Vlocal, local AI voice dictation and meeting transcription on Mac
Live, on your Mac, and nowhere else.
Dictate in all your apps. Mail, ChatGPT, Notion, your code editor, everywhere on your Mac.
Dictate anywhere. The text inserts itself.
One shortcut, you speak, and the text appears right at the cursor, in any app. Mail, Notion, your code editor, a search box. No copy-paste, no window to aim at.
- Global shortcut, everywhere on the Mac
- French and English, automatic punctuation
- Glossary for your proper nouns and jargon
Your meetings, transcribed and attributed.
Who said what. Vlocal separates the voices, "who speaks when", and lets you name each speaker. Transcribe a meeting locally, from a quick note to a long committee, and keep a faithful record, on your Mac. Meeting transcription is in beta, already useful day to day, and refined continuously.
- Diarization: automatic separation of voices (who speaks when)
- Named speakers, transcription attributed to each one
- Faithful transcription, easy to reread and export
Hi Raph, do you have a moment to catch up on the project?
Yes of course, go ahead.
Great. Shall we start with the quarter's numbers?
Say it. Vlocal remembers.
While you dictate, drop in a reminder. Vlocal notes it and alerts you right on time, without sending anything.
By voice, while you dictate
"Remind me to call Paul at 6pm" is enough. No form, no app to open.
Native notification, right on time
A real macOS notification from Vlocal arrives at the right moment, even when the app is idle.
Reminders in French. Notification right on time, no catch-up if the app is quit.
What you say stays with you.
No server. No network call. The model runs on your Mac's GPU. Your transcriptions and your audio never leave the machine.
Still working. Dictation runs, offline.
Zero cloud
Everything is computed locally. No third-party account, no uploads.
Offline
Turn off wifi: Vlocal works exactly the same.
Yours alone
Your meeting audio and your transcriptions never leave the disk.
A real app.
Not a gimmick.
Your dictations, meetings and reminders brought together in a clear dashboard. Everything is computed and stored on your Mac.
Real numbers, updated continuously from the installations that agree to share them.
Dictation and meetings.
Local, without breaking the bank.
Vlocal is a macOS app for voice dictation and meeting transcription that runs 100% locally on Apple Silicon Macs: no data sent to the internet, no API costs. Free and open source.
Comparison compiled in June 2026 from the vendors' public offerings; subject to change. Competitor prices are indicative (excluding limited free plans), converted to euros. Among these solutions, Vlocal is the only one that combines dictation, diarized meetings and 100% local processing.
Free.
Open source.
Unlimited dictation and meetings, diarization, reminders. No subscription, no quota, no API cost: everything runs on your Mac. The code is public, under the AGPL-3.0 license.
Compatible only with Apple Silicon Macs (M1 to M5) running macOS 11+. Not compatible with Windows or Intel Macs.
- Unlimited voice dictation
- Meetings & diarization beta
- 100% local, offline
- Updates included
- Full source code on GitHub
- Read what the app sends, and what it does not
- Contributions welcome
- Commercial license for companies, on request
Why free? Vlocal is a personal project that became useful to others. At install time, the app asks who you are, then sends once a day the time it saves you. You can decline. Exactly what is sent.
Everything you're
wondering about.
Does Vlocal really work offline, with no internet?
Yes. The transcription models run on your Mac's GPU. You can turn off wifi and Vlocal works exactly the same. No connection is needed after installation.
Do my dictations and meetings stay private?
Yes, by design. Nothing is sent to the internet: no server, no cloud, no third-party API. Your audio and transcriptions never leave your Mac.
Which Macs are compatible with Vlocal?
Vlocal works on Apple Silicon Macs (M1 to M5) running macOS 11 or later. It is not compatible with Windows or Intel Macs.
Does Vlocal work in both French and English?
Yes. Dictation and transcription support both French and English.
What's the difference with Wispr Flow, Superwhisper or Otter?
Vlocal combines cursor dictation, meeting transcription with speaker identification, and voice reminders, all 100% local. Unlike cloud solutions such as Wispr Flow or Otter, nothing travels over the internet, and Vlocal is free and open source.
Are there usage costs, quotas or API fees?
No. Everything is computed locally, so there are no API costs and no quotas. You dictate and transcribe as much as you want, at no cost.
Can you transcribe a meeting and know who is speaking?
Yes. Vlocal separates the voices (diarization) and attributes each passage to a speaker, locally. This feature is in beta, already useful day to day.
How do you dictate in any application?
Hold the Ctrl and Cmd shortcut, speak, and the text is inserted right where your cursor is: Mail, Notion, your browser or your code editor.
Is Vlocal really 100% local?
Yes. Transcription runs on your Mac's Apple Silicon GPU, no server is called. Turn off wifi: Vlocal works exactly the same. Your audio and your text never leave the machine.
Is Vlocal a good alternative to Superwhisper or Wispr Flow?
Yes. Vlocal combines cursor dictation, meeting transcription with speaker identification, and voice reminders, all 100% local, free and open source. Unlike cloud solutions, nothing travels over the internet.
How do you transcribe a meeting without the cloud?
Open the Meetings tab and start the transcription: everything is computed locally and diarization separates the voices (who speaks when). Nothing is uploaded. This feature is in beta, already useful day to day.
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Vlocal is made for you?
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Take back control
of your voice.
Dictation, meetings and reminders. On your Mac, and nowhere else.
Download Vlocal