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FeaturesDictation shortcut
MetaWhisp turns Right ⌘ into a dictation key. Tap it, talk, tap it again, and your words appear where the cursor is, in the app you are already using. Rather hold the key while you speak? Switch on push-to-talk. It is free, and on the Free plan Whisper transcribes on your Mac.
Two ways to use the same key. Pick one under Hotkeys in Settings.
Good for longer thoughts: your hands are free while you talk, and a second tap ends the recording.
You let go, so it transcribes.
Good for quick replies: it records only while the key is down, and a brief tap is ignored.
To dictate with one key on a Mac, MetaWhisp listens for Right ⌘ across the whole system, so it answers in any app you have open and never needs a window of its own. In toggle mode, the default, a tap starts recording and the next tap stops it; in push-to-talk mode it records while you hold the key and stops when you let go. Either way, OpenAI’s Whisper model turns the speech into text, on your Mac on the Free plan, and the words go straight to your cursor. It works in mail, chat, documents, browsers, code editors and Terminal, including full-screen apps, anywhere paste works. macOS asks once for the Accessibility permission that allows the paste. Pressing Right ⌘ together with another key, as in ⌘C, is left alone, so your usual shortcuts keep working.
Two keys you rarely use for anything else.
| Key | Gesture | What happens | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right ⌘ | Tap, talk, tap | Dictation, pasted where your cursor is | Free |
| Right ⌘ | Hold, in push-to-talk mode | Dictation while the key is down | Free |
| Right ⌘ | Hold half a second, in toggle mode | A question out loud, answered by MetaChat | With AI |
| Right ⌥ | Tap, talk, tap | Dictation, translated into the language you picked | With AI |
| Right ⌥ | Hold 1.5 seconds on selected text | The selection is replaced with its translation | With AI |
| ⌘ + a key | As always | Your shortcut. MetaWhisp stays out of the way |
With AI: it runs on a free local model, on your own OpenAI or Cerebras key, or on Pro. More on translation and questions about your screen.
A recording indicator appears the moment you press the key. Choose its style under Recording Overlay.
Capsule, the default, is a small floating pill. Island Aura glows around the notch, Island Expand grows out of it, and Edge Glow runs a light strip along the top of the screen that swells with your voice. A fifth style is there just for fun. Every style changes colour as it moves from recording to transcribing, so a glance tells you where it is.
Apple’s Dictation is built in and good. Here is what changes with MetaWhisp.
| macOS Dictation | MetaWhisp | |
|---|---|---|
| Start and stop | The Microphone key, a shortcut you set in Keyboard settings, or Edit → Start Dictation | A tap on Right ⌘ |
| Hold to talk | Holding the Microphone key opens Siri, if Siri is on | Push-to-talk mode |
| Speech model | Apple’s | OpenAI’s Whisper large-v3, on your Mac on the Free plan |
| Where the text goes | Where your cursor is | Pasted where your cursor is |
| Cost | Built into macOS | Free; Pro is optional |
Setting up Apple’s Dictation step by step: how to use dictation on Mac.
Right Command (⌘). Tap it, say what you want to write, and tap it again. MetaWhisp transcribes your voice and pastes the text where your cursor is, in whatever app you are using.
Yes. Choose Push-to-talk under Hotkeys in MetaWhisp's Settings. Recording then runs while you hold Right ⌘ and stops when you let go; a quick tap does nothing, so it never starts by accident.
In every app where paste works: mail, chat, notes, documents, browsers, code editors and Terminal, including full-screen apps. MetaWhisp never needs to be in front. macOS asks once for the Accessibility permission that lets it paste.
No, the keys are fixed: Right ⌘ dictates and Right ⌥ dictates and translates. Your usual shortcuts keep working, because MetaWhisp ignores Right ⌘ when you press it together with another key, as in ⌘C.
In the default toggle mode, holding Right ⌘ for half a second lets you ask MetaChat a question out loud. Tapping Right ⌥ dictates and pastes a translation, and holding Right ⌥ for 1.5 seconds translates the text you have selected. Questions and translation need AI: a free local model, your own key, or Pro.
In System Settings, open Keyboard, go to Dictation, and pick a shortcut from the Shortcut menu, or choose Customize to press your own keys. If your keyboard has a Microphone key, it starts Dictation too. That shortcut belongs to Apple's Dictation; MetaWhisp uses Right ⌘ and does not change it.
Free for Mac, no account. Works in the apps you already use.
Download MetaWhispMetaWhisp 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.
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.