Pines Voice vs MacWhisper
Both run speech models on your Mac, and both can type into any app. They are built around different jobs. MacWhisper centres on transcribing recordings: meetings, interviews, podcasts, files. Pines Voice centres on one thing, talking into the app in front of you.
Facts about other apps checked on their own sites on 25 September 2026.
The facts side by side
| Pines Voice | MacWhisper | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. The whole app, with a Pines Rocks account. | Free tier with the smaller models. Pro is €64, paid once, with updates included. |
| Built for | Dictation into the app in front of you. | Transcribing files and meetings, plus dictation into any app. |
| Offline | Yes, by default. Parakeet or whisper.cpp on your Mac. | Yes. Local models on your Mac. |
| Cloud | Optional, on your own OpenAI, Groq or OpenRouter key. | Not needed for transcription. |
| Platforms | macOS 12 or newer, Apple silicon. | macOS. |
| Output | Text at your cursor, and a log on your Mac. | Text in any app, and exports as .srt, .vtt, .txt, .md, .docx and more. |
What MacWhisper does well
- Recordings
- Drag in audio or video, transcribe many files at once, and export subtitles or documents.
- Meetings
- Records online meetings on the Mac itself, with no bot joining the call.
- Automation
- A command line, watched folders, and hooks into Notion, Zapier, n8n and Make.
- Languages
- More than 100 languages, with speaker recognition and filler removal.
- A free tier
- The smaller models and basic transcription at no cost.
Where Pines Voice fits
- One gesture
- Hold the right Option key, speak, let go. The words land at the caret in Mail, Slack, VS Code, Terminal or anything else with a cursor.
- Two engines
- Parakeet by default, or three Whisper models on the Mac’s GPU. Switch in Settings.
- Your own key
- For a cloud model, add your own OpenAI, Groq or OpenRouter key and see what each dictation cost.
- Your words
- A dictionary spells names and jargon your way every time.
Pick MacWhisper if most of your audio is already recorded. Pick Pines Voice if you mostly talk straight into the app you are working in.
Questions people ask
Is Pines Voice a MacWhisper alternative?
For live dictation, yes. Pines Voice types what you say into any Mac app, offline by default. It does not transcribe audio or video files. For recordings, MacWhisper is the tool built for the job.
Does Pines Voice use Whisper?
Yes. Pines Voice runs whisper.cpp on the Mac’s GPU through Metal, with three Whisper models to choose from. The default engine on a fresh install is Parakeet, which also runs on the Mac.
Can Pines Voice transcribe a file?
No. Pines Voice is for dictation: hold the right Option key, speak, and the words land at your cursor.
How much does Pines Voice cost?
Nothing. Pines Voice is free, the whole app. You sign in with Google or email to use it.