Hex, the open-source dictation app for Mac, and an alternative from the App Store

By Ryleigh Newman · Published October 6, 2026 · Updated October 7, 2026

Hex is a free, open-source dictation app for the Mac: hold Option, speak, release, and it pastes the text where your cursor is, with the speech recognized on your Mac. Its README says the current app is a Rust rewrite for Apple silicon Macs on macOS 15 or newer, under the MIT license. YapToText, the app I built, is an alternative that runs from macOS 14, installs from the Mac App Store, and does its cleanup on the Mac without a second tool.

I built YapToText, so read what I say about Hex with that in mind. Everything about Hex here comes from its README on GitHub, read on October 6, 2026. I have not tested Hex hands-on, so nothing here ranks the two by accuracy or speed.

This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 6 sections

Side by side
What Hex does
What stays on your Mac in Hex
Where YapToText is different
The short version
Questions

Side by side

Checked October 6, 2026, on github.com/anomalyco/hex (version 2.1.24, released October 3, 2026).

	Hex	YapToText
Price	No price in its README; the signed download is open	Free, no paid tier
License	MIT	GPL-3.0
Get it from	A signed DMG or Homebrew	Mac App Store, or Homebrew without the models
Mac requirement	Apple silicon, macOS 15 or newer	Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later
Default key	Option, held while you talk; double-tap to keep recording	Right Command, tap to start and stop
Speech models	A local model you download in setup; Parakeet and Whisper are named	Whisper Large v3 Turbo, inside the App Store download
Cleanup and rewriting	Optional, through OpenCode and a model provider you configure	Built in, on the Mac, on by default
Voice commands	Experimental, local, off by default	Punctuation, emoji and snippets
History	Seven days by default, text only	The last 500 dictations for 30 days by default
Other platforms	A Linux beta, built from source or with Nix	None

Both recognize speech on the Mac. They differ in the macOS version they need and in where rewriting happens.

What Hex does

Hex's README describes a small app with a clear center. Hold Option, speak, release: that is ordinary dictation in Hex.

The keys. Hold Option to dictate. Double-tap Option to keep recording and press it again to finish. Escape cancels, and Option Shift V pastes the last dictation again.
Setup. Microphone, Input Monitoring and Accessibility permissions, then a speech model download.
Models. You switch between downloaded models from the menu bar, and each remembers its language, for example English with Parakeet and French with Whisper.
Modes. Corrections for names and spellings, behavior per application, and optional text processing.
Two versions. The original Swift app lives at kitlangton/Hex, which now calls itself the legacy app and points to the Rust rewrite. Settings and history do not carry over.

What stays on your Mac in Hex

Hex's README has a section on what stays local, and it is specific. Transcription is local in Hex. The optional rewriting features send text to a model provider you choose.

Speech. Transcription and command recognition run locally, and dictation audio is not saved by default.
History. Pasted dictations are kept for seven days by default, as text with limited app and timing data, never audio, full browser URLs or window titles. You can turn it off.
Logs. Local diagnostic logs can contain transcript text and app names. Hex says it does not upload them.
The optional part. Voice Action and post-processing use OpenCode, a separate install, and send the transcript, the foreground app and a Brave website hostname to the configured provider.
The network. Model downloads and software updates need a connection.

YapToText does its cleanup with a model inside the app, so nothing is sent to a provider for rewriting. The private dictation guide has how to check that for any app.

Where YapToText is different

The two overlap on the core and split on the edges. YapToText runs on macOS 14, comes from the App Store, and cleans up dictation without another tool.

One macOS version earlier. YapToText runs from macOS 14. Hex's current app needs macOS 15.
From the App Store. Both models are in the download, so there is no model step in setup.
Cleanup included. Auto mode and Clean Up run on the Mac with the included model. In Hex, rewriting needs OpenCode and a provider.
Tap, not hold. The default is tap to start and tap to stop, which is easier on hands that cannot hold a key. Hold to talk is an option. Hex's double-tap does a similar job.
Files. YapToText transcribes an audio or video file to plain text. Hex's README describes no file transcription.
Where Hex is ahead. A choice of Parakeet or Whisper, experimental voice commands you can script, a Linux beta, a TypeScript SDK, and the more permissive MIT license.

The AI Models page in YapToText: Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) and Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct marked Included, model library below. — Figure 1. YapToText's App Store download includes both models, so there is no engine to pick and no model to fetch before the first dictation.

YapToText is free on the Mac App Store, and its source is on GitHub.

The short version

On macOS 15 and happy to hold a key. Hex is small, local and MIT licensed.
On macOS 14, or want cleanup built in. Use YapToText, from the App Store.
Leaving a cloud app. Either one keeps your voice on the Mac.

Both are open source and both transcribe on the Mac. Pick by your macOS version and how you like to press the key. If Hex has changed something this page says, tell me on GitHub and I will fix it.

This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. 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

https://github.com/anomalyco/hex (checked 2026-10-06)
https://github.com/kitlangton/Hex (checked 2026-10-06)
https://wisprflow.ai/pricing (checked 2026-10-06)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yaptotext/id6786382289 (checked 2026-10-03)
https://github.com/ryleighnewman/YapToText (checked 2026-10-03)

Questions

What is Hex dictation?

Hex is an open-source dictation app for Apple silicon Macs. You hold Option, speak and release, and it transcribes on the Mac and pastes the text into the app you are using. Its README says it needs macOS 15 or newer.

Is Hex open source?

Yes. The current Rust app is at github.com/anomalyco/hex under the MIT license, and the original Swift app is at kitlangton/Hex, which now describes itself as the legacy version. Read October 6, 2026.

Does Hex work offline?

Its README says speech transcription runs locally once a model is downloaded, and that model installation and updates need network access. The optional OpenCode rewriting features send text to a model provider.

Wispr Flow vs Hex: what is the difference?

Hex transcribes on the Mac, is open source, and runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 15. Wispr Flow sends audio to the cloud, runs on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, and is free up to 2,000 words a week on desktop, then $15 a month.

Is there an alternative to Hex for macOS 14?

YapToText runs on Apple silicon Macs from macOS 14, is free on the Mac App Store, and recognizes speech on the Mac with both of its models included in the download.