OpenWhispr
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 12 of 26 dictation apps by recommenders
Free, local speech-to-text app that transcribes well in many languages and works on-device or with a remote provider. Critics mention rough setup via npm commands.
Free, local speech-to-text app that transcribes well in many languages and works on-device or with a remote provider. Critics mention rough setup via npm commands.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 73%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Transcribes well in many languages
“Transcribing is perfect in many language and, it focuses on a selected app.”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Gemini-3.5-Transcribe” “Transcribing is perfect in many language”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Gemini-3.5-Transcribe” Local and fast on-device processing
“I like that openwhisper lets me do on device and set a remote provider.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Ghost Pepper – 100% local hold-to-talk speech-to-text for macOS” “since its local, its also FAST”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Rowboat – Open-source, local-first alternative to Claude Desktop” Flexible, supports local and remote providers
“I like that openwhisper lets me do on device and set a remote provider.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Ghost Pepper – 100% local hold-to-talk speech-to-text for macOS” “I'd say it is more flexible by design”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Handy – free open source speech-to-text app”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Rough setup and developer experience
“needing to constantly run in npm commands”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “Handy – free open source speech-to-text app” “openwhispr dx is really bad”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: BetterWispr – Free, open-source dictation for Mac”
Other dictation apps people recommend
The four most recommended other dictation apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handy | 150 | 20 | 88% | 12 | 1 mo5 owners | Approved |
| Wispr Flow | 52 | 33 | 61% | 12 | — | — |
| MacWhisper | 31 | 9 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| macOS Dictation | 26 | 44 | 37% | 10 | — | — |
| OpenWhisprThis page | 11 | 4 | 73% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
16 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I like open whisper and typewispr for both.”
“openwhispr dx is really bad”
“it just does better for accented voices”
“Get a microphone, download openwisper and talk (text to prompt).”
“Transcribing is perfect in many language and, it focuses on a selected app.”
“Transcribing is perfect in many language”
“you're better off using MacParakeet, OpenWhispr, etc.”
“the only both STT and TTS, MCP, native Mac I have found is OpenWhisperer”
“since its local, its also FAST”
“a desktop app for transcription that handles all sorts of neat thing”
“I like that openwhisper lets me do on device and set a remote provider.”
“Pretty nice to have menu bar integration.”
“Requiring microphone access is a dealbreaker.”
“I'd say it is more flexible by design”
“needing to constantly run in npm commands”
“Oh, it failed - open-whispr”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.