LIVE
Mistral Makes Large 4 Available as Open Weights29/10/26 · Mistral AI|Gemini 4 Carbon tops the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v529/10/26 · Google|Mistral Large 4 now available on Hugging Face29/10/26 · Mistral AI|Google Introduces "Gemini 4 Carbon" as Next Step in Its Model Lineup28/10/26 · Google|DeepMind unveils Genie 4, a new generation of world model27/10/26 · Google DeepMind|Anthropic files IPO prospectus, with risk disclosures taking center stage26/10/26 · Anthropic|Robot policy trained only in simulation matches top real-world systems26/10/26|OpenAI unveils GPT-6.1 Terra, a model built for computer use26/10/26 · OpenAI|New benchmark checks whether LLMs actually test their temporal medical claims29/10/26|An ODE-based sampling method speeds up discrete diffusion models29/10/26|OpenAI revises its Model Spec with five guiding values for AI behavior29/10/26 · OpenAI|Inside Proton's internal clash over its AI pivot29/10/26 · Proton|Mistral Makes Large 4 Available as Open Weights29/10/26 · Mistral AI|Gemini 4 Carbon tops the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v529/10/26 · Google|Mistral Large 4 now available on Hugging Face29/10/26 · Mistral AI|Google Introduces "Gemini 4 Carbon" as Next Step in Its Model Lineup28/10/26 · Google|DeepMind unveils Genie 4, a new generation of world model27/10/26 · Google DeepMind|Anthropic files IPO prospectus, with risk disclosures taking center stage26/10/26 · Anthropic|Robot policy trained only in simulation matches top real-world systems26/10/26|OpenAI unveils GPT-6.1 Terra, a model built for computer use26/10/26 · OpenAI|New benchmark checks whether LLMs actually test their temporal medical claims29/10/26|An ODE-based sampling method speeds up discrete diffusion models29/10/26|OpenAI revises its Model Spec with five guiding values for AI behavior29/10/26 · OpenAI|Inside Proton's internal clash over its AI pivot29/10/26 · Proton|
Appofficial publisher

MacWhisper

App : A product you use directly

Local Whisper transcription on Mac, with a polished interface.

The most enjoyable transcription app on Mac; the Pro version at €59 lifetime is worth it.

Official site
Overall score
8.3 /10
Security: nothing to flag
Utility
8.0
Reliability
6.0
Security
No caveat on record
Ease
1 click · Beginner

Security reflects where data goes, requested permissions and incidents on record at the verification date. It is not a guarantee of zero risk: check the deployment mode and the connections you enable.

What it does, concretely

Transcribing audio or video recordings is time-consuming and often exposes sensitive data to remote servers. MacWhisper solves this by running OpenAI's Whisper models directly on your Mac, with no file ever sent to the cloud.

In practice, you simply drag and drop an audio or video file into the app window and transcription starts immediately, with no prior configuration needed. Supported formats include MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, Opus, MOV, and MP4. You can also paste a YouTube URL to transcribe an online video, or record directly from your microphone or the system audio of Zoom, Teams, Webex, Skype, or Discord.

MacWhisper is aimed at journalists transcribing interviews, podcasters generating subtitles, students recording lectures, and anyone who regularly works with audio and cares about file confidentiality.

However, it is not a real-time dictation tool for use inside other applications: its core job is file transcription. Windows and Android users cannot use it, as the app is exclusively for macOS.

What it offers

  • ·Local and offline transcription: Whisper models run entirely on your Mac, no audio data ever leaves the device.
  • ·Support for over 100 languages with automatic language detection.
  • ·Batch transcription of entire folders and watch-folder automation to process new files as they arrive (paid).
  • ·Automatic speaker identification (diarization) to distinguish different speakers in a recording (paid).
  • ·Export in many formats: SRT, VTT, TXT, CSV, DOCX, PDF, Markdown, and HTML.
  • ·Automatic removal of filler words ('um', 'uh') for cleaner output.
  • ·AI post-processing via your own API key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, etc.) to summarise, rephrase, or translate a transcript (paid).
  • ·Automatic meeting recording from Zoom, Teams, Webex, Skype, Discord, and other platforms.

In practice

Price
Freemium · from 59 €
Commercial use
Commercial use: yes
Available on
macos
FR interface
No

Security and data

Rating
Security: nothing to flag
Your data
Data stays local
Maintenance
Active

Links and repository checked on 25 October 2026 · added on 1 February 2023

How to install MacWhisper

1. Go to the official site macwhisper.com or directly to the Gumroad page (goodsnooze.gumroad.com/l/macwhisper) to download the app. Beware of third-party sites that mimic the official website and may contain malware. 2. After confirming on Gumroad, open the received .dmg file and drag MacWhisper into your Applications folder. 3. On first launch, macOS may ask you to confirm opening an app downloaded outside the App Store: go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and click 'Open Anyway'. 4. Grant the requested permissions (microphone for recording, accessibility for system-wide dictation) in System Settings > Privacy & Security. 5. On first launch, choose a Whisper model to download: Tiny or Base to get started quickly, Large-v3 for better accuracy (Pro only). 6. If you purchased a Pro licence on Gumroad, enter your licence key in the app preferences to unlock all features.
brew install --cask macwhisper

Recipes using MacWhisper

In the same category

Whole category Audio, voice & music →