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Show HN: superwhisper – AI powered offline voice to text for macOS (superwhisper.com)

43 points by nchudleigh ↗ HN
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).

48 comments

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keepamovin
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

igammarays
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.
Larrikin
When combined with Bartender, I actually get annoyed when long running in the background programs are not in the menu bar. I assume one day Apple will kill that developers source of income.
nchudleigh
Great question, in the case of superwhisper, the app itself doesnt really have an interface- it just plops the result text into whatever text field you have focused. So the menu bar icon indicates the recording processing and complete state and gives quick access to settings.

I agree the menu bar is overcrowded, but I don't know if the app would work very well without the icon as it is the primary way that the current recording state is indicated. If you have ideas on how else I could approach this, let me know what you think.

sprobertson
I don't mind the menu bar approach but another way would be something that can be triggered by CLI or a launcher like Alfred. ("Typed" with the menu bar app, by the way.)
darkteflon
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.

nchudleigh
100%, you can configure which keyboard shortcut you want to use in settings as well- check out the image linked below.

https://imgur.com/a/LXlwy7F

darkteflon
Okay I see - perhaps the interface shown in the video is out of date.

It’s a cool little app, I’d be happy to pay a few dollars for something like this, but not a subscription.

nchudleigh
Fair enough! Theres a very generous free tier (both small and base models enabled) that should cover a basic use case.

Justification for charging a subscription is value based:

65 bucks a year is not a lot to spend if it saves you 10+ hours of time typing, and editing your messages. Dictating is joyful and saves me time each day. superwhisper spells/punctuates better and writes faster than I can with a keyboard.

This alongside the cost to me, 10s of hours each week of my time as the solo developer go into:

• Supporting users with their issues and bugs fixes

• Continuing to update the app with new features (4 major features released this month alone)

• Making sure you have access to the latest features and capabilities as AI advances.

Also, keep in mind, with free / cheap solutions: "If you are not paying for it, you're the product".

darkteflon
Fair enough, it’s 100% your product to price how you see fit. I do think you’re shooting yourself in the foot a bit, though. But best of luck to you! The free version is great, keep up the good work.
nchudleigh
Thanks! I hope at some point you find it useful enough to justify the price.
2Gkashmiri
I have a gripe with voice dictation apps.

I found this back a decade or more ago when I saw windows 7 had an inbuilt voice recognition.

Before that I had an old copy of dragon on xp or 98 I think but the problem remained.

I want this. >>

I want to say a sentence. The computer would understand and speak it back to me. Yes. Then I would say a sentence. It says a word wrong. Scratch that. I say the whole line again.

It may sound repetive but it "should" work because every dictation software expects user to monitor the screen and fix errors that way. If I am reading the screen, I might as well use a keyboard.

I want this full screen-less voice dictation experience by sitting in a comfy blanket, eyes closed and just letting words flow.

Anything else and I would rather just use the keyboard as I said.

darkteflon
A push-to-talk option would be a fine addition for something like this, let you fire off single sentences quickly.
nchudleigh
Interesting, could implement this as an option. Out of curiosity what would you map it to on your keyboard?
darkteflon
I would make it just use the same hotkey, but held down. So in the default case, tapping option-space would start a normal recording session, tapping again would stop it; holding option-space down would start a PTT session, releasing would end it.

PTT would be such a naturally good fit here imo.

nchudleigh
I don't know what happened to the macOS app ecosystem where most tools go with the one time payment model instead of subscription.

It is not sustainable for indie devs and the software suffers as a result.

superwhisper is not expensive (65 a year) given what it provides to the user.

On top of that the base features are free, and require absolutely nothing from you, no sign up or contact information required at all- just download and use.

It completely respects your personal privacy and provides a useful service. Very few tools outside of open source do this.

torartc
Death by 1000 $65/year apps and services.

Sorry but because everything is a subscription it’s harder and harder to justify adding another on the stack.

JuanPosadas
It's very annoying that everything is going to the monthly subs BS and I can't just pay $5 for 1000 widget bazingas or whatever the credit system is called.
nchudleigh
It's almost like developers need to feed their families.
Larrikin
If the new features are worth it, I will pay to upgrade. If they aren't why am I paying yearly?
reacharavindh
It’s a bit of a strange argument that developers can feed their families _only_ if they sell their software on a subscription basis. Nobody wants to developers to starve. At the same time it is not a _duty_ of users of a software to make sure the developer’s family is fed. It is a business. Developer sells something, and the buyer gets value in return. Subscription is just one way of making the buyer pay more(may be hoping that they forget that they were paying for it amidst 50 other subscriptions). It is perfectly fine to say “I expect to feed my family with this work. So I want to charge $bigamount”. Then your buyers chose whether your software is worth that or not.

You may also say, “I prefer a recurring income, and don’t want to charge one time. It is my prerogative.”, but arguing that one cannot feed their families any other way is disingenuous.

reacharavindh
Another way of looking at it is - software is not very different than ebooks. Imagine if an author of a book says “Books should only be sold as subscription. It’s almost as if my readers don’t want me to feed my family!” If every reader is not continuously paying me $5/month, how can I keep learning and providing little updates to this book, and make errata?! How dare they try to get my knowledge at once when they can be paying me so much more to keep me fed?!
nchudleigh
Perhaps I am misinterpreting feedback of "offer a lifetime deal" as "give me it for less".

Would help to know, what would you pay for it? What do you think its worth?

reacharavindh
It is your product. You alone have the power to set a price. You may want to do market research to figure what the users would like to pay for it, but you can still decide to go higher or lower than that outcome.

I’m perfectly fine with a software product that is on the expensive side if it justifies its value to me as a user. This particular product I don’t have a professional use for, and cannot give you a number value.

janalsncm
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.
nchudleigh
Fair enough, the free tier should be plenty for a basic use-case!

I would also challenge you on it:

How much time does it save you each day?

How could that translate to your income?

Do you want the app to improve and add features over time?

Is 65 dollars a year truly out of reach if you feel that you need pro level features?

janalsncm
Respectfully, I am on a salary so it is very difficult to know whether this could translate to more than $65 in wage improvement over a year, even in theory. If I get a raise it will be due to a combination of reasons. However, if this is indeed a productivity enhancer, you should market to companies, not workers.

You mention that I should pay an ongoing fee for features to be added over time. However, there is no guarantee of future feature development even if I do pay every month. And there is definitely no guarantee I will care about or like the new features either. If this transcription works well, that’s the only feature I need.

Being charged monthly also doesn’t seem right when you’re not providing an ongoing service. If you develop a new feature that is better than the current version, I would pay for that as well.

nchudleigh
> However, if this is indeed a productivity enhancer, you should market to companies, not workers.

That's the plan. Gotta start somewhere.

> You mention that I should pay an ongoing fee for features to be added over time. However, there is no guarantee of future feature development even if I do pay every month. And there is definitely no guarantee I will care about or like the new features either. If this transcription works well, that’s the only feature I need.

For a monthly subscription or annual subscription, the developer is incentivized to develop new features to retain the ongoing payments coming from the existing customer base.

A one-time payment model actually incentivizes the developer to focus instead on marketing efforts every month and capturing new users rather than increasing/maintaining the satisfaction of the current user base.

> Being charged monthly also doesn’t seem right when you’re not providing an ongoing service. If you develop a new feature that is better than the current version, I would pay for that as well.

I definitely am providing an ongoing service. You get constant improvements to the application, bug fixes, and support. Would you prefer in-app purchases for each additional feature?

Thanks for sharing your perspective on the pricing though. It's very helpful to see how people view the value of what I'm building versus their hard earned dollars. Fundamentally, this is the only pricing scheme that would make sense for me to continue development on this application and devote as much time to it as I am. I'm giving up a significant portion of my time to continue pushing development forward and I need to make sure that it makes sense for me personally if I want it to be something that isn't short-term.

StrangeDoctor
These are interesting questions but why should I pay you specifically?

It’s running on my hardware, openAI made the model, whisper.cpp keeps it updated. You legitimately solved an issue/problem making it easier to use and made a UI, but that’s not something I’m willing to pay monthly for.

You are an unknown and I have no idea if this will be kept up to date. Id pay for an OS update if something broke or you came out with a new set of features. But again you haven’t added monthly value.

cobrabyte
Same. Though, I can't even get it to work.
nchudleigh
Here are the most common set up issues:

1. Make sure that superwhisper is in the Applications folder

2. When you restart the application ensure that the accessibility prompt does not come up

3. Make sure your audio device is properly selected, you can test this by checking the file saved to Documents/superwhisper/output.wav has audio in it

maccaw
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!

xeor
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

nchudleigh
Hey if you're willing to pay that upfront I'll spin up a plan for it and send you a link.
xeor
I think many people in here are.. If it works well with Norwegian, is actually useful, can be used on both my personal computers, sure.. I think it would be worth this.

Why not think about it and make it a real plan for those who want it. Based on the comments, it seams like a blocker for many people.

spikey_sanju
Good job! But does double pressing Ctrl on a Mac activate the voiceover? What sets your app apart?
spdustin
I’m truly curious how many lifetime plans you’ve sold, since you added that option in response to comments here.