Guides

Open-source dictation apps for the Mac, from someone who makes one

By ยท Published

The open-source dictation apps for the Mac worth trying in October 2026 are YapToText, free on the App Store with its models inside; Handy, one shortcut on Mac, Windows and Linux; OpenWhispr, free local dictation with an optional cloud; FluidVoice, a native Mac app with a closed add-on for cleanup; and VoiceInk, open source but a paid download unless you build it.

Open source here means the code is public under a license that lets you read it, build it and change it. I read every fact on each project's own repository or site on October 3, 2026. I make YapToText, so weigh my pick with that in mind.

My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate every day, and I wanted the tool I depend on to be one anyone can read. The story of that choice has its own page, on why I made YapToText free and open source. This page is the list.

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: 12 sections
  1. At a glance
  2. 1. YapToText: free on the App Store, with its models inside
  3. 2. Handy: one shortcut, on every desktop system
  4. 3. OpenWhispr: free local dictation, with a cloud if you want one
  5. 4. FluidVoice: native to the Mac, with a closed cleanup add-on
  6. 5. VoiceInk: open source, paid to download
  7. How to check one before you trust it
  8. OpenWhispr vs Handy
  9. Which one I would pick
  10. What I did not test
  11. The short version
  12. Questions

At a glance

Checked October 3, 2026, on each project's own repository and site. Prices change, so check before you rely on one.

AppLicenseInstallWhere your voice goesPriceEdits a selection by voice
YapToTextGPL-3.0Mac App Store or HomebrewStays on the MacFreeYes, Quick Edit
HandyMITIts site, GitHub or HomebrewStays on your computerFree; donations welcomeNot stated
OpenWhisprMITGitHub releasesLocal, or its cloud or your own key if you chooseFree local dictation; Pro $8 a monthYes, with its voice agent key
FluidVoiceGPL-3.0; its cleanup add-on is closedHomebrew or GitHub releasesStays on the Mac unless you add a cloud keyFreeYes, Write Mode
VoiceInkGPL v3Trial download, Homebrew or sourceStays on the Mac unless you turn on a cloud service$25 once for one MacYes, with Ollama or a cloud provider

Putting my own app first is the least surprising thing on this page, so here is the order I used, written down.

Free to use every day without compiling anything comes first. Then how much of what runs on your Mac is open, then your voice staying on the Mac without a setting to change, then how much is ready the moment it installs. All five can keep your voice on your own computer, and they differ in price, features and how much of the app is open.

1. YapToText: free on the App Store, with its models inside

This is the one I make and use all day. Tap Right Command, talk, tap again, and the words land at your cursor in any app. Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) does the hearing and Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct does the cleanup. Both come inside the App Store download, so there is nothing to compile, no model to pick and no account. Select text anywhere and Quick Edit rewrites it when you say how.

App Store poster headed Yap it. Bam. It's typed. over the YapToText Home window and the three floating panel layouts.
Figure 1. One key opens the floating panel, your words form as you talk, and the text lands in the app you were using.
  • License: GPL-3.0, with the source on GitHub.
  • Install: The Mac App Store, about 2.9 GB with both models, or a 12 MB Homebrew build without them, one release behind.
  • Where your voice goes: Nowhere. The only network use is a model download you start yourself.
  • Watch out for: Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later only, Mac only, and 29 languages plus auto-detect.

Of the five, it is the only one with a Mac App Store install and its models already inside. The install page covers both routes.

2. Handy: one shortcut, on every desktop system

Handy does one job: press a shortcut, speak, and your words are pasted into the app you are using. Hold the shortcut to record and let go to stop, or tap it to toggle. Transcription stays on your computer, with Whisper models or Parakeet V3, and the same app runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, with separate Mac builds for Apple silicon and Intel. If you want nothing between your voice and the text, this is the one.

  • License: MIT.
  • Install: A .dmg from handy.computer or its GitHub releases. A Homebrew cask named handy exists too, which its README says the Handy developers do not maintain.
  • Where your voice goes: Nowhere. Its README says it transcribes without sending any information to the cloud.
  • Watch out for: Its README mentions an optional post-processing mode without saying what it does, and editing a selection by voice is not stated.

3. OpenWhispr: free local dictation, with a cloud if you want one

OpenWhispr calls itself the open-source alternative to Wispr Flow and Granola, and it does more than dictate. Press Globe on a Mac, speak, press it again, and the text appears at your cursor. Setup asks whether to use its cloud, your own API key or a local model, and local dictation is free and unlimited. It also transcribes meetings, keeps notes, and has a voice agent key that rewrites selected text in place.

  • License: MIT.
  • Install: A .dmg from its GitHub releases, for Apple silicon or Intel, on macOS 12 or later. It runs on Windows and Linux too.
  • Where your voice goes: Nowhere with a local model. Its cloud gives free users 2,000 words a week, and Pro, at $8 a month or $80 a year, lifts that limit.
  • Watch out for: The voice agent key is empty until you set one, and sync and the iPhone and iPad app come with the paid plans.

OpenWhispr is the one that grows past dictation, into meetings, notes and an agent.

4. FluidVoice: native to the Mac, with a closed cleanup add-on

FluidVoice is a native Mac app that installs from Homebrew and offers many speech models, from Parakeet and Nemotron to Whisper and Apple Speech. Write Mode rewrites selected text in any app, and Command Mode controls your Mac by voice. The catch is in its own README: Fluid Intelligence, its on-device cleanup, runs on a separate, privately maintained runtime. Without it, you can add an OpenAI, Groq or custom provider key for cleanup in the cloud.

  • License: GPL-3.0 for the app. Fluid Intelligence is closed.
  • Install: Homebrew, where the cask is named fluidvoice, or its GitHub releases.
  • Where your voice goes: Nowhere, unless you add a cloud AI provider.
  • Watch out for: macOS 15 or later, and on an Intel Mac only the Whisper models.

The app is GPL, but its on-device cleanup layer is not open source.

5. VoiceInk: open source, paid to download

VoiceInk's source is public under the GPL, and its ready-built Mac app is a 7-day trial, then a one-time $25 for one Mac, $39 for two or $49 for three. You can also build it yourself from the source for free. It transcribes on your Mac by default, starting with Parakeet V3, and it rewrites selected text once you connect Ollama or a cloud provider. The VoiceInk alternative page compares it with YapToText.

  • License: GPL v3, per its README.
  • Install: A download from tryvoiceink.com with the trial, Homebrew, where the cask is named voiceink, or a build from source.
  • Where your voice goes: Nowhere by default. Optional cloud transcription sends audio to the provider you pick.
  • Watch out for: Its pricing page says Apple silicon only and macOS 14.4 or later, and its README and docs say macOS 15.

The code is free to read, and the ready-built app costs $25.

How to check one before you trust it

Open source only helps if someone looks. Here is how I would check any of these before trusting it with every word, smallest step first:

  1. Read the license. MIT and the GPL both let you read, build and change the code. The page on why I chose the GPL explains the difference for a user.
  2. Look for parts outside the repository. FluidVoice's README says its Fluid Intelligence cleanup is privately maintained, so that layer cannot be read.
  3. Find what turns on the cloud. OpenWhispr asks during setup. VoiceInk and FluidVoice reach a cloud only through a provider you add. Handy's README says the whole process is local, and YapToText has no cloud option.
  4. Read the network code. In YapToText, the only code that talks to the network is the model downloader, one file named ModelDownloadManager.swift.
  5. Check who signed the build. Handy's README shows how to verify its release signatures, and OpenWhispr's Mac app is signed and notarized by Gizmo Labs Inc. YapToText comes through App Store review, or signed with a Developer ID and notarized from Homebrew.
The AI Models page in YapToText: Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) and Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct marked Included, model library below.
Figure 2. Each model in the library is listed with its size, and nothing downloads until you press the button next to it.

The license says you may look, and the network code says what the app actually does.

OpenWhispr vs Handy

OpenWhispr vs Handy comes down to one job or many. Both are MIT licensed, both are free for local dictation, and both run on macOS, Windows and Linux.

HandyOpenWhispr
What it doesDictation and nothing elseDictation, meetings, notes, translation and a voice agent
Local modelsWhisper (Small, Medium, Turbo, Large) and Parakeet V3Orukeet, Whisper, Parakeet, Nemotron and Cohere Transcribe
CloudNone for transcriptionIts own cloud, 2,000 words a week free, or your own API key
PriceFree; donations welcomeFree local dictation; Pro $8 a month or $80 a year
Mac buildsApple silicon and IntelApple silicon and Intel, macOS 12 or later
Starting on a MacA shortcut you choose, held or tappedGlobe, pressed to start and again to stop
Edits a selection by voiceNot statedYes, with the voice agent key

Pick Handy if you want the smallest thing that works, with no cloud for transcription. Pick OpenWhispr if you also want meeting transcripts, notes or the option of a cloud model. Handy is a tool, and OpenWhispr is a workspace. If you are weighing VoiceInk against Handy instead, the difference is price: Handy is free, and VoiceInk's ready-built app is $25 for one Mac after its trial.

Which one I would pick

Pick by what you need, smallest commitment first:

  1. Dictation and nothing else. Handy, free and MIT licensed, on every desktop system.
  2. Free on a Mac, with cleanup and editing by voice built in. YapToText. It is the one I use all day.
  3. Meetings and notes too, or a PC as well as a Mac. OpenWhispr.
  4. A native Mac app from Homebrew, with lots of speech models. FluidVoice.
  5. A ready-built app you pay for once. VoiceInk, from $25, or build it yourself for free.
App Store poster headed Edit anything by voice: the Quick Edit card listening, applying the edit, and done.
Figure 3. Quick Edit in YapToText: select text in any app, say the change, and the card says Done when your selection is replaced.

Start with the smallest one that does what you need. If you only need free, not open source, the roundup of free dictation apps for Mac adds Apple Dictation, superwhisper, Spokenly and Harker. The page on running Whisper locally on a Mac explains model sizes and memory.

What I did not test

  • Accuracy. I have not run the same recordings through all five, so nothing here ranks them by accuracy.
  • Features. I compared these on each project's own published facts and did not benchmark them against each other.
  • Tomorrow. Prices, licenses and features were read on October 3, 2026, and open-source projects change fast.

These are the makers' own claims, compared side by side, not my test results.

The short version

  • Free on a Mac, with cleanup built in. YapToText.
  • The smallest, on every desktop. Handy.
  • Meetings and notes too. OpenWhispr.
  • Homebrew or a paid build. FluidVoice or VoiceInk.

Any of the five can keep your voice on your computer, so pick the one whose extras you will actually use. If a fact here has changed, 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

What is the best open source dictation app for Mac?

YapToText, if you want it free on the Mac App Store with its speech and cleanup models inside; I make it, so weigh that. Handy is the simplest and also runs on Windows and Linux, and OpenWhispr adds meetings and notes.

OpenWhispr vs Handy: which should I use?

Handy if you want dictation and nothing else, and OpenWhispr if you also want meeting transcripts, notes or a cloud option. Both are MIT licensed, free for local dictation and available for macOS, Windows and Linux.

Is OpenWhispr free?

Yes, for local dictation. OpenWhispr's pricing page says local models are unlimited and free, and free users get 2,000 words a week on its own cloud. Pro is $8 a month or $80 a year, checked October 3, 2026.

Does Handy work on Mac?

Yes. Handy's GitHub releases include separate Mac builds for Apple silicon and Intel, and its README says transcription stays on your computer. Its README also says to grant microphone and Accessibility permission after you install it.

VoiceInk vs Handy: what is the difference?

Price and platform. Handy is free, MIT licensed and runs on macOS, Windows and Linux. VoiceInk is GPL licensed, its pricing page says it works only on Apple silicon Macs, and its ready-built app is a one-time $25 for one Mac after a 7-day trial, unless you build it yourself.

Which open source dictation apps work offline?

All five can, with a local model. YapToText's App Store version ships its models inside, so it works offline from the first launch. OpenWhispr, FluidVoice and VoiceInk also offer cloud options, which you can leave off.