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SPEECH TO TEXT WITHOUT INTERNET

Offline transcription: what works without internet.

Offline transcription means the speech recognition runs on your computer, so nothing is sent anywhere. It works on a plane, on bad Wi-Fi, and for anything you’d rather keep on your machine. Here’s what you can do offline, with Vokalu and without it.

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The short answer

Vokalu’s Private mode transcribes your dictation offline, on Windows and Mac, for free. Meeting notes and uploaded recordings in Vokalu need an internet connection. To transcribe audio files fully offline, use a dedicated local tool such as MacWhisper on a Mac.

Offline dictation in Vokalu

Download a speech model once in Settings › Private mode: Fast (about 290 MB) or Accurate (about 970 MB). From then on, speech is recognized on your computer, in every app or only in the apps you mark private. A Private badge on the pill shows when speech stays local. Plain on-device dictation is free. How Private mode works.

What still needs internet

AI formatting sends the recognized text (never audio) to be cleaned up, for 0.5¢ a minute. You can leave it off. Meeting notes and uploaded recordings are transcribed online, at 3¢ per minute of talking, and the audio is never stored. If you’ve downloaded a model and your connection drops during online dictation, Vokalu falls back to it instead of losing your words.

Built-in offline options

On Windows 11, voice access recognizes speech on your device after setup; plain Windows voice typing (Win + H) needs the internet. On a Mac, Dictation processes some languages on device; check System Settings › Keyboard. Windows voice typing vs voice access · Apple Dictation compared

Offline transcription of audio files

For recordings you need transcribed with no internet at all, use a tool built for local file transcription. On a Mac, MacWhisper runs local models; Superwhisper and VoiceInk also transcribe on device. Vokalu’s strength is live dictation into your apps.

Questions worth asking

Is offline transcription less accurate?

Usually a little, because the model on your computer is smaller than the ones online. Vokalu offers Fast and Accurate models; Accurate is larger and usually more accurate.

Does Private mode work in other languages?

Yes. The on-device model is multilingual, so you can dictate offline in Spanish, German, Portuguese and many other languages.

Does it work on older computers?

Private mode runs on your computer’s processor, with no graphics card needed. The first dictation after starting loads the model, which takes a moment.