Which dictation apps work offline?

Yes, a number of dictation apps work offline, but the makers attach conditions. Weesper Neon Flow says it offers 100% offline voice dictation for Mac and Windows, a row recording yes ¹. Most other apps need a speech model downloaded first, and the extras around dictation, such as AI cleanup, often still need a network.

The figures below come from the makers' own pages in our dataset of 1676 data points ², drawn from 583 sources ³. Each row records whether a maker's page says an app has a feature (1) or not (0).

Apps that say they work offline mostly need a model download first

MacParakeet says that after the speech model is downloaded during setup, dictation and file transcription work completely offline ⁴. Its own FAQ adds that transcribing from a web address needs a connection.

Codictate's privacy policy says the app works entirely offline once the speech models are downloaded ⁵. The only network request it makes is the one-time model download on first launch.

Dictate Keyboard, an Android keyboard, says it can dictate completely offline with a downloadable model (1 for yes) ⁶. Its models cover a set of languages, and rewording and cloud transcription still need a network.

Monologue's home page says its local models work with no connection required ⁷. The FAQ says those local models run on Mac, and that formatting and syncing still need a connection.

AudioPen is a case where offline is a setting. Its FAQ says the iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows apps have an offline option, where transcription runs on the device ⁸. The web app and Chrome extension always transcribe in the cloud.

Showing 8 of 167 rows. See every row in the dataset.

Speech on the device is a different claim from working offline

An app can process speech on your machine and still need the internet for other things. The dataset keeps the two claims apart. DictaFlow says speech becomes text on the device, even without an internet connection ¹⁶. Its page also says AI cleanup and other cloud features still need internet access, and that its offline dictation is on the Pro plan.

KeyVox says all dictation and transcription happens on the device ¹⁷. Voxtype says recognition runs on the machine with local whisper.cpp models ¹⁸. Neither row says what happens with no connection at all, so they are not offline rows.

WhisperWriter is a good example of why the wording matters. Its README says it uses a local model by default, so speech is transcribed on your computer unless you switch to the OpenAI API (1 for yes) ¹⁹. The README does not say whether the app works without a connection, so the dataset has no offline row for it.

Showing 8 of 230 rows. See every row in the dataset.

Some on-device claims cover only one plan or one mode

Spokenly says that with local models, audio recordings and transcriptions never leave the device ²⁸. The statement applies to local models only. Cloud models and AI Instructions send data elsewhere.

VoiceVibe's privacy policy says that on the free tier, voice audio and dictated text are processed on the device (1 for yes) ²⁹. The same section says Pro audio goes to its servers, so the row covers the free tier only.

Gboard is similar. Google says text you speak with advanced voice typing stays on your device, except when you use Fix it or detailed edits ³⁰. It applies to advanced voice typing on newer Pixel phones, not every Gboard microphone.

What the numbers do and do not measure

Each row is a statement on a maker's page, read in October 2026 and quoted. It is not a test. We did not run these apps with the network switched off, so a page saying "offline" tells you what the maker claims, not how well it works.

A page that says nothing gives no row, so a missing app is not a "no". Every row shown here is a 1, and the dataset does not make offline apps look more common than they are: apps that do not mention offline use simply do not appear. The rows also differ in scope. Some cover one platform (Mac only, Android only), some one plan, some one engine. Read the detail column and the quote before you rely on a row. Reviews and third-party comparisons are excluded.

What this means if you need to dictate without internet

Check three things before you commit to an app.

1. Download the model while you are online. Almost every offline app needs it once. Do it before a flight, not on it.
2. Find out what still needs the network. AI rewriting, syncing and URL transcription are the usual exceptions.
3. Match the platform and plan. A claim for Mac does not cover Windows, and a Pro feature is not on the free plan.

If you only need basic offline dictation, your operating system may already do it. See the overview of dictation software and the guide to the best dictation software. Yap, which we make, also runs speech on the device on Mac and Windows, and its details are on its own pages. For where audio goes once it leaves your machine, read our page on voice privacy. To compare products side by side, see the market overview.

Browse every row in the full dataset.