The best offline speech-to-text apps for Mac (2026)

If you want speech to text that keeps working with Wi-Fi off, pick an app that runs the speech model on your Mac. Sayburst is our first pick for typing by voice into any app offline; MacWhisper is the pick for transcribing recordings offline; Apple Dictation is the free option already on your Mac.

We make Sayburst, so weigh the ranking accordingly. Facts about the other apps come from their own sites and docs, checked October 31, 2026.

#What "offline" means here

Offline speech to text means the model that turns your voice into words runs on your Mac's chip, not on a server. Every app below needs the internet once, to download the app and its model. After that, the recognition itself needs no connection.

Two things can still reach the network even in an offline app, so check them:

• AI cleanup or rewriting. Many apps send the transcribed text to a cloud model like OpenAI or Anthropic if you set one up. That's text, not audio, but it does leave the Mac.
• Cloud model options. Several apps offer local and cloud speech models side by side. Make sure the local one is selected.

#At a glance

Not offline: Wispr Flow says transcription always occurs in the cloud, and Aqua Voice processes dictation on its servers with no offline mode.

#How we chose

We only included apps whose own sites or docs say speech can be recognized on the Mac. Then we ranked them on how useful they are offline day to day: does the text land in the app you're using, how much tidying it needs, and whether anything you rely on quietly needs a connection.

#The picks

1

Sayburst

Best for Typing by voice into any app, offline · Price $29 once (1 Mac), $49 (3 Macs)

Hold fn, talk, let go: the text appears wherever your cursor is. Recognition runs on the Mac with Parakeet v3 on the Neural Engine by default, Parakeet Ultra if you want the most accurate Parakeet, or Whisper for its 99 languages. Every model download is checksum-verified. After that, Sayburst never uploads your audio.

The cleanup is local too. Fillers and accidental repeats come out, punctuation and capitals go in, and "new line", "new paragraph" and "bullet point" become layout. The optional Sayburst Writer (Qwen3 4B on your Mac's GPU, a 2.5 GB download) goes further, still with no account, key or internet.

Here's a packing list dictated on a train with no signal, in Notes mode:

"OK for Lisbon I need, uh, the charger, the passport, the, the grey jacket, and the printed tickets for Saturday."

What lands in your notes app:

• Charger
• Passport
• Grey jacket
• Printed tickets for Saturday

A purchased license also keeps working for up to 60 days between license checks, so a long stretch offline won't lock you out.

Trade-off: Mac only, Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later.

2

VoiceInk

Best for Open-source local dictation · Price $25 (1 Mac), $39 (2), $49 (3), once

Local transcription on Apple silicon using whisper.cpp and Parakeet, with source code on GitHub under GPL-3.0. Its site lists macOS 14.4 or later and recommends 8 GB of memory. Optional cloud enhancement sends text, not audio, if you turn it on. Sayburst vs VoiceInk

3

MacWhisper

Best for Offline transcription of recordings · Price Free; Pro €64 once

Local Whisper models for files and meetings, with speaker recognition, subtitle export and batch processing. Its docs note that the Medium and Large models want more than 8 GB of memory. Dictation is included, but files are its strength. Sayburst vs MacWhisper

4

Superwhisper

Best for Local Whisper with apps on other platforms · Price Free; Pro $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr or $249.99 lifetime

The free tier includes unlimited use of Whisper models, and Superwhisper says it works offline. Its site notes that offline models run well only on Apple silicon; Intel Macs do better with its cloud models. Pro adds more models and AI features. Sayburst vs Superwhisper

5

Spokenly

Best for Free local dictation · Price Free local; Local+ $29 once

Local Whisper and Parakeet models with no account and no fee. Download a model before you go offline. Cloud models and hosted cleanup are part of the paid Pro plan, so check which one is active.

6

Handy

Best for Free and open source · Price Free (MIT)

Describes itself as working completely offline. Hold or tap a shortcut, speak, and the text is pasted where you're typing. Runs Whisper or Parakeet V3 on Mac, Windows and Linux, with silence filtered out before transcription.

7

Apple Dictation

Best for Free, built in · Price Free

Apple says general dictation is processed on your device for supported languages, and you can check how yours is set up under Dictation in Keyboard settings. It stops after 30 seconds without speech, so it suits short bursts better than long drafts. Sayburst vs Apple Dictation

#Dictation or transcription: two offline jobs

"Speech to text" covers two different jobs, and the apps above lean one way or the other.

Dictation is live: you speak, and words appear in the app you're writing in. What matters is the shortcut, how fast the text lands, and how clean it is. Sayburst, VoiceInk, Spokenly, Handy and Superwhisper are built around this.

Transcription starts from a recording: an interview, a lecture, a voice memo. What matters is handling long files, telling speakers apart and exporting subtitles or documents. MacWhisper is the specialist here.

There's overlap. Sayburst can transcribe a file locally if you drop an audio or video file onto its History window, which is handy for the occasional voice memo. For a weekly two-hour interview with three speakers, MacWhisper's speaker recognition and export options are worth it. Our dictation vs transcription piece goes deeper.

#Memory, Intel Macs and older machines

Local models live in your Mac's memory while they work, so the machine matters more offline than it does for a cloud app.

• Apple silicon is the baseline. Sayburst and VoiceInk require it. Superwhisper says its offline models only run well on Apple silicon.
• 8 GB works for speech, with limits. VoiceInk recommends 8 GB. MacWhisper notes its Medium and Large models want more. Sayburst's optional Writer model works on 8 GB but is slower there; it's best with 16 GB.
• Intel Macs are where cloud apps or Apple Dictation make more sense. Sayburst doesn't support them.

If you're unsure, start with the default model in whichever app you pick, dictate for a day, and only move to a larger model if you see mistakes you care about.

#What still needs a connection

Even in a fully local setup, a few things touch the network, and it helps to know which ones so nothing surprises you on a flight:

• The first model download. Do it at home, before the trip, for every model you plan to use.
• License checks. Paid apps check their license now and then. Sayburst allows up to 60 days between checks.
• Cloud writing providers. If you connect your own OpenAI or Anthropic key for rewriting, that step needs the internet. Sayburst shows exactly what will be sent before you enable one, and sends text only, never audio. Local options like Ollama or LM Studio keep it on the Mac.
• The app you dictate into. Gmail in a browser still needs a connection to send. The words arrive offline; the email waits.

#Parakeet or Whisper?

Most of these apps run one of two model families, and the choice matters more than the app for raw recognition.

We benchmarked them on an M4 Max with a 1,082-word LibriSpeech test-clean sample (clean read speech, so treat it as a comparison, not a promise for your voice):

Parakeet v3 covers English and 24 European languages. Whisper covers 99, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi and Arabic, so it's the right choice if you dictate in one of those. The full method is in Parakeet vs Whisper on Apple silicon.

#How to check that an app is really offline

1. Open the app and make sure the model has finished downloading.
2. Turn off Wi-Fi from Control Center (and unplug Ethernet if you use it).
3. Click into a text field and dictate a full sentence.
4. If the text appears, recognition happened on your Mac. If you get an error or nothing, the app was using a server.

Do the same test with any AI cleanup turned on. If the text arrives raw or fails, that step was in the cloud. More detail in our offline dictation guide, and local vs cloud dictation covers the privacy side.

#Our recommendation

For dictating into Mail, Slack, Notes and everything else with no connection, Sayburst. For turning recordings into transcripts on a plane, MacWhisper. If you want free and local, Spokenly or Handy, and Apple Dictation if a sentence or two at a time is all you need.

Questions people ask

Can I use speech to text on a Mac without internet?

Yes. Apple Dictation processes general dictation on the device for supported languages, and apps like Sayburst, VoiceInk, MacWhisper and Handy run their speech models on the Mac after a one-time model download.

Which speech model is best for offline use on a Mac?

In our benchmark on clean read speech, Parakeet v3 had a 0.46% word error rate and a median 82 ms per dictation. Whisper Large v3 Turbo was slower but covers 99 languages, so it's the pick for languages Parakeet doesn't support.

Is Wispr Flow available offline?

No. Wispr Flow's data-controls page says transcription always happens in the cloud. Aqua Voice also processes dictation on its servers.

How do I check that a dictation app is really offline?

Turn off Wi-Fi and dictate a sentence. If the text still appears, the speech is being recognized on your Mac. Do it after the model has downloaded.