BetterWispr
Open-source local dictation for Mac that cleans up your speech
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BetterWispr is a free, open-source dictation app for macOS that runs entirely on your Mac. Hold Option and Space in any app, speak, and release to transcribe. Local speech models from Apple, Parakeet, and Whisper handle the transcription with no account and no cloud fallback.
The cleanup engine removes filler words, repeats, and false starts in English. Light mode drops ums and restarts, while medium mode also edits for clarity using Apple Intelligence or a local Ollama model. You choose the level of cleanup, and every correction is undoable.
BetterWispr includes a meeting notetaker that separates your voice from other apps, voice commands for punctuation, a vocabulary that learns your corrections, and per-app writing styles. It is Apache 2.0 licensed and works on macOS 14 and later.
AI-assisted draft, human-reviewed before publishing — see how we choose & review tools.
Why we picked it
Dictation apps usually require a subscription or send your voice to the cloud. BetterWispr runs local models from Apple, Parakeet, and Whisper, cleans up filler words automatically, and is Apache 2.0 licensed. It learned 191 points on Hacker News in its first day for a reason.
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