Is there a Whisper app for Windows?

Yes. Two open-source apps run Whisper models on your PC, and both work offline once they are installed. They suit different jobs. Buzz is for transcribing recordings you already have, and Handy is for dictating into the app you are typing in. A third name, Murmur, appears in software directories, but we could not verify it, so we do not recommend it.

Whisper itself is a command line, not a window

OpenAI's Whisper installs with pip and runs from a terminal. Its README gives this example, which transcribes speech in audio files with the turbo model: whisper audio.flac audio.mp3 audio.wav --model turbo ¹. If you want the official package without a window, that is the route, and our install guide covers the steps.

Advanced users can run whisper.cpp instead. Its README lists support for CPU-only inference ², so it can run without a graphics card.

Buzz is the Whisper app for recordings

Buzz describes itself as transcribing and translating audio offline on a personal computer ³. Its README lists Whisper.cpp among its backends, with Vulkan acceleration on most GPUs, including integrated GPUs ⁴. It ships a Windows installer, and the README says the app is not code-signed, so Windows will show a warning when you install it ⁵.

Use Buzz for recordings you already have, such as a meeting or an interview. For typing into an app as you speak, use Handy instead.

Handy runs Whisper models for live dictation

Handy describes itself as a free, open-source speech-to-text application that works completely offline ⁶. Its README lists Whisper models in Small, Medium, Turbo and Large sizes, with GPU acceleration when a GPU is available ⁷. You press a shortcut, speak, and your words appear in any text field ⁸. That makes Handy the closer match to Windows voice typing that works without a connection.

Murmure is an offline dictation app, but not a Whisper app

Murmure is an open-source dictation app. Its README says it transcribes speech locally with the Parakeet TDT 0.6B v3 model ⁹. Parakeet is a different model family from Whisper. Murmure solves the same problem, but its README names no Whisper model, so Whisper's accuracy and speed results do not carry over to it.

Murmur is a name we could not verify

Some software directories list a Windows app called Murmur that describes itself as offline dictation with Whisper. We found no official project page for it. The listings are third-party pages, and they make claims about languages and installers that we could not confirm from the developer. Murmure is a different project with a similar name, so check the publisher on the download page before you install anything.

Pick the app by the job

Test before you choose

Pick the app that matches your job, then test it with Wi-Fi and Ethernet turned off. Dictate two minutes of ordinary writing, then count the wrong, missing and invented words. Repeat the test with a fan or a second voice in the background, because a 1996 study found that recognition performance degrades rapidly in ambient noise ¹⁰. Our guide to offline speech to text on Windows has a ten-minute version of this test, and the dictation glossary entry defines the terms used above.

For the broader list of open-source tools, read which open-source dictation apps run on Windows. If you are still choosing between Windows' built-in options, read whether Windows voice typing works offline. The full set of Windows answers is in our Windows dictation overview.