What it is
MacWhisper runs speech recognition models locally on your Mac, so files can be transcribed offline. Drag in audio or video in formats such as mp3, wav, m4a, mov and mp4, in 100 languages, and export text or subtitles. The Pro version adds speaker recognition, batch and YouTube transcription, translation, automatic recording of Zoom, Teams, Webex and other meetings, system-wide dictation, watched folders, a command-line interface, and AI prompts through your own API keys or local models via Ollama and LM Studio.
The free version covers basic transcription with .srt, .vtt and .txt export. Pro is a one-time €64 license with lifetime updates, not a subscription. It runs only on macOS, and its developer, Good Snooze, warns of fake download sites: buy from macwhisper.com, its Gumroad page or the App Store.
Best for
- Transcribing sensitive interviews without uploading them
- Making .srt and .vtt subtitles for video
- Recording Zoom or Teams calls without a bot joining