A free VoicePrivate alternative, on device as well
By Ryleigh NewmanPublished
YapToText, the app I make, is a free alternative to VoicePrivate for the Mac. They are closer than most pairs on this site: both turn speech into text on your own computer, both work offline, and neither uploads your dictation. The differences are price and scope. VoicePrivate is $84 a year, or $197 to $297 a year for its Healthcare, Legal, Finance and Insurance editions, and it runs on Windows too. YapToText is free and open source, Mac only, with an on-device cleanup model and editing by voice. Every VoicePrivate fact here comes from voiceprivate.com, read on October 22, 2026.
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.
What VoicePrivate is, from its own site
VoicePrivate is on-device dictation for Mac and Windows. One shortcut, Command Shift Space on its demo, starts it from any app, and speech recognition runs on the computer. Its site says it does not upload your dictation audio or transcript text, and that dictation works offline once the model is downloaded, while licensing, downloads and updates may use the internet.
- Five editions. General at $84 a year, Healthcare at $297, Legal at $247, Finance and Insurance at $197 each. The editions differ in vocabulary built for that work. A monthly option is shown at $9.99, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Vocabulary. A personal dictionary and vocabulary sets, with imports from a Dragon word list, an Excel workbook or a CSV file. It can read your documents, PDFs and scans included, on the device to find names and unusual words.
- Voice commands. Your own phrases that insert text, press Return or Tab, or wait. Scratch that, spell, cap and all caps work while you dictate.
- Learning. Edit and teach: a word you correct three times joins the personal dictionary.
- Files and teams. It imports audio files, and a team dashboard manages licenses.
- Languages. 99 languages, processed locally.
Side by side
VoicePrivate from voiceprivate.com, read October 22, 2026.
| VoicePrivate | YapToText | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $84 a year, $197 to $297 for the profession editions | Free, no paid tier |
| Where speech becomes text | On your computer | On your Mac |
| Offline | Yes, after the model download | Yes, after the model download (the App Store build ships with it) |
| Platforms | Mac and Windows | Mac with Apple silicon |
| Cleanup of what you said | Not described as an AI rewrite on its home page | An on-device cleanup model, with modes for email, notes and messages |
| Edit a selection by voice | Scratch that, spell and capitalization commands | Quick Edit: select text and say the change |
| Import a Dragon word list | Yes | No |
| Source code | Closed | Open, GPL-3.0 |
What you keep, and what changes
- Privacy. The same on both: speech is recognized on the computer and no dictation is uploaded. YapToText also runs its cleanup model on the Mac, so no AI step sends your words anywhere either. If on-device recognition is the reason you looked at VoicePrivate, YapToText gives you that for free.
- Your vocabulary. YapToText's Dictionaries hold names and terms, each with the spellings it gets misheard as, but there is no Dragon or CSV import. Words go in one by one, or by saying add this to my dictionary over a selected word.
- Commands. YapToText has snippets and spoken punctuation, and its send key presses Return in the apps you choose. VoicePrivate's commands that wait or press Tab have no match.
- Professions. VoicePrivate sells vocabulary for medicine, law, finance and insurance. YapToText has one edition, and the medical and legal guides cover how far a general model with your own dictionary goes.
- Windows. This is what you give up.
Related
Sources
- https://voiceprivate.com (checked 2026-10-22)
- https://github.com/ryleighnewman/YapToText (checked 2026-10-22)
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yaptotext/id6786382289 (checked 2026-10-22)
Questions
How much is VoicePrivate?
$84 a year for the General edition, $197 for Finance or Insurance, $247 for Legal and $297 for Healthcare, as read on voiceprivate.com on October 22, 2026, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Is VoicePrivate on device?
Yes. Its site says speech recognition runs on your computer and that dictation audio and transcript text are not uploaded.
Is there a free on-device alternative to VoicePrivate?
YapToText is free and open source, and both its speech model and its cleanup model run on the Mac. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon.