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OpenWhispr

Open-source alternative to Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, Otter.ai

OpenWhispr is an open-source alternative to Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, and Otter.ai for turning speech into text. It runs dictation and transcription on your desktop using local models, so your voice never has to leave your machine. Hotkeys let you start and stop dictation quickly in any app.

Best for: Writers and professionals who dictate notes, emails, and meeting summaries.

Key features

  • Speech-to-text dictation with hotkeys
  • Local models keep voice data on your device
  • Transcription for notes and meetings

Before you switch

Switching productivity tools is mostly about habits, not features. Pick one workflow — notes, tasks, or documents — and run it in the new tool for two weeks before migrating everything. Check that import tools exist for your current app; most open-source alternatives offer them. Self-hosted options give you full ownership of your data, which is worth the small setup cost if privacy matters to you.

Like every project on OpenShelf, OpenWhispr is developed in the open — you can read the code, follow development, and even contribute. Check the system requirements and the project’s own documentation linked on this page before installing.