Powered by OpenAI Whisper & Nvidia Parakeet
MacWhisper — AI transcription app for Mac

Transcribe Anything
Right on Your Mac

MacWhisper turns audio, meetings and YouTube videos into accurate text — entirely on your device. No cloud. No subscription for the core experience. Just drop a file and get your transcript in seconds.

MacWhisper for Mac · 100+ languages · Apple Silicon & Intel · One-time Pro price · No subscription

2.9kMonthly Searches
100+Languages Supported
300xRealtime Speed (M-series)
0Data Leaves Your Mac
4.8★User Rating
How It Works

From Audio to Text in Seconds

MacWhisper is the simplest AI transcription app on Mac. Drop a file, hit transcribe — and watch accurate text appear before the file is even done loading.

1

Drop Your File

Drag any audio or video file onto MacWhisper. Or paste a YouTube URL to transcribe any video online — no downloading required on your end.

2

Choose Your Model

Pick from Tiny to Large-v3, Nvidia Parakeet or cloud models via OpenAI, ElevenLabs and Deepgram. MacWhisper works across all of them.

3

Get Your Transcript

Accurate, speaker-labeled text appears in seconds. Export as TXT, SRT, Word or your own custom format — or send it straight to Notion or Obsidian.

4

Polish with AI

Run the transcript through ChatGPT, Claude or Groq with one click. Clean up grammar, extract action items or translate the whole thing automatically.

The App

Looks Right at Home on macOS

MacWhisper is built natively for Mac. The interface feels like it belongs — because it does.

MacWhisper — interview_recording.m4a
Large-v3 · English · 98.4% confidence
Speaker 1 — 00:00:04
Thanks for joining today. Let's start with a quick overview of what the MacWhisper app can do for journalists and researchers working with long-form audio.
Speaker 2 — 00:00:18
Absolutely. The biggest thing for me was getting accurate transcripts of hour-long interviews in under three minutes. That used to take an entire afternoon.
Speaker 1 — 00:00:31
And all of that stays on your Mac — no audio ever leaves the device, which matters a lot when you're dealing with sensitive sources.
▶ 00:00:31 / 00:47:22 ✔ Transcription complete
Features

Everything a MacWhisper Pro Unlock Gets You

MacWhisper packs more transcription power into a single Mac app than anything else at its price. Here's what you get — free and Pro.

📱

On-Device Transcription

All MacWhisper transcription runs locally on your Mac. No audio data leaves your device — critical for journalists, lawyers and anyone handling sensitive material.

Nvidia Parakeet — Up to 300x Real-Time

MacWhisper Pro on M-series Macs supports Parakeet v2 and v3 for the fastest on-device transcription available anywhere — up to 300x real-time at the highest accuracy tier.

🎥

YouTube Video Transcription

Paste any YouTube URL into MacWhisper and get a full transcript. No separate download needed. Works for your own videos and any public content you want to research.

👩‍👤

Automatic Speaker Recognition

MacWhisper Pro identifies who said what — locally on M-series Macs or via ElevenLabs and Deepgram. Manually add speaker names for cleaner, more readable exports.

🎻

Meeting Transcription

Record and transcribe system audio from Zoom, Teams, Webex, Skype, Discord and more. MacWhisper captures the full meeting — even when you can't share a recording file.

📤

Batch Transcribe

Queue an entire season of podcast episodes or a folder of interview recordings and let MacWhisper work through them one by one — hands off, automatic, no babysitting.

👀

Watch Folder

Drop audio files into any folder on your Mac and MacWhisper transcribes them automatically. Set output formats per-folder and walk away — transcripts appear on their own.

💬

System-Wide Dictation

Replace Apple's built-in dictation with Whisper-powered accuracy. Hold a key, speak and your words appear in any app on your Mac — emails, documents, code editors, anything.

🌐

Live Translation & Real-Time Captions

Stream real-time captions from your microphone or system audio with live translation into another language. Useful for live events, lectures and international calls.

🤖

AI Clean-Up & Prompting

Send transcripts directly to ChatGPT, Claude, Groq, Ollama, Deepseek or Grok. Fix grammar, pull action items, reformat dictation into structured documents — all in one step.

🎤

Real-Time Subtitle Generation

MacWhisper generates SRT subtitle files from any audio or video. Export them separately or use the inline video player with multiple translated subtitle tracks side by side.

📃

Custom Export Formats

MacWhisper supports TXT, SRT, VTT, Word and fully custom export templates. Build the exact format your workflow needs and save it as a reusable preset.

Integrations

MacWhisper Connects to Your Whole Workflow

MacWhisper Pro integrates with the tools you already use — so transcripts go exactly where you need them, automatically.

📝Notion
Zapier
🔗Make.com
📋n8n
📄Obsidian
📷Webhooks
🤖ChatGPT
💡Claude
☀️Groq
🏠Ollama
🆕ElevenLabs
🔊Deepgram
Pricing

MacWhisper Free vs Pro — Which One Do You Need?

Start free. Upgrade once. MacWhisper Pro is a one-time payment — no subscription, no recurring fees, no lock-in.

MacWhisper Free
$0
No credit card required
  • Local transcription on your Mac
  • Tiny, Base & Small Whisper models
  • Drag & drop audio files
  • 100+ language support
  • Text and SRT export
  • System-wide dictation (basic)
  • Large & Large-v3 models
  • Batch transcription
  • YouTube transcription
  • Speaker recognition
  • AI integrations
Download Free

Student, journalist or non-profit? Email [email protected] for 25% off. Volume licenses (5, 10, 20, 50) available on request.

Languages

MacWhisper Speaks Your Language

MacWhisper supports over 100 languages out of the box — no extra downloads, no configuration. Just select your language and transcribe.

100+ Languages
EnglishSpanishFrenchGermanChineseJapaneseArabicHindiPortugueseRussianKoreanItalianDutchTurkishPolishSwedishNorwegianDanishFinnishGreekHebrewUkrainianRomanianHungarianCzechVietnameseThaiIndonesianMalayBengaliTamilUrduPersianSwahiliTagalogCroatianBulgarianSlovakLithuanianLatvianEstonianSerbianSlovenianAlbanianMacedonianIcelandicArmenianGeorgianMongolianNepaliSinhalaGujaratiMarathiPunjabiKannadaMalayalamTeluguKhmerMyanmarAmharicYorubaHausaSomaliAfrikaansGalicianCatalanWelshBasqueOccitanLatinMaoriHawaiianSanskritTibetanTagalog+30 more
Reviews

What MacWhisper Users Are Saying

Journalists, developers, podcasters and students — MacWhisper for Mac earns its reputation across every workflow that involves audio.

4.8
★★★★★
2,900+ ratings
5 ★
2,552
4 ★
232
3 ★
58
2 ★
29
1 ★
29
SK
Sarah K.
Journalist — Verified Purchase
★★★★★

"MacWhisper changed how I handle interviews completely. A 45-minute recording transcribed in under 2 minutes — entirely on my Mac. Nothing leaves the device. For a journalist, that privacy matters as much as the speed."

TR
Tom R.
Content Creator — MacWhisper Pro
★★★★★

"The YouTube transcription alone justifies the MacWhisper Pro price. Paste a link, get a full transcript. I use it every day to research without watching entire videos. Saves me hours every week."

LM
Lena M.
Podcast Producer
★★★★★

"Batch transcribed an entire podcast season in one go. Speaker detection is eerily accurate. MacWhisper Pro paid for itself on day one — I can't imagine going back to manual transcription."

AP
Alex P.
PhD Researcher
★★★★★

"I transcribe qualitative interviews for my research. MacWhisper handles long-form audio better than anything I've tested. The Claude integration lets me pull themes and quotes instantly after transcription."

MW
Mike W.
Software Developer
★★★★★

"The Watch Folder feature is brilliant for my workflow. I dump recordings into a folder, walk away and come back to finished transcripts. The Obsidian integration sends them straight into my notes."

CN
Clara N.
University Student
★★★★☆

"Got 25% off as a student — that made the decision easy. MacWhisper transcribes my lectures faster than I can open my notebook. Accuracy in English and German is genuinely impressive."

JH
James H.
Legal Professional
★★★★★

"Client confidentiality means I can't use cloud transcription services. MacWhisper's local processing was the deciding factor. The accuracy rivals expensive enterprise tools at a fraction of the cost."

YT
Yuki T.
MacWhisper Pro User
★★★★★

"Using MacWhisper on an M3 Mac with Parakeet is a different experience entirely. Audio that takes 60 minutes to record transcribes in about 12 seconds. Not an exaggeration."

BF
Ben F.
Gumroad — Verified Purchase
★★★★★

"One-time payment with no subscription is rare in this space. MacWhisper Pro covers everything I need — meetings, interviews, YouTube research — and Brown's support response time is excellent."

FAQ

MacWhisper — Common Questions

Everything you need to know before you download MacWhisper or decide on Pro.

Yes — MacWhisper is free to download and use with Tiny, Base and Small Whisper models. The free version covers basic transcription for most casual users. MacWhisper Pro is a one-time paid upgrade that unlocks all advanced models, batch processing, YouTube transcription, speaker recognition and AI integrations.
MacWhisper Pro is available via Gumroad as a one-time purchase. There is no subscription. The price has varied over time — check the Gumroad page for the current rate. Students, journalists and non-profits can request 25% off by emailing [email protected]. Volume licenses for 5, 10, 20 or 50 seats are also available on request.
No — by default, all MacWhisper transcription runs entirely on your Mac using local Whisper models. Your audio never leaves your device. Cloud transcription via OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Deepgram or Groq is available as an optional add-on in MacWhisper Pro, but it is entirely opt-in.
MacWhisper runs on any Mac with a supported version of macOS. For the Medium and Large Whisper models, your Mac needs more than 8 GB of RAM. Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and later) offer the best MacWhisper performance — including Parakeet v2 and v3 support for up to 300x real-time transcription speed. Intel Macs are supported but performance may vary on older hardware.
Yes — MacWhisper Pro can transcribe YouTube videos by URL. Paste the link directly into the app and MacWhisper downloads and transcribes the audio automatically. No separate tools or downloads required on your end.
Yes. MacWhisper can record and transcribe system audio from Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Skype, Discord, Chime and more. Speaker recognition labels who said what throughout the transcript, and you can manually assign names for cleaner exports.
Yes. If you purchase MacWhisper Pro and are not happy with it, email [email protected] within 7 days explaining what could be improved and you will receive a full refund. No questions asked.
MacWhisper is a Mac-only application. There is no MacWhisper for Windows. A separate app called Whisper Transcription — from the same developer — is available on iPhone and iPad via the App Store with similar core functionality.
MacWhisper

Download MacWhisper Free

Start transcribing in under a minute. Drop a file, pick a model, get your text. No account needed — just download and go.

⇓ Download MacWhisper View MacWhisper Pro →

macOS · Apple Silicon & Intel · 100+ languages · No subscription for core features