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
Completely free MIT-licensed local Whisper dictation for Mac, Windows, and Linux - no cap, no account, zero telemetry.
Pros
- +Completely free - no subscription, no account, no word cap of any kind
- +MIT-licensed open source with 23,000+ GitHub stars - codebase publicly auditable
- +Supports Whisper, Parakeet V2/V3, and Moonshine - broader model choice than Weesper
- +Mac, Windows, and Linux support
- +Sends no telemetry at all
Cons
- −Raw transcription only - no on-the-fly translation, AI cleanup, or autocomplete
- −Press-to-record workflow with a 2-5 second processing pause after release
- −No personal dictionaries or custom vocabulary
Free (MIT open source)
3
Spokenly
Free local Whisper and Parakeet dictation for Mac, Windows, and iPhone - no cap, BYOK for cloud speed.
Pros
- +Free local tier with Whisper Large-v3 and NVIDIA Parakeet - no account, no word cap
- +Mac, Windows, and iPhone support
- +BYOK cloud routing to OpenAI, Deepgram, Groq, Anthropic, or Google at zero markup
- +MCP server and Agent mode for AI coding workflows
- +100+ languages via local Whisper
Cons
- −No on-the-fly translation, AI commands, or autocomplete
- −No Linux build
- −Pro tier ($9.99/mo) routes through third-party cloud subprocessors
4
HyperVoice
Cross-platform local Whisper with a permanent free tier and the lowest lifetime price of any desktop dictation app.
Pros
- +Permanent free tier of 500 words per day - no account required, no expiry
- +Lifetime licence at $49.99 - cheaper than Weesper's €99 lifetime
- +GPU acceleration via Vulkan on NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel GPUs (3-5x faster vs CPU)
- +11 Whisper model sizes from Tiny 75 MB to Large-v3 3.1 GB for precise speed/accuracy tuning
- +Mac, Windows, and Linux support
Cons
- −Dictation-focused - no on-the-fly translation, personal dictionaries, AI commands, or autocomplete
- −No iOS or Android companion app
- −Logs technical metadata (model name, latency, errors) to its servers for diagnostics
Free (500 words/day) · $7.99/mo · $79.99/yr · $49.99 lifetimeVisit site ↗ 5
Superwhisper
Polished commercial local Whisper for macOS, Windows, and iOS - mature app with a lifetime option.
Pros
- +Fully local Whisper transcription - audio never leaves the device
- +macOS, Windows, and iOS with a polished companion app for on-the-go dictation
- +Mature commercial app with guided setup, large-v3 support, and frequent updates
- +Free tier available with limited model choice
Cons
- −$249 lifetime is more than twice the price of Weesper's €99
- −Dictation only - no AI commands, meeting transcription, or autocomplete
- −No Linux build
6
OpenWhispr
Free MIT open-source dictation for Mac, Windows, and Linux with meeting auto-detection and MCP server.
Pros
- +Free from source with local Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet - no daily word cap
- +MIT-licensed, 3,700+ GitHub stars - codebase publicly auditable
- +Auto-detects Zoom, Teams, and FaceTime meetings with on-device voice fingerprinting
- +MCP server and public API for AI agent workflows
- +Mac, Windows, and Linux support
Cons
- −Pre-built Lazy Edition costs $8/mo or $80/yr - self-build required for free use
- −No on-the-fly translation, AI writing commands, or autocomplete
7
Voibe
Local Whisper for Apple Silicon Mac with Dev Mode for VS Code and Cursor file resolution.
Pros
- +Fully local on Apple Silicon - audio stays on device, sub-300ms latency claimed
- +Dev Mode resolves the active file in VS Code or Cursor for context-aware dictation
- +Live Dictation mode shows words on-screen before inserting them
- +$149 lifetime licence with a 30-day money-back guarantee
- +No cloud components at any tier
Cons
- −macOS 13+ Apple Silicon only - no Windows, Linux, or Intel Mac
- −No on-the-fly translation, AI commands, or autocomplete
- −More expensive than Weesper at $149 vs €99