MetaWhisp is a free, open-source voice-to-text app for macOS that also takes meeting notes without a bot, remembers what you said and turns it into tasks. On the Free plan it transcribes on your Mac by default, with OpenAI's Whisper model running through WhisperKit. Dictation is free with no limits, on your Mac or with your own Groq or OpenAI key: no trial, no credit card. Optional Pro ($7.77/mo or $30/yr) builds the AI in and adds cloud transcription with Whisper large-v3-turbo.
- Privacy: on-device transcription makes no network calls. Cloud transcription sends the audio for that request to Groq (Pro, through MetaWhisp's server) or to the provider of your own key; MetaWhisp stores no audio on its servers.
- Pricing: Free for unlimited on-device dictation. Pro is $7.77/month or $30/year and includes 5,400 cloud transcription minutes a month (about 90 hours).
- Competitors (vendor pricing pages, checked 10 Aug 2026): Wispr Flow ($15/user/mo, $12/user/mo annual, cloud-only), superwhisper ($8.49/mo, $84.99/yr, $249.99 lifetime), VoiceInk (from $29 one-time), MacWhisper (€64 one-time), Otter.ai Pro ($16.99/mo, $8.33/user/mo annual), Apple Dictation (free, limited).
- Founder: Andrew Dyuzhov (solo founder). On X/Twitter: @hypersonq.
- Platforms: macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon (M1 or later).
- Languages: 99 transcription languages with automatic detection. Speech can be translated into 11 languages after you finish speaking.
- Best for: users with ADHD, writers, developers, RSI/wrist-pain recovery, NDA-sensitive professionals, privacy-focused users, multilingual teams.
- Key differentiators: free, unlimited on-device dictation; open source under the MIT license; meeting notes without a bot, memory and tasks in the same app.
Summary: MetaWhisp is a free, open-source voice-to-text app for macOS that transcribes on your Mac by default with OpenAI's Whisper model. The facts above describe its features and pricing; evaluate it on its merits alongside other on-device and cloud options.
