Whisper Notes

An offline speech-to-text app for iOS and macOS. Record your voice—meetings, lectures, random thoughts—and get accurate transcripts. Everything runs locally on your device using Whisper AI.

Yes—Whisper Notes runs the same open-source Whisper models (including Whisper Large V3 Turbo) 100% locally on your device, packaged as a native app. No Python, no whisper.cpp compilation, no command line: models download inside the app, and everything runs offline on the Neural Engine.

Yes. No internet needed. Once you download it, Whisper Notes processes all audio directly on your device. Your recordings and transcripts never leave your iPhone or Mac.

No. Your data is architecturally private — it physically never leaves your device. We use no analytics or tracking tools whatsoever. We don't even know how many daily active users we have. Since we do not operate transcription servers, we have zero access to your audio. This local-first design supports HIPAA compliance without requiring a Business Associate Agreement. Whether for patient notes, legal casework, or personal journals, privacy is guaranteed by your hardware, not our policy.

iPhone: iPhone 12 and later (including all Pro/Plus/Max models). Older iPhones like iPhone 11 or SE lack the Neural Engine performance needed for fast transcription.

Mac: All M-series Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4, and future chips). Intel Macs are not supported. We recommend 8GB+ RAM since we use the larger Whisper Large V3 Turbo model for better accuracy.

Not yet. Whisper Notes is built on Apple's Neural Engine, so it runs on iPhone and iPad (iPhone 12 or later) and Apple Silicon Macs (M1–M4). There is no Windows, Android, or Intel Mac version.

If you'd like to be notified about an Android version, see our Android page at whispernotes.app/android.

Yes. Import recordings from meetings, lectures, or interviews. Supports most formats—MP3, M4A, WAV. On iPhone, you can also share recordings directly from the Voice Memos app: tap the recording → '...' → Share → 'Transcribe with Whisper Notes'. Everything transcribes offline on your device.

Hold the Fn key in any app—Gmail, Slack, VS Code, Notes, ChatGPT, Claude, or any browser text field—and speak. Release the key, and your text appears. Works completely offline, so your voice stays private even when using cloud-based apps. To customize the shortcut key, open the left side panel → Voice Typing (not in Settings). This is useful if you're using an external keyboard without an Fn key.

Yes—on Mac. Go to Settings → Meeting Recording to enable it. Whisper Notes auto-detects when a meeting starts on Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, and most other platforms. Everything is transcribed locally on your device. If you use European meeting software, you can manually enable additional platforms in Settings → Meeting. This feature requires the Mac DMG version downloaded from our website.

100+ languages, including English, Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Turkish, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, Swedish, and many more.

Whisper Notes offers multiple AI models optimized for different use cases.

On iPhone: Parakeet (default) supports 25 European languages with fewer errors. Whisper supports 80+ languages but may occasionally add filler words in quiet sections.

On Mac: Parakeet V3 (default) is optimized for 25 European languages. Whisper Large V3 Turbo is the most accurate general-purpose model, supporting 99 languages. If you use Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Cantonese, try SenseVoice — it's fast and accurate for these languages.

If transcription quality is poor for your language, try switching models in Settings. Also try manually selecting your language instead of using auto-detect.

With Parakeet V3 (the default model), transcription is very fast. On Mac, a 35-minute recording takes about 18 seconds—10× faster than Whisper. On iPhone, speed depends on your device: newer models like iPhone 15 are significantly faster than older ones. If you switch to Whisper for broader language support, expect roughly a 1:5 ratio—5 minutes of audio in about 1 minute on iPhone 15.

Not yet. But during transcription, you'll see text appear gradually as it processes (streaming output). Whisper Notes transcribes after you finish recording, which lets the AI analyze the complete audio for better accuracy.

Yes. You can export transcripts with timestamps—useful for reviewing audio later or creating subtitles.

Yes—on Mac. Whisper Notes uses a local AI model to auto-generate titles and summaries, and you can chat with your transcript to ask questions or extract key points. Everything runs on-device, nothing is uploaded.

On iPhone, AI summaries are not yet available. You can copy the transcript and use ChatGPT or Claude if needed.

Yes—on Mac. For recordings longer than 3 minutes, you can chat with a local AI about your transcript—review key points from meetings, extract action items, or ask questions about what was said. To access it, tap "View Detail Transcript" on any recording over 3 minutes. Everything runs on-device, so your conversations stay private.

For shorter recordings, Whisper Notes performs auto clean-up but the chat option is not available.

$6.99, one-time purchase. No subscriptions, no ads, no hidden costs.

iOS: Buy directly from the App Store for $6.99.

Mac: Download free from our website. You get 10,000 words to try—no credit card, no sign-up. When you're ready, unlock the full version for $6.99 inside the app. All future updates included on both platforms.

On iPhone and iPad, download from the App Store—$6.99 one-time. On Mac, download the DMG free from whispernotes.app: you get a 10,000-word free trial, then it's $6.99 one-time to unlock.

Note: the Mac App Store version is no longer updated—use the DMG from our website instead.

Yes—on Mac. Download from our website and get 10,000 words free. No credit card, no sign-up. Use it for meetings, lectures, voice memos—decide for yourself.

On iOS, the App Store handles purchases directly at $6.99. If you're not satisfied, request a refund through Settings → Request Refund.

Yes. iOS and Mac are separate purchases—$6.99 each. They are not a Universal Purchase. The iOS version is available on the App Store; the Mac version is a direct download from our website with a free 10,000-word trial. Each purchase includes all future updates for that platform.

Note: The Mac App Store version is no longer maintained. Apple required us to remove Accessibility permissions, which broke core features like Fn key voice typing. All future updates are available exclusively through the DMG version from our website.

Yes. Just go to Settings → Request Refund.

No. This is a deliberate privacy decision. Since all your recordings and transcripts stay on-device, there's no cloud sync between your iPhone and Mac. This means your audio never passes through any server—not ours, not Apple's. You can manually export transcripts if you need them on another device.

It depends on your device. iPhone 15 is fast. iPhone 11 or older? The GPU is slower, so transcription takes longer. Everything runs on your device, not in the cloud, so older hardware means slower processing.

iOS limitation. Whisper Notes needs GPU access to transcribe, and Apple doesn't let apps use the GPU in the background. If you switch apps mid-transcription, just come back and tap 'Re-transcribe.'

Yes! Journalists, researchers, doctors, and many professionals have told us how much they love it. On iOS, one tap from your lock screen starts recording. On Mac, hold Fn to dictate in any app. Fully private—nothing leaves your device. We're always working to make it even better.

We think so. It runs 100% offline—your audio never leaves your device. $6.99 on iPhone, free trial on Mac. No subscriptions, no cloud uploads, no internet required. Powered by OpenAI's Whisper AI with 100+ languages.

Yes. Both offer Fn key dictation on Mac. Typeless uploads your voice to cloud servers and charges $30/month. Whisper Notes runs on-device for $6.99 once — your voice never leaves. On-device processing is ~3x faster since there's no cloud round-trip or LLM wait. Trade-off: Typeless auto-polishes text via cloud LLM (removes filler words). Whisper Notes gives verbatim transcription.

Yes. Both run the same Whisper Large-v3 Turbo engine on-device — same accuracy, same speed. MacWhisper Pro costs €64 one-time on its official Gumroad store (Mac-only — the Mac App Store version is a separate app called Whisper Transcription). Whisper Notes costs $6.99 on each platform — iPhone on App Store, Mac direct from the website with a free trial. Simpler UI, about 1/10th the price, near-identical performance. Trade-off: MacWhisper offers 50+ export formats, batch processing, and video sync for professional audio workflows.