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A free Harker alternative, with the formatting included

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YapToText is a free Harker alternative for the Mac: like Harker's free tier, it transcribes on your Mac with no cap and no account, but the email formatting, grammar fixes and rewriting that Harker sells as Premium come included and run on the Mac too. Harker does things I do not: it runs on macOS 12 or later, its download page lists Intel Macs as well as Apple silicon, and it is about 50 MB where YapToText is about 2.9 GB. I built YapToText, so read this with that in mind. Every Harker fact here comes from getharker.com, read on October 5, 2026.

My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate every day, and the step after the words, turning a ramble into an email, matters as much as the words. A subscription for the ability to write at all is a toll, so none of it sits behind one in my app. If you only want plain words at the cursor, Harker's free tier may be all you need, and this page says so.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreDownload for free. No account, nothing locked, macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 9 sections
  1. Steps
  2. What Harker is, from its own site
  3. What you keep, and what changes
  4. Side by side
  5. Move over in about ten minutes
    1. Step 1: Install YapToText
    2. Step 2: Allow the microphone and Accessibility
    3. Step 3: Quit Harker, pick your key and dictate once
    4. Step 4: Turn your Premium style into a mode
  6. Which one I would pick
  7. What each one cannot do
  8. The short version
  9. Questions

Steps

  1. Install YapToText from the Mac App Store and open it.
  2. Press Continue next to Microphone and Accessibility, and switch YapToText on in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility.
  3. Quit Harker, keep Right Command or record another key with Hold to talk, and dictate one sentence into a text field.
  4. On the Modes page, duplicate Clean Up, write your Harker style as its instructions, and test it in Try it out.

What Harker is, from its own site

Harker describes itself as a free voice to text app for the Mac that runs on your device with OpenAI's Whisper model. Press its global shortcut, hold to listen, and your words are pasted wherever you were typing. The free tier needs no account, and the shortcut can be changed.

  • Free, forever. Unlimited local transcription, every Whisper model tier, a global shortcut with hold to listen, auto-paste anywhere and support for several languages, at $0.
  • Premium, from $5.75 a month. AI writing styles such as formal, casual, concise or detailed, output formatting for email, bullets and notes, grammar and punctuation fixes, translation into any language, and custom instructions that give it lasting context about your role or project. It is a monthly or annual subscription, after a 7-day free trial that asks for no payment details.
  • Where your words go. Harker says transcription runs on your device and works offline, and that your voice never goes to its servers. Premium's AI features need an internet connection: the transcribed text is sent for processing, which Harker says happens in real time, is not stored and is not used for training.
  • An account for Premium only. Premium signs you in with an email magic link and no password. The free features work without an account.
  • What it needs. macOS 12 Monterey or later and about 50 MB of disk space. The download page says Apple silicon and Intel are both supported and that the app is notarized by Apple.
  • Where it is going. Its changelog and roadmap page says Harker is Mac only for now, with a Windows version being built and a target of the end of 2026, which Harker itself calls a target, not a commitment.

One thing to check if you have an Intel Mac: the same changelog page describes Harker as Apple silicon only, so the two pages disagree. Harker gives away the words and sells the polish; YapToText gives away both, and both run on the Mac.

What you keep, and what changes

Here is the switch job by job: what Harker does first, then what YapToText does instead.

  • Dictating into any app. Harker's habit is to hold a shortcut while you talk. In YapToText you tap Right Command to start and tap it again to stop, or choose Hold to talk in the Keys card on the Dictation page if your hands already know the Harker habit. Intelligent Insert reads the words around your cursor first, so a phrase dropped into the middle of a sentence gets the right capital, spacing and final mark. The Intelligent Insert guide shows how.
  • Formatting and cleanup. In Harker, email, bullet and note formatting, grammar fixes and writing styles are Premium, and they run in the cloud. In YapToText, Auto mode is on by default: a dictation shaped like a letter becomes an email, short casual chat stays exactly as spoken, and everything else gets a careful pass that fixes what was misheard and rewrites nothing. Say make that formal or as a bullet list at the end to steer it. Its cleanup model, Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct, runs on the Mac. The Auto mode guide explains how it decides.
  • Writing styles and custom instructions. Harker Premium keeps custom styles and standing instructions. In YapToText that job belongs to modes: every mode on the Modes page is editable, built-ins included, and you can write your own in plain sentences and test it in the Try it out card before you rely on it. The modes guide covers each one.
YapToText's Modes page: Auto on top, then Raw Transcription, Clean Up, Note, Email, Message and Code Comment, numbered 2 to 7.
Figure 1. The Modes page, where the formatting Harker sells as Premium lives in YapToText for free: Auto at the top, then six built-in modes you can edit or copy.
  • Translation. Harker Premium translates into any language. YapToText does not translate as you speak, but Quick Edit translates a selection when you ask, so select the text and say translate it to Spanish.
  • Editing by voice. The Harker pages I read do not describe rewriting text you have already written. YapToText's Quick Edit does it in any app: select the text, tap Right Option, say the change and tap again. The Quick Edit guide lists what you can ask for.
  • Your words. The Harker pages I read do not describe a custom vocabulary. YapToText's Dictionaries map what the speech model heard to the spelling you want, and the same words are handed to Whisper before it decodes, so they shape what it hears as well as what it types.
  • Price. Harker's free tier costs nothing, and Premium is from $5.75 a month, checked October 5, 2026. YapToText is free with no paid tier, and the optional tips buy no features.

You give up macOS 12 support and a 50 MB download, and you stop paying for formatting, which never leaves your Mac.

Side by side

Checked October 5, 2026, on Harker's own pages at getharker.com. Prices change, so check before you switch.

YapToTextHarker
PriceFree, no paid tierFree tier; Premium from $5.75 a month, monthly or annual
The free versionEverythingUnlimited local transcription, every Whisper model tier, auto-paste
Where speech is processedOn the MacOn the Mac
Formatting, grammar and writing stylesIncluded, through Auto mode and editable modesPremium
Where that formatting runsOn the Mac, with Phi-3.5 Mini InstructIn the cloud; Harker says the text is not stored or used for training
Edits selected text by voiceYes, Quick EditNot stated
TranslationOf a selection, with Quick EditPremium
AccountNoneNone for the free tier; an email sign-in for Premium
Open sourceYes, GPL-3.0Not stated
PlatformsMac onlyMac; Windows being built, with a target of the end of 2026
Mac requirementmacOS 14 or later, Apple siliconmacOS 12 or later; Apple silicon and Intel on the download page
DownloadAbout 2.9 GB from the App Store, both models insideAbout 50 MB
Default keyRight Command, tap to start and stopA global shortcut, held while you talk
Transcribes audio filesYes, as plain textNot stated

The download row is a trade I made on purpose. Most of those 2.9 GB are the two models, so nothing is left to fetch after the install and the app works with Wi-Fi off from the first launch. The offline dictation guide has a test you can run. Harker starts small and charges for the writing help; YapToText starts big and includes it.

Move over in about ten minutes

Four steps and no account. The second is the one to watch, because macOS makes you turn on Accessibility yourself. Quit Harker, grant two permissions, and the formatting you were paying for is already switched on.

Step 1: Install YapToText

  • You: Get YapToText from the Mac App Store and open it.
  • YapToText: Opens a short welcome tour. Both models are already inside the App Store version, so there is nothing else to download.
  • Check: The tour's second page is titled A couple of permissions.

Step 2: Allow the microphone and Accessibility

  • You: On that page, press Continue next to Microphone, then next to Accessibility.
  • macOS: Asks once for the microphone, then opens System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, where you switch YapToText on yourself. An app cannot do that part for you.
  • Check: Both cards read Granted. If Accessibility will not stay on, press Show in Finder in the Get set up card on the Home page, drag the app into the list, and press Recheck. Without Accessibility, every dictation goes to the clipboard instead of your cursor.

Step 3: Quit Harker, pick your key and dictate once

  • You: Quit Harker first, so two apps are not listening at the same moment; that is caution, not something I measured. Keep Right Command, or record another key in the Keys card on the Dictation page and choose Hold to talk if holding is your habit. Then click into a text field and dictate a sentence.
  • YapToText: Shows your voice as a wave and your words as they form, then types the finished text at your cursor.
  • Check: The words land where your cursor was. If the wave stays flat, the app is not hearing your microphone yet.
YapToText's Dictation settings page on a Mac: the Keys, Recording, Microphone and Delivery cards.
Figure 2. The Keys card at the top of the Dictation page, where you swap tapping for holding if your hands learned Harker's hold to listen.

The keys and shortcuts guide lists every key that can start a dictation.

Step 4: Turn your Premium style into a mode

  • You: If you used a Harker writing style or custom instructions, open the Modes page, right-click Clean Up and choose Duplicate, then write what you want in the Instructions box of the AI cleanup card. Give the app your name in Settings, Advanced, Your name, so emails sign with it.
  • YapToText: Saves as you type, and the cleanup model follows those instructions for every dictation in that mode, on your Mac.
  • Check: Type a sample in the Try it out card and press Preview with AI. The Result reads the way you want.

Mode instructions: An example that keeps your words and only changes the tone.

Make my dictation friendly and concise. Keep my words and my meaning. Do not add anything I did not say.

What happens: Each dictation in that mode is rewritten toward that tone by the cleanup model on your Mac. While Auto mode is on, press the mode's number while you talk to use it for one dictation.

Which one I would pick

Both apps keep your voice on the Mac, so the choice comes down to the step after the words and to which Mac you have.

  • Plain words at the cursor, and nothing else. Harker's free tier does that with no cap and no account. If you never want formatting, you may not need anything more.
  • A Mac on macOS 12 or 13. Harker. YapToText needs macOS 14 and Apple silicon, so it cannot run there at all.
  • Emails, notes and tidy grammar without a subscription. YapToText. Auto mode and the modes do the formatting and grammar work Harker Premium sells, on the Mac, for free.
  • Fixing text you already wrote. YapToText, with Quick Edit. The Harker pages I read do not describe editing a selection.
  • Windows, today. Neither one. Handy and OpenWhispr are free, open source and already run on Windows and Linux; the roundup of open-source dictation apps compares them.
App Store poster headed Edit anything by voice: the Quick Edit card listening, applying the edit, and done.
Figure 3. Quick Edit, which has no counterpart on the Harker pages I read: select text, say the change, and the card says Done when it is replaced, all on the Mac.

I built YapToText as an accessibility tool first, because my hands make typing difficult. That is why tapping is the default instead of holding, why Require pressing Escape twice to cancel exists for hands that shake, and why the app announces each step to VoiceOver; that last part describes the code, and the full VoiceOver test pass has not been run yet. The accessibility page has the details. If the formatting is the part you would pay for, try the free app that includes it before you subscribe. The roundup of free dictation apps for Mac puts Harker beside six others.

What each one cannot do

  • YapToText. It runs only on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later, with no Windows, iPhone or Intel version. The App Store download is about 2.9 GB. It does not translate as you speak, only a selection you ask it to. It hears 29 languages plus auto-detect, and its own interface is in English; the languages guide lists them.
  • Harker. Formatting, grammar fixes, writing styles and translation are Premium, from $5.75 a month, and they send your transcribed text to the cloud. Its pages do not say it is open source, and they do not describe editing a selection by voice or transcribing a file. Windows is a target for the end of 2026, not yet a download.

If you need Harker's older macOS support or its small download, it is the better choice, and its free tier is generous. Harker sells the writing help after the words; YapToText gives it away and keeps it on the Mac.

The short version

  • Who should switch. Anyone on an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later who wants formatting, grammar fixes and editing by voice without a subscription.
  • Who should stay. Anyone on macOS 12 or 13, or anyone who only wants plain words at the cursor and likes a 50 MB app.
  • What it costs. YapToText is free. Harker is free for local transcription, and Premium is from $5.75 a month, checked October 5, 2026.
  • How long it takes. Install, Accessibility, one test dictation, then your style as a mode.

Same local transcription, with the paid part taken out. If something here no longer matches Harker's site, tell me on GitHub. Every issue gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreDownload for free. No account, nothing locked, macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Harker?

Yes. YapToText is free for Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later, with no paid tier and no account, and it includes the formatting and grammar fixes that Harker keeps for Premium, plus editing by voice. Both run transcription on the Mac. Harker's own free tier is also free, for plain transcription.

Is Harker free?

Yes, for local transcription. Harker's site lists unlimited local transcription, every Whisper model tier and auto-paste at $0 forever. Premium, with writing styles, formatting, grammar fixes and translation, is from $5.75 a month after a 7-day trial, checked October 5, 2026.

Does Harker work offline?

Transcription does. Harker says it runs on your device and works offline. Premium's AI features need an internet connection, because they send your transcribed text to be processed in the cloud. YapToText works offline for everything, cleanup included.

Is Harker open source?

Harker's pages do not say it is. YapToText is open source under GPL-3.0, with its source on GitHub. If you want open source on Windows or Linux as well, Handy and OpenWhispr are both MIT licensed.

What does Harker Premium include?

AI writing styles, output formatting for email, bullets and notes, grammar and punctuation fixes, translation and custom instructions, from $5.75 a month, per Harker's site. Harker says those features send your text to the cloud, where it is processed in real time and not stored.

Does Harker work on Intel Macs or Windows?

Harker's download page lists macOS 12 or later on Apple silicon and Intel, though its changelog page says Apple silicon only. Windows is being built, with a target of the end of 2026. YapToText needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later.