Dictate offline
Works offline.You are on a plane or a train with no signal and you still want to answer that email. shepetal recognizes your speech on your Mac, so you just keep dictating.
Online once
shepetal downloads speech recognition once, and after that you can dictate with no internet at all.
Side by side
| On-device or cloud | Offline | |
|---|---|---|
| shepetal | On your Mac, and your voice stays there. | Works offline.You go online once, to download speech recognition. |
| Wispr Flow | In the cloud. Its privacy page: “Transcription always happens in the cloud.” wisprflow.aias of | No offline transcription. Its privacy page says each dictation is sent to its servers and transcribed there. wisprflow.aias of |
| Superwhisper | On your device or in the cloud, your choice. Its docs say that with on-device processing, nothing you say leaves your device. superwhisper.comas of | Yes. Its docs say on-device transcription works without an internet connection, and other processing of your text needs the internet. superwhisper.comas of |
| MacWhisper | On your Mac, or in the cloud with services you connect. macwhisper.comas of | Yes. Its site: “Process sensitive content locally without data ever leaving your Mac.” macwhisper.comas of |
| Apple Dictation | On your Mac or on Apple’s servers. Its privacy page says Keyboard Settings show whether dictation is processed on your device; otherwise, Apple’s servers process it. apple.comsupport.apple.comas of | On a Mac with Apple silicon, for supported languages, says Apple’s guide for macOS Sonoma 14. support.apple.comas of |
Every line on the other apps here comes from their own pages, and each one links the page and the day we checked it. shepetal is independent of all of them.
Which to pick
Superwhisper and MacWhisper also work offline when they process on your device. Apple’s guide for macOS Sonoma 14 says Apple Dictation works offline on a Mac with Apple silicon for supported languages, and Wispr Flow transcribes in the cloud.
Pick shepetal if you want every dictation processed on your Mac, which is the only way shepetal works.
Sources
- Wispr Flow, On-device or cloud: In the cloud. Its privacy page: “Transcription always happens in the cloud.” https://wisprflow.ai/privacy, checked .
- Wispr Flow, Offline: No offline transcription. Its privacy page says each dictation is sent to its servers and transcribed there. https://wisprflow.ai/privacy, checked .
- Wispr Flow, Platforms: Dictation on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. https://wisprflow.ai/pricing, checked .
- Wispr Flow, Price: Free: $0/mo, with 2,000 words a week on desktop. Pro: $15/user/mo billed monthly, or $12/user/mo billed annually. Growth and Enterprise plans for teams. https://wisprflow.ai/pricing, checked .
- Wispr Flow, Languages: 100+ languages. https://wisprflow.ai/pricing, checked .
- Wispr Flow, Meetings: Yes. Its Notetaker, for meetings and voice memos, runs on Mac and Windows. https://wisprflow.ai/pricing, checked .
- Wispr Flow, In any app: Yes. Its pricing page: “Speech-to-text in any app.” https://wisprflow.ai/pricing, checked .
- Superwhisper, On-device or cloud: On your device or in the cloud, your choice. Its docs say that with on-device processing, nothing you say leaves your device. https://superwhisper.com/docs/get-started/introduction, checked .
- Superwhisper, Offline: Yes. Its docs say on-device transcription works without an internet connection, and other processing of your text needs the internet. https://superwhisper.com/docs/get-started/introduction, checked .
- Superwhisper, Platforms: macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. https://superwhisper.com/docs/get-started/introduction, checked .
- Superwhisper, Price: Free plan. Pro: $8.49/month, $84.99/year or $249.99 once. https://superwhisper.com/docs/billing/plans, checked .
- Superwhisper, Languages: 100+ languages. https://superwhisper.com/docs/get-started/introduction, checked .
- Superwhisper, Meetings: Yes, on macOS, with Pro. It records calls with no bot in the call. https://superwhisper.com/docs/meetings/overview, https://superwhisper.com/docs/billing/plans, checked .
- Superwhisper, In any app: Yes. Its docs: “clean, formatted text in any app.” https://superwhisper.com/docs/get-started/introduction, checked .
- MacWhisper, On-device or cloud: On your Mac, or in the cloud with services you connect. https://www.macwhisper.com, checked .
- MacWhisper, Offline: Yes. Its site: “Process sensitive content locally without data ever leaving your Mac.” https://www.macwhisper.com, checked .
- MacWhisper, Platforms: Mac. https://www.macwhisper.com, checked .
- MacWhisper, Price: Free: €0 / month. Pro: €64 / license, paid once, with lifetime updates. https://www.macwhisper.com, checked .
- MacWhisper, Languages: 100 languages. https://www.macwhisper.com, checked .
- MacWhisper, Meetings: Yes. It records online meetings, with no bots joining. https://www.macwhisper.com, checked .
- MacWhisper, In any app: Yes. Its site: dictation “lets you use your voice in any app.” https://www.macwhisper.com, checked .
- Apple Dictation, On-device or cloud: On your Mac or on Apple’s servers. Its privacy page says Keyboard Settings show whether dictation is processed on your device; otherwise, Apple’s servers process it. https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/ask-siri-dictation/, https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-dictation-mh40584/mac, checked .
- Apple Dictation, Offline: On a Mac with Apple silicon, for supported languages, says Apple’s guide for macOS Sonoma 14. https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-dictation-mh40584/14.0/mac/14.0, checked .
- Apple Dictation, Platforms: Part of macOS and iOS. https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-dictation-mh40584/mac, https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/dictate-text-iph2c0651d2/ios, checked .
- Apple Dictation, Price: Part of macOS, turned on in System Settings. https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-dictation-mh40584/mac, checked .
- Apple Dictation, Languages: The languages on Apple’s macOS Feature Availability page. https://www.apple.com/macos/feature-availability/, checked .
- Apple Dictation, In any app: Yes. Its guide: “anywhere you can type it.” https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-dictation-mh40584/mac, checked .
30 days free
$23.99
once. Yours forever.
$0.99
a month.
If you have more questions, the FAQ and the Privacy Policy answer them.