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Show HN: superwhisper – AI powered offline voice to text for macOS

by nchudleigh on 8/21/23, 2:03 AM with 48 comments

Hey HN,

I built superwhisper out of frustration with the native dictation capabilities of macOS. Inaccurate, required manual punctuation, didnt activate in some contexts or would have audio capture issues.

I wanted a replacement that worked offline, had cross language support, was configurable and worked in any application.

Under the hood the app is using whisper.cpp, which runs really well on the Apple Silicon chips.

You can use the base and standard size models for free, larger models sizes and languages other than english are paid.

Let me know what you think! For context, I launched this just one month ago and have been rapidly adding features and making fixes.

If you want to follow along with development, I post release info on twitter (https://x.com/superwhisperapp) or you can subscribe to emails via the form on the website (very bottom).

  • by keepamovin on 8/21/23, 5:55 AM

    I also have WisprNote on the app store for MacOS. Slightly different, just for doing voice memos and other files.

    I predict someone will comment: why not just use the large model on OpenAI api? Indeed you can! Large model is the best. However, it does not do live transcription, and it is not totally private, which you can do with offline app.

    My WisrpNote does not yet have live! Although I've prototyped it, been busy with other projects! It's on the list! I hope yours has live.

    I see you are going a paid model, does that mean that it is a subscription using OpenAI API or just paying for the download and utilization of these larger models essentially, even tho they run offline?

    Anyway, WisprNote is Powered by Wispr models from OpenAI using the ggml work on GitHub from ggreganov!

    Totally agree that MacOS has crap dictation! So is the Google dictation! And the iPhone dictation!

    https://apps.apple.com/app/wisprnote/id1671480366

  • by janalsncm on 8/21/23, 3:15 PM

    I won’t pay monthly for this. I would pay once, maybe even a lot of money if it worked well. But I won’t pay monthly.

  • by maccaw on 8/21/23, 5:33 PM

    I've been using SuperWhisper since the start and it's totally changed my workflow. I actually bought a mic because of it and I now mostly narrate my emails and other long form texts. The larger models are very accurate.

    I know Neil is working on improving the speed of it using CoreML, which is I think the next big leap forward. Congratulations Neil!

  • by igammarays on 8/21/23, 12:08 PM

    Why does every macOS app need to run from the menubar? I already have about a dozen tiny icons there, and it is so difficult to squint and find something when I don't even know what it's supposed to look like. It is so much easier to deal with GUI windows and launch apps from from Spotlight/Alfred/Launchpad.

  • by darkteflon on 8/21/23, 2:37 PM

    Can this be triggered with a keyboard shortcut? The video seems to imply that you can’t.

    Edit: Disappointed to see that the Pro plan is on a subscription basis.

  • by nchudleigh on 8/21/23, 8:14 PM

    Alright, based on feedback from everyone going to offer a lifetime license. The price is set at $165.

    https://superwhisperapp.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout?cart=856e7...

  • by xeor on 8/21/23, 6:38 PM

    Looked very interesting untill I saw the monthly subscription. Does not make sense.. What would make sense in my head is a full demo for a week. Then $100-200 onetime for a personal pro..

    I really hope this project surfaces in my feed in a couple of weeks with a more sane model

  • by your_challenger on 8/21/23, 3:44 PM

    For an app that runs on my Mac a monthly subscription does not make sense

  • by spdustin on 8/22/23, 1:55 PM

    I’m truly curious how many lifetime plans you’ve sold, since you added that option in response to comments here.

  • by spikey_sanju on 8/22/23, 1:47 AM

    Good job! But does double pressing Ctrl on a Mac activate the voiceover? What sets your app apart?