Whisper Dictator turns your recordings into text right on your Windows PC. Choose a file, watch it process locally, and copy the transcript. Nothing uploads, nothing touches a server, and your audio never leaves the machine.
Installed from the Microsoft Store: the app passed Microsoft's review and comes signed by Microsoft, with no Windows warnings.
Available for Windows 10 and 11.
Windows 10/11 (64-bit) · Paid feature, current promotion active
Most transcription tools upload your file before they do anything. A confidential interview, a client call, a personal voice memo: all of it copied to a company you do not control.
Once the file is uploaded, retention, training, and access are out of your hands. For anything sensitive, that is a promise you have to trust instead of verify.
The tools that market themselves as private still need a connection and a round trip to the cloud. Truly local transcription has been hard to find.
Whisper Dictator runs the entire transcription on your own machine. You choose a file, the app processes it locally, and it hands back a transcript you can copy or save. Nothing uploads and nothing reaches a server. This is part of Whisper Dictator's file transcription, built so your recordings never leave the computer.
Everything you need to transcribe recordings privately, on your own machine, without a subscription.
The file is read and processed on your PC. No copy is sent anywhere, so there is nothing on a server to leak, retain, or reuse.
After the one-time setup, transcription runs with no internet connection at all. Unplug the network and it still works.
You confirm your email once with a 6-digit code, and that is it. Your audio and transcripts are never linked to it. Choose a file and go.
Audio: mp3, m4a, wav, flac, ogg, opus, aac, wma. Video: mp4, mov, mkv, webm, avi. Pick a file and the app handles it locally.
Copy the text or save it as a .txt file. Nothing is retained by a third party, because nothing was ever sent.
Auto-detect plus explicit presets for English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, and Italian, all processed on your device.
Open Whisper Dictator and pick your audio or video file from disk. No upload queue and nothing sent off your machine.
A progress bar shows the transcription running locally. You can disconnect from the internet and it keeps going, because nothing needs the cloud.
When it finishes, the transcript appears in a result window. Copy it to the clipboard or save it as a .txt file. It never left your device.
How local file transcription compares to Otter, Rev, and Descript. The gaps are named honestly, not hidden.
| Capability | Whisper Dictator | Otter | Rev (AI) | Descript |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs entirely on your machine | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Your content stays private | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| No per-minute or monthly cap | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ~ |
| One-time price option | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Unlimited hours | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Speaker labels (who said what) | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Subtitle export (SRT/VTT) | ~ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ |
File transcription is part of the paid plan. Start free to try dictation, upgrade to transcribe files.
Try voice dictation first
Installed from the Microsoft Store: the app passed Microsoft's review and comes signed by Microsoft, with no Windows warnings.
Available for Windows 10 and 11.
~$3.33/month, billed annually
Pay once, transcribe forever. No renewals.
No. The file is read and processed by the app on your machine. Nothing is uploaded to a server. This is the default and the only mode, so your audio stays on your device.
Yes. After the one-time setup that installs the app on your PC, transcription runs fully offline. You can disconnect from the network and it still works.
Those tools process your file on their servers, which means your recording is uploaded first. Whisper Dictator does everything locally, so nothing leaves your machine. It is part of Whisper Dictator's file transcription feature.
Yes, but only once, at install: a free account with just your email and a 6-digit code, no password. After that you choose a file and transcribe locally, even offline. Your audio is never sent anywhere and never tied to the account, which only covers your license and support.
Audio: mp3, m4a, wav, flac, ogg, opus, aac, wma. Video: mp4, mov, mkv, webm, avi. Choose a file and the app handles the rest on your device.
Annual $39.99 per year or Lifetime $99 one-time. Both unlock unlimited file transcription with no per-minute fee. A promotion may be active at launch, so check the pricing above.
Choose a file, get an accurate transcript, and keep it. No cloud, no upload, fully offline, on your own Windows PC.
Installed from the Microsoft Store: the app passed Microsoft's review and comes signed by Microsoft, with no Windows warnings.
Available for Windows 10 and 11.
Windows 10/11 · Paid feature · 14-day refund