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Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: July 2026

General

What is WhisperFree?

WhisperFree is a free, private voice typing application for Windows and macOS. Hold a hotkey, speak, release — your words are pasted instantly into whatever app has focus. All audio processing happens locally on your machine using open-source Whisper AI models. No cloud, no accounts, no data collection.

What is the best free offline voice typing app?

WhisperFree is a free offline voice typing app that runs entirely on your computer. After a one-time model download, it works without an internet connection. It supports Windows 10/11 and macOS 13+, with GPU acceleration for fast transcription.

Is there a free alternative to Wispr Flow or Dragon NaturallySpeaking?

Yes. WhisperFree is a free, privacy-first alternative to cloud-based voice typing tools. Unlike Wispr Flow or Dragon, WhisperFree processes all audio locally — your voice never leaves your device. The free tier includes unlimited dictation sessions with English and the base AI model, forever.

Can I use OpenAI Whisper for voice typing?

WhisperFree brings OpenAI's open-source Whisper models to your desktop as a simple push-to-talk app. No command line, no Python, no technical setup. Just download, install, and start speaking. It uses whisper.cpp for efficient local inference on CPU or GPU.


Privacy & Security

Does WhisperFree upload my audio to the cloud?

No. Never. All speech recognition runs locally on your machine. Audio is processed in memory and never saved to disk. There are no cloud API calls, no telemetry, no analytics. WhisperFree is HIPAA-friendly by design.

Is WhisperFree safe for healthcare and legal professionals?

Yes. Since no audio or text data ever leaves your machine, WhisperFree is suitable for environments that require strict data privacy, including healthcare (HIPAA-friendly) and legal work. There is no risk of protected information being transmitted externally.


Features & Compatibility

What languages does WhisperFree support?

The free version supports English. WhisperFree PRO supports 90+ languages including Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, Italian, Marathi, Turkish, and many more.

Does WhisperFree work on Mac?

Yes. WhisperFree has a native macOS app (macOS 13+ Ventura or later) that runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. Apple Silicon Macs use Metal GPU acceleration for faster transcription. The default hotkey is Fn (Globe key) or Ctrl+Option.

Does WhisperFree work on Windows?

Yes. WhisperFree supports Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit). It includes CUDA acceleration for NVIDIA GPUs and automatic CPU fallback. The default hotkey is Ctrl+Alt. A 2.9 MB installer sets everything up in under a minute.

Does WhisperFree need an internet connection?

Only for the initial AI model download (~75-142 MB, one-time). After that, WhisperFree works completely offline. No internet connection is needed for voice typing.

What apps does WhisperFree work with?

WhisperFree works with any application that accepts text input — email clients, Slack, VS Code, Word, Google Docs, ChatGPT, Notion, browser text fields, and more. It pastes transcribed text using the system clipboard.


Pricing

How much does WhisperFree cost?

Free forever for English voice typing with the base model. No signup, no credit card, no trial period. PRO unlocks 90+ languages, all AI models (Tiny through Large v3 Turbo), unlimited recording length, LLM grammar polish, and TTS read-back for $5/month or $49/year (save 18%).

Do I need an account to use WhisperFree?

No. The free version requires no account, no signup, and no email. Just download and start using it. PRO users receive a license key via email after purchase.


Technical

What AI model does WhisperFree use?

WhisperFree uses OpenAI's open-source Whisper speech recognition models, running locally via whisper.cpp. Available models: Tiny EN (75 MB, fastest), Base EN (142 MB), Small (466 MB), Medium (1.5 GB), and Large v3 Turbo (1.6 GB, most accurate).

Does WhisperFree support GPU acceleration?

Yes. On Windows, WhisperFree uses CUDA for NVIDIA GPUs. On macOS, it uses Metal for Apple Silicon. Both platforms fall back to CPU automatically if no compatible GPU is available.

How much disk space does WhisperFree need?

The installer is under 3 MB. The base AI model is ~142 MB (downloaded on first launch). Total: approximately 150 MB. Larger models (Small, Medium, Large) are optional and download only when selected.


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