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A free superwhisper alternative with nothing behind a paywall

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YapToText is a free superwhisper alternative for the Mac: a record key and a local Whisper model, as in superwhisper, with AI cleanup, voice editing and file transcription included instead of held back for Pro. superwhisper, which plenty of people type as super whisper, has a real free plan that does not expire, and it runs on Windows, iPhone and Android as well. On October 3, 2026, superwhisper.com listed Pro at $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once.

My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate every day, and superwhisper is the app YapToText most resembles. I built YapToText, so read this with that in mind. Every superwhisper fact below comes from superwhisper.com and its documentation, read on the same day.

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: 7 sections
  1. Side by side
  2. What you keep, and what changes
  3. Move over in about ten minutes
    1. Step 1: Install YapToText and allow the microphone
    2. Step 2: Turn on Accessibility
    3. Step 3: Choose your key
    4. Step 4: Move your vocabulary and replacements
    5. Step 5: Rebuild a custom mode
  4. If a word comes out wrong
  5. What superwhisper does that YapToText does not
  6. The short version
  7. Questions

Side by side

Checked October 3, 2026, on superwhisper.com. Prices change, so check before you switch.

YapToTextsuperwhisper
PriceFree, no paid tierFree plan; Pro $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once
On the free planEverythingUnlimited dictation with local Whisper models, custom vocabulary, text replacements, up to two modes without AI processing
AI cleanup and formattingYes, on the Mac, freePro
Edits selected text by voiceYes, Quick Edit, freeSuper Mode, Pro
File transcriptionYes, free, plain textPro
Speech models11 Whisper models, plus your own filesWhisper free; Parakeet, Cohere Transcribe and cloud models on Pro
Where the audio goesStays on the MacLocal models on the Mac; cloud models on Pro
Switches modes byApp, a mode's own shortcut, or a number key while you talkApp or website, a Change Mode shortcut, the menu bar or a deep link
Open sourceYes, GPL-3.0Not stated
DevicesMacMac, Windows, iPhone, Android, one Pro license for all of them
Mac requirementApple silicon, macOS 14 or latermacOS 13.3 or later; cloud models suggested on Intel Macs
Languages29, plus auto-detectMore than 100

The full comparison adds Wispr Flow, MacWhisper, VoiceInk and Apple Dictation, and the VoiceInk alternative page covers the other open-source option.

What you keep, and what changes

Here is the switch job by job, superwhisper first and YapToText second. You keep local Whisper dictation, and the AI half stops costing money.

  • Dictating into any app. superwhisper's free plan includes unlimited dictation with any local Whisper model. YapToText ships Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5), 574 MB, inside the app and types at your cursor when you tap Right Command, talk, and tap it again. The AI Models page lists ten more Whisper models with star ratings for accuracy and speed, and it takes any whisper.cpp model file of your own.
The AI Models page in YapToText: Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) and Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct marked Included, model library below.
Figure 1. The AI Models page: Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) is included and selected, and the Dictation Model Library below it lists the other Whisper models with their star ratings.
  • Cleanup and formatting. On superwhisper's free plan you get up to two modes without AI processing; Super, Mail and every other mode that runs your words through AI are Pro. In YapToText, Auto mode and the six built-in modes, Raw Transcription, Clean Up, Note, Email, Message and Code Comment, are free, and the cleanup model, Phi-3.5 Mini, runs on your Mac. The modes guide shows what each one does.
  • Editing by voice. superwhisper's Super Mode takes spoken commands on selected text, such as turning it into bullet points, and it is a Pro feature. YapToText's Quick Edit does the same job for free: select text in any app, tap Right Option, say the change, and tap again.
App Store poster headed Edit anything by voice: the Quick Edit card listening, applying the edit, and done.
Figure 2. Quick Edit, the free counterpart to Super Mode: the card listens for your change, applies it to the selection and says Done.
  • Context. A superwhisper mode can read the active app, the text you copied and the text you selected, and those options need Pro. In YapToText, each mode's AI cleanup can see the app you are dictating into, the text you have selected and your clipboard, at no price.
  • Your names and words. superwhisper's free plan includes custom vocabulary and text replacements. YapToText's Dictionaries do both jobs in one place: each entry says what was heard and what to write, and the spelling you want also primes the speech model.
  • Files. File transcription is a Pro feature in superwhisper. YapToText transcribes audio and video files, Voice Memos included, from the Utility page or the menu bar, free, as plain text. The file transcription guide walks through it.
  • Price. superwhisper Pro is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once, and new users get 3,000 words of Pro features to try. YapToText has no Pro at all, and the optional tips buy no features.
  • Accessibility. superwhisper's accessibility page says it pastes at the cursor, so it sits next to screen readers like VoiceOver and NVDA, and that some people map its shortcut to an accessibility switch or a foot pedal. YapToText is built to work alongside VoiceOver and Voice Control, announces every state to VoiceOver, and takes anything that presses one key as its trigger, though I have not tested every switch interface. The accessibility page covers the settings that help.
  • Where your voice goes. superwhisper's privacy policy, last updated June 19, 2024, says audio is transcribed on your device and that no recordings or transcriptions are collected. Its voice models page also lists cloud models from superwhisper, Deepgram and ElevenLabs, all on Pro. YapToText has no cloud option at all: your voice never leaves your Mac.

Move over in about ten minutes

The switch is five steps, and you can keep superwhisper installed while you try it. Your text replacements carry over almost one to one, because a dictionary entry is the same idea.

Step 1: Install YapToText and allow the microphone

Get YapToText from the Mac App Store and open it. On the Home page, in the Get set up card, press Continue next to Microphone and allow it when macOS asks.

Step 2: Turn on Accessibility

  • You: In the same card, press Grant next to Accessibility, then switch YapToText on in the list that opens.
  • macOS: Opens System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility. An app cannot switch this on for itself.
  • Check: The Get set up card shows Accessibility as granted. If it will not stay on, press Show in Finder, drag the app into the list, and press Recheck.

Step 3: Choose your key

  • You: On the Dictation page, in the Keys card, keep Right Command or record another key, and choose Tap to start / stop or Hold to talk. If you pick the shortcut superwhisper uses, quit superwhisper first.
  • YapToText: Listens for that key on its own. A tap only counts when no other key was pressed with it, so Command C still copies.
  • Check: Click into a note, start, say one sentence, and stop. The capybara's speech bubble in the menu bar turns red while you talk, and the words land at your cursor. If they went to the clipboard instead, go back to Step 2.

Step 4: Move your vocabulary and replacements

  • You: On the Dictionaries page, add each superwhisper text replacement as one entry: what it hears under Heard, what it should write under Replace with, then Add. For a single word, select it in any note, tap Right Option, and say add this to my dictionary.
  • YapToText: Applies the entries to every transcript from then on, and primes the speech model with the spellings you want.
  • Check: Dictate a sentence with one of those words, and it comes out your way. If it does not, open the word's folder on the Dictionaries page and press Generate variations to add the ways it gets misheard.
YapToText's Dictionaries page: suggested fixes such as thursday to Thursday, and the General dictionary with iPhone and Wi-Fi.
Figure 3. The Dictionaries page with the General dictionary open: each entry has a Generate variations button, and Suggested for you offers fixes that keep recurring in your dictations.

Step 5: Rebuild a custom mode

  • You: On the Modes page, press New Mode, turn on Rewrite the transcript with AI, and paste your superwhisper instructions under Instructions. Under Apps that use this mode, add the apps where it should switch on by itself.
  • YapToText: Runs those instructions through the cleanup model on your Mac whenever that mode is in use.
  • Check: In the Try it out card, paste a sample and press Preview with AI. The Result is what the mode will type.
YapToText's Modes page: Auto on top, then Raw Transcription, Clean Up, Note, Email, Message and Code Comment, numbered 2 to 7.
Figure 4. The Modes page, where a rebuilt superwhisper mode joins the built-in ones. Click any mode to edit its prompt, model, dictionaries and output.

If a word comes out wrong

If YapToText mishears a word superwhisper used to get right, climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Teach it the word. Select the right spelling anywhere, tap Right Option, and say add this to my dictionary. The entry also primes the speech model.
  2. Add the ways it gets misheard. Open the word's folder on the Dictionaries page and press Generate variations, which suggests sound-alikes for that word.
  3. Check the language. On the AI Models page, the Language picker starts at your Mac's system language, not auto-detect. Set it to what you actually speak.
  4. Try a bigger speech model. The same page lists larger Whisper models, such as the full Whisper Large v3 Turbo at 1.5 GB and Whisper Large v3 at 3.0 GB. I picked the 5-bit default because, on my own dictations, it heard almost exactly what the full Turbo model heard, with a third of the memory.

The models guide explains every model on that page, and the Dictionaries guide covers entries in depth.

What superwhisper does that YapToText does not

superwhisper is good software, and some of what it does, I do not do at all. If you want cloud models, Windows or a phone, superwhisper is the one to keep.

  • Other devices. superwhisper runs on the Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and one Pro license covers all of them. YapToText is a Mac app only.
  • More kinds of models. superwhisper offers Parakeet and Cohere Transcribe on the Mac, and cloud models from superwhisper, Deepgram and ElevenLabs, on Pro. YapToText runs Whisper models only, and only on your Mac.
  • Older and Intel Macs. superwhisper needs macOS 13.3 or later, and its FAQ points Intel Macs to its cloud models, because its offline models only run really well on Apple silicon. YapToText needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later.
  • More languages. superwhisper lists more than 100. YapToText's picker has 29 languages plus auto-detect, and its interface is English only.
  • Websites as triggers. A superwhisper mode can switch on for chosen websites as well as apps. YapToText switches modes by app.
  • Speakers and translation. superwhisper Pro separates speakers, and superwhisper can translate dictation into English with a multilingual Whisper model. YapToText labels no speakers, and Quick Edit translates only a selection you ask it to.

The short version

  • What you gain. AI cleanup, Quick Edit, file transcription and custom modes, free and on your Mac.
  • What it takes. About ten minutes, most of it moving your replacements into Dictionaries.
  • When to stay. If you need cloud models, Windows or a phone, an Intel Mac, or a language outside the 29.

If you are also weighing Willow Voice, the Willow Voice comparison uses the same checks.

If superwhisper's free plan stops short of what you need, YapToText covers that ground for free. If something here does not match what you see in either app, open an issue on GitHub. Every one 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 superwhisper?

Yes. YapToText is free with nothing locked: local Whisper dictation, AI cleanup, editing by voice and file transcription, all on your Mac. superwhisper's own free plan covers local Whisper dictation without AI processing.

Is superwhisper free?

Partly. Its free plan includes unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, custom vocabulary, text replacements and up to two modes without AI processing. Pro was $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once on October 3, 2026.

Does superwhisper work offline?

Yes, with its local models. superwhisper says it works offline, and its free Whisper models run on the Mac. Its cloud models, all on Pro, are hosted by superwhisper, Deepgram and ElevenLabs.

Is superwhisper open source?

Not that its own site says. The superwhisper.com pages I read never mention published source code. YapToText's code is public on GitHub under the GPL.

Does superwhisper work on Intel Macs?

Yes, with limits. Its FAQ points Intel Macs to its cloud models and says its offline models only run really well on Apple silicon. YapToText does not run on Intel Macs at all.