Offline dictation on a Mac

How it works

Whisper is an open-source speech recognition model. It comes in sizes — tiny, base, small, medium, large — that trade accuracy against memory and speed. Apple Silicon runs the smaller ones comfortably in real time, which is why a wave of Mac dictation apps appeared once the model was released.

An offline dictation app bundles or downloads one of these models, captures audio from your microphone into memory, runs it through the model locally, and types the result at your cursor. Nothing in that chain requires a server. The practical consequences: it works on a plane, it has no per-word cost, and there is no round trip to wait for.

Apps that transcribe on-device

How to verify an app is really offline

• Turn on Airplane Mode and dictate. This is the whole test. If it still works, the transcription is local.
• Watch the network. Little Snitch, LuLu or macOS's own tools will show you what an app connects to and when.
• Check whether an account is required. An app that needs a login has a server relationship even if transcription is local.
• Read what the update checker sends. Most local apps still phone home for updates, which is fine — but it should be disclosed, and you should be able to switch it off.

Voz passes all four: it works in Airplane Mode, has no account, and the only thing it ever contacts is our update feed, once a day, which you can disable in Settings ▸ Updates. The optional AI features add one more: a model file downloaded once, if you ask for it, which then runs on your Mac like everything else.

What about Apple's built-in Dictation?

It is free, already installed, and on Apple Silicon it runs on-device for shorter dictation. It is the right starting point and you should try it before buying anything. People move to Whisper-based apps for accuracy on technical vocabulary, better punctuation, custom vocabulary, and a push-to-talk key that works identically in every app.