What is the best offline speech to text for Mac?

Apple Dictation is the best offline choice for most people, if you check two things first. Apple says general text Dictation on a Mac is processed on your device, not on Siri servers, and you can confirm that in Keyboard settings ¹. Apple also says Dictation on a Mac may need an internet connection ², so "built in" does not guarantee "offline." Turn on the on-device setting, then test it with Wi-Fi off before you depend on it.

If Apple's tool does not cover your language, or you need to transcribe recordings rather than dictate live, choose an on-device app that runs a Whisper model. Several free, open-source Mac apps do this, and they are described below.

Apple Dictation is the default offline choice, if your language is on the list

Apple's Mac help says Keyboard settings show whether your dictated audio is processed on the device or sent to Apple's servers ¹. Check that setting on your own Mac rather than trusting a general claim, because the processing can differ by language and by macOS version.

Language is the usual catch. Apple keeps a separate on-device list for Dictation on the Mac, and it does not match the full list. For example, Apple's on-device list includes Portuguese (Brazil) but not Portuguese (Portugal) ³. If you dictate in a language on the full list but not on the on-device list, Apple may send that speech to its servers. Check the list for your exact language and region before you rely on the setting.

Apple Dictation is for speaking into a text field. For a recorded file, use a file-based tool such as the Whisper apps below.

On-device Whisper apps are the next choice for offline use

Whisper is OpenAI's speech model. The Mac apps below run versions of it on your own computer, after you download a model once.

• Handy describes itself as a free, open-source speech-to-text application that works completely offline ⁴. Check its releases page for the current version before you install it.
• HEX describes itself as local-first voice dictation for Apple silicon Macs running macOS 15 or newer ⁵. It is a live dictation tool, not a file transcriber.
• Buzz describes itself as transcribing and translating audio offline on a personal computer ⁶. It fits recordings and interviews you have already made.

The engine underneath many of these apps is whisper.cpp. That project calls Apple silicon a first-class target for running OpenAI's Whisper model, optimized through ARM NEON, the Accelerate framework and Metal ⁷. The model size you pick decides how much memory and time a transcript takes, so compare the model names each app offers.

Yap, which we make, also processes dictation on the device on Mac and Windows. If you want an offline app that works like Apple Dictation but with more features, see our offline dictation page for Mac. Whether an app stays on the device depends on how you set it up, not on its name, so check the settings below before you rely on any app.

Check the cloud switch before you trust an app as offline

An app can run offline by default and still send data when you turn on a feature. HEX's README says that if you turn on post-processing with OpenCode, the app sends the transcript, the foreground application and the Brave website hostname to the model provider you configure ⁸. That is an opt-in, but it means "offline" depends on the settings you choose. Open each app's settings and turn off any cloud or AI processing you do not want.

The right offline app depends on the Mac, the language and the job

• Your Mac. HEX needs an Apple silicon Mac and macOS 15 or newer ⁵. Check your Mac model and macOS version before you install it.
• Your language. Apple's on-device list is not the same as its full Dictation list, and each Whisper app may support different languages. Test your own language in each app.
• Your job. For short live text, Apple Dictation with on-device processing is the simplest choice. For transcripts of recordings, a file-based Whisper app fits better.
• Your accuracy needs. We found no independent comparison of these Mac apps in offline mode, so the speed and accuracy of each one is unknown to us. Our question on whether Apple Dictation is better than Whisper explains the one same-audio test we found.

What to do: test offline before you rely on it

1. Turn on Dictation in Keyboard settings, and choose your language.
2. Check the processing setting in Keyboard settings. If it says the audio is sent to Apple, that is not offline.
3. Turn off Wi-Fi, then dictate 100 words of your own writing into the app you use every day. If it still types, the test passes for that app and language.
4. For a recording, choose a file-based Whisper app, import a two-minute clip, and check the text against what you heard.
5. Read the privacy page or settings for any app you keep, and turn off cloud processing you do not need.

For how Apple's own privacy settings work, read our guide to Apple Dictation privacy. For the wider choice of Mac apps, read our guide to the best dictation apps for Mac. If you also need your audio transcribed from a meeting, see our question on how to transcribe a meeting on a Mac. The glossary entry on on-device speech recognition explains the term in more detail. For the whole subject, see our overview of dictation on Mac.