on own keys
Cons
- −No Linux build; no keyboard AI commands; no meeting transcription or speaker diarization
- −No ghost-text autocomplete; Parakeet local model limited to English
4
Handy
Free MIT local dictation for macOS, Windows, and Linux with Whisper and Parakeet.
Pros
- +Completely free, MIT-licensed: local Whisper + Parakeet v3 + Moonshine, no account, no word cap
- +Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux - the widest platform coverage of any free local dictation app
- +99+ languages via Whisper; 23,000+ GitHub stars; Raycast extension available
- +Press to record, release to transcribe; 2-5s latency on typical hardware
Cons
- −No AI command layer, no meeting transcription, no autocomplete, no mobile app
- −No subscription or lifetime upsell - pure local open-source tool
5
Hex
Free MIT local Mac dictation on Apple Silicon with Parakeet TDT v3 and 25+ languages.
Pros
- +Free MIT open source, Apple Silicon Mac (macOS 14+) via Homebrew; Parakeet TDT v3 default (~2.5% WER, 25+ langs)
- +Press-and-hold or double-tap-to-lock recording modes; WhisperKit as alternative backend for 99+ languages
- +No account, no word cap, no subscription; ~2.8k GitHub stars; install via brew install --cask kitlangton-hex
- +Covers 25+ European languages via Parakeet v3 - substantially more than Phantom Voice's English only
Cons
- −Apple Silicon Mac only - same platform constraint as Phantom Voice (no Windows, no Linux, no Intel Mac)
- −No AI command layer, no meeting transcription, no autocomplete, no cleanup pass
6
Dictato
Mac-only local dictation with four ASR engine choices and €19.99 lifetime pricing.
Pros
- +Four on-device engines selectable: NVIDIA Parakeet (25 langs), Whisper (99 langs), Apple SpeechAnalyzer, Qwen3-ASR (30 langs)
- +€19.99 one-time lifetime licence - almost twice the language coverage options of Phantom Voice at double the price
- +macOS 14+ Apple Silicon, 7-day free trial no credit card; no cloud at any tier
- +Faster Parakeet engine (~80ms latency via FluidAudio) for English; Whisper fallback for all other languages
Cons
- −Mac Apple Silicon only - same platform constraint as Phantom Voice (no Windows, no Linux, no Intel Mac)
- −No AI command layer, no meeting transcription, no autocomplete, no AI rewrite layer
7
Murmur
Local Whisper dictation for Windows and Mac with built-in AI cleanup at €39.97 lifetime.
Pros
- +Built-in app-adaptive AI cleanup layer: detects active app, removes filler words, adjusts tone - fully on-device
- +Windows and macOS support with CUDA + Vulkan GPU acceleration; 99+ Whisper languages
- +€39.97 one-time lifetime; free 5 dictations/day permanent tier with no account
- +No audio ever leaves the device; works offline; zero per-transcription cost
Cons
- −No Linux; no keyboard AI command layer; no meeting transcription or diarization; no autocomplete
- −Passive cleanup per dictation only - no on-demand rewrite for pre-existing text
8
Utter
Mac + iPhone local dictation with a free unlimited tier, file transcription, and meetings.
Pros
- +Free unlimited tier with local Whisper models on Apple Silicon - no account, no word cap, no expiry
- +Mac (macOS 14.4+) and iPhone (iOS 17.0+) in one app; BYOK speech and AI providers at zero markup
- +Meeting transcription with speaker-labelled transcripts and searchable voice history
- +Pro $5.99/mo or $59.99/yr with additional AI features; SRT/VTT/Markdown export
Cons
- −No Windows or Linux; no keyboard AI command layer; no ghost-text autocomplete
- −Speaker diarization quality varies by audio source and tier
9
OpenWhispr
Free MIT local dictation for Mac, Windows, and Linux with meeting diarization and MCP.
Pros
- +Completely free on the local tier: local Whisper + NVIDIA Parakeet, no account, no word cap
- +Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux - the broadest cross-platform coverage, covers all Phantom Voice gaps
- +On-device meeting transcription with speaker diarization; MCP server for AI coding agents
- +BYOK cloud at zero markup; voice fingerprinting (merged April 2026); 3,700+ GitHub stars
Cons
- −No keyboard AI commands or ghost-text autocomplete; setup more involved than Phantom Voice
- −No iOS or mobile app