A free Wispr Flow alternative that stays on your Mac

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YapToText is a free Wispr Flow alternative for the Mac: one key starts dictation in any app, the speech model and the cleanup model both run on your Mac, and there is no account, no subscription and no weekly word cap. Wispr Flow's pricing page, read on October 3, 2026, lists a free plan of 2,000 words a week on desktop and Pro at $15 a month, or $12 billed yearly. If you want more than one option, my list of seven Wispr Flow alternatives compares them all.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

This guide in other languages: العربية, Čeština, Dansk, Deutsch, Ελληνικά, Español, Suomi, Français, עברית, हिन्दी, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, Italiano, 日本語, 한국어, Norsk, Nederlands, Polski, Português, Română, Русский, Slovenčina, Svenska, ไทย, Türkçe, Українська, Tiếng Việt, 简体中文, 繁體中文

On this page: 8 sections
  1. Side by side
  2. What you keep, and what changes
  3. Six more Wispr Flow alternatives
  4. Move over in about ten minutes
    1. Step 1: Quit Wispr Flow, or give it another key
    2. Step 2: Choose your key
    3. Step 3: Move your names into Dictionaries
  5. If the first dictation does not type
  6. What Wispr Flow does that YapToText does not
  7. The short version
  8. Questions

Side by side

My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate every day, and I wanted dictation that never needed a server or a monthly bill. I built YapToText, so read what I say about Wispr Flow with that in mind. Wispr Flow, which a lot of people type as Whisper Flow, does real things YapToText does not, starting with apps for Windows, iPhone and Android. Every Wispr Flow fact below comes from wisprflow.ai or its help center, read on the same day.

Checked October 3, 2026, on wisprflow.ai and docs.wisprflow.ai.

YapToTextWispr Flow
PriceFree, no paid tierFree plan; Pro $15 per user a month, or $12 billed yearly; Growth $23, or $18 billed yearly; Enterprise priced on request
Free word limitNone2,000 words a week on desktop, 1,000 on mobile
Where the audio goesStays on the MacThe cloud, always, per its privacy page
Works with Wi-Fi offYes, the App Store buildNo, transcription needs internet access
AccountNoneSign in during setup
Open sourceYes, GPL-3.0Not stated
Edits selected text by voiceYes, Quick Edit, freeCommand Mode, experimental, for paid plans and trials
Formats for the app you are inAuto mode, on the MacContext Awareness and Flow Styles
DevicesMacMac, Windows, iPhone, Android
Mac requirementApple silicon, macOS 14 or latermacOS 12 or later, Apple silicon or Intel
Languages29, plus auto-detectMore than 100

The full comparison puts superwhisper, MacWhisper, VoiceInk and Apple Dictation in the same table, and Apple Dictation vs Wispr Flow covers the free option that is already on your Mac. For a ranked list of seven, the roundup of the best Wispr Flow alternatives adds Willow Voice and Aqua Voice.

The Wispr Flow privacy page follows its audio and text in detail, from the microphone to its servers.

What you keep, and what changes

Here is the switch job by job: what Wispr Flow does first, then what YapToText does instead. You keep one key and words in any app, and your voice stops leaving the Mac.

  • Dictating into any app. Wispr Flow types where your cursor is while you hold its key, Fn by default on Macs with an fn key. YapToText starts with one tap of Right Command and stops with another, or works as Hold to talk if you would rather hold.
  • Editing by voice. Wispr Flow's Command Mode edits selected text from a spoken instruction, but it is off by default, sits under Settings, Experimental, and works only for paid plans and trials. In YapToText you select text, tap Right Option, say the change and tap again. That is Quick Edit, and it is free from the first launch. For 30 seconds after a dictation lands, scratch that removes it and replace X with Y fixes a word, with no key at all.
App Store poster headed Edit anything by voice: the Quick Edit card listening, applying the edit, and done.
Figure 1. Quick Edit, free from the first launch: select text, tap the Quick Edit key, say the change, and the card listens, applies it and says Done.
  • Formatting. Wispr Flow's Context Awareness reads the app you are in, the text near your cursor and the text on screen, and adapts style and formatting. YapToText's Auto mode does that job on your Mac: a letter with a greeting and a sign-off becomes an email, a quick chat message stays exactly as you said it, and ending with make it formal or as a bullet list reshapes all of it. The Auto mode guide lists every phrase it follows.
  • Your names and words. Wispr Flow learns names and jargon, and its free plan includes a dictionary and snippets. YapToText's Dictionaries fix a spelling and also prime the speech model, so a name is heard right in the first place, and its Commands type saved text when you say insert and the phrase. The Dictionaries guide has the details.
  • Price. Wispr Flow's free plan is capped at 2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 on a phone, and Pro lifts the cap for $15 per user a month, or $12 billed yearly. YapToText is free with no paid tier and nothing locked, and the optional tips buy no features. Every Wispr Flow plan, Growth and Enterprise included, is broken down on the Wispr Flow pricing page.
  • Where your voice goes. Wispr Flow's privacy page says transcription always happens in the cloud, and its help center says voice transcription needs internet access. To be fair to it, Wispr says it keeps zero-data-retention agreements with all its third-party AI providers. In YapToText your voice never leaves your Mac. The App Store build ships both models, so it dictates with Wi-Fi off from the first launch. The offline dictation guide shows what that looks like day to day.
App Store poster headed Nothing leaves your Mac, over YapToText's AI Models page with both models marked Included.
Figure 2. Both models ship inside the App Store app and show as Included on the AI Models page, which is why it dictates with Wi-Fi off from the first launch.

Six more Wispr Flow alternatives

One app rarely fits everyone, so here are the other six from my list, one line each. One is built into macOS, three can keep your voice on the Mac, and two are cloud services.

Checked October 3, 2026, on each app's own pages. Prices reread October 7, 2026, with no change.

  • Apple Dictation. It is built in and free, so you install nothing. Your voice is handled on the Mac or on Siri servers, and Keyboard settings say which.
  • superwhisper. It has a free local plan with unlimited dictation on local Whisper models. AI modes are on Pro, at $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once.
  • VoiceInk. Its code is open source and you pay once: $25 for one Mac after a free trial. It transcribes on the Mac by default.
  • Willow Voice. It has a free cloud plan on its Frontier Mini model. Pro is $15 per user a month, or $12 billed yearly.
  • Aqua Voice. It is a cheaper cloud plan: 1,000 free words, then Pro at $8 a month billed yearly or $10 month to month. It has no offline mode, per its Mac page.
  • MacWhisper. It is for recordings more than live typing: file transcription with subtitle export is free, and Pro is €64 once.

The full list of Wispr Flow alternatives has the table, with what is free in each and where your voice goes.

Move over in about ten minutes

The switch needs no account. You allow two permissions and pick one key, and your dictation runs on your own Mac.

First install YapToText and turn on its two permissions, Microphone and Accessibility. The first dictation guide walks through that. Then three steps are specific to coming from Wispr Flow.

Step 1: Quit Wispr Flow, or give it another key

Two dictation apps waiting on the same key is asking for trouble, so quit Wispr Flow, or change its shortcut, before you give YapToText that key. That is caution, not something I measured.

Step 2: Choose your key

  • You: On the Dictation page, in the Keys card, keep Right Command or record another key, and choose Tap to start / stop or Hold to talk. Fn/Globe is one of the choices if your hands already know Wispr Flow's key.
  • YapToText: Listens for that key on its own. A tap only counts when no other key was pressed with it, so Command C still copies.
  • Check: Click into a note, start, say one sentence, and stop. The words land at your cursor. If they went to the clipboard instead, Accessibility is not on yet.
YapToText's Dictation settings page on a Mac: the Keys, Recording, Microphone and Delivery cards.
Figure 3. The Keys card at the top of the Dictation page: the dictation key and the way it responds sit side by side, with Right Command and Tap to start / stop as the defaults.

The keys and shortcuts guide lists every key the app can use, including a backup shortcut that works without Accessibility.

Step 3: Move your names into Dictionaries

  • You: In any note, select a name or term spelled the way you want it, tap Right Option, say add this to my dictionary, and tap again. Start with the names you dictate most.
  • YapToText: Saves the word with exactly that spelling and capitals, and uses it to prime the speech model from then on.
  • Check: The Quick Edit card says the word was added, and the entry shows on the Dictionaries page.

Snippets move over by hand. On the Commands page, open Snippets, press Add Snippets, and put the phrase under Say this and the text under Inserts. While the insert prefix is on, which is the default, you say insert before the phrase.

YapToText's Commands page: Enable voice commands on, Require the word insert before a command on, and the Snippets tab.
Figure 4. The Snippets tab on the Commands page: the phrase goes under Say this, the text goes under Inserts, and the insert prefix is on by default.

If the first dictation does not type

If the first dictation does not land where you expect, work down this list:

  1. Click into the other app first. YapToText never types into its own window, so a dictation started while it is in front goes to the clipboard.
  2. Turn on Accessibility. Without it, every dictation is copied to the clipboard instead of typed. Step 2 has the path.
  3. Look for a second app on the key. If Wispr Flow still waits on the same key, quit it and try again.
  4. Pin a method for that app. In Settings, Advanced, add the app under Per-app method and choose Type character-by-character.

The troubleshooting guide covers the rest, including the alert beep some apps play at Intelligent Insert.

What Wispr Flow does that YapToText does not

Wispr Flow is good software, and some of what it does, I do not do at all. If your dictation has to follow you to a phone or a PC, Wispr Flow is the one to pick.

  • Other devices. Wispr Flow runs on the Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and it can keep your dictation history on its servers for cross-device features. YapToText is a Mac app only. The page on Windows, Linux and phones lists the apps that run there.
  • Older and Intel Macs. Wispr Flow supports macOS 12 Monterey or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. YapToText needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later.
  • More languages. Wispr Flow lists more than 100. YapToText's picker has 29 languages plus auto-detect, and its interface is English only. The languages guide lists all 29.
  • Meetings and teams. Wispr Flow has a Notetaker for meetings, a shared dictionary and snippets on Pro, and single sign-on and org-wide HIPAA enforcement with a signed BAA on Growth. YapToText takes no meeting notes and has no team features.
  • A tested screen reader path. Wispr Flow's help center says it is tested with VoiceOver on the Mac. YapToText announces every state to VoiceOver, from Listening to done, but I have not run that test pass yet.

The short version

  • What you gain. You get Wispr Flow's core job, one key and your words in any app, with no account, no word cap and no cloud.
  • What it takes. It takes about ten minutes: you install it, allow two permissions, pick a key, and teach it your names.
  • When to stay. Stay with Wispr Flow if you dictate on Windows or a phone, need a language outside the 29, or work on an Intel Mac.

YapToText is free with no paid tier, and the download page has both ways to install it.

If your dictating happens on one Apple silicon Mac, none of it needs a subscription. If something here does not match what you see in either app, open an issue on GitHub. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Wispr Flow?

Yes. YapToText is free with no paid tier, no weekly word cap and no account, and it runs its speech and cleanup models on your Mac. It needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later.

Is Whisper Flow the same as Wispr Flow?

Usually. Whisper Flow, WhisperFlow and Whisper Flow AI are common ways of typing Wispr Flow, the dictation app at wisprflow.ai, but other products use those spellings, so check the web address before you download anything.

How much is Wispr Flow?

Pro is $15 per user a month, or $12 a month billed yearly, on wisprflow.ai as of October 3, 2026. The free plan is capped at 2,000 words a week on desktop, Growth is $23 a month or $18 billed yearly, and Enterprise is priced on request. YapToText is free.

Does Wispr Flow work offline?

No. Its privacy page says transcription always happens in the cloud, and its help center says voice transcription needs internet access. The App Store build of YapToText works with Wi-Fi off, because both of its models ship inside the app.

Is Wispr Flow open source?

Not that its own site says. The wisprflow.ai pages I read never mention published source code, and its transcription runs in the cloud. YapToText's code is public on GitHub under the GPL. The page on open source Wispr Flow alternatives compares five open source apps, at yaptotext.com/open-source-wispr-flow-alternative.

What languages does Wispr Flow support?

Its help center says Flow dictates in more than 100 languages, with choices such as Swiss German spelling, Simplified or Traditional Chinese, and a separate Cantonese option. It also says Flow cannot recognize Urdu, Hebrew or Ukrainian from speech alone, so those have to be selected. YapToText lists 29 languages plus auto-detect.