On-device means on-device
Jarvis transcribes locally using a Whisper-derived model optimized for Apple Silicon. The audio is processed in memory on your Mac and is never uploaded, never stored on a server, and never used to train anything. Because Jarvis is open source, you can verify that for yourself.
It works with no connection
Turn off Wi-Fi and dictation still works exactly the same. On a plane, on a train, in a building with no signal, or in a network-restricted office, you get the same sub-300ms transcription as online. Nothing degrades when you go offline because nothing depended on the network in the first place.
Why offline is also faster
Cloud dictation has to send your audio to a server and wait for the text to come back. On-device skips that entire round-trip, so on an M3 Pro Jarvis returns text in well under 300ms from hotkey release. Local is not a privacy compromise on speed, it is usually quicker.
Privacy posture
For sensitive work, the default matters. With Jarvis, dictation audio and your memory stay on your Mac, so there is no third-party transcript of your day. You only send anything to the cloud if you deliberately enable an optional cloud model with your own API key, and even then you choose which task. Compare that to cloud dictation in Jarvis vs Wispr Flow.
Accuracy without the cloud
Running locally does not mean lower quality. Jarvis transcribes at about 3.1% word error rate on technical English, in the same range as the best cloud apps, and noticeably better than Apple Dictation's roughly 6.8% on jargon. See the full benchmarks in the best AI voice assistant for Mac.
Works in every app, offline
Press a hotkey, speak, release, and the text lands wherever your cursor is, Mail, Notes, Slack, Notion, Docs, VS Code, anywhere, with or without internet. For the broader feature, see voice to text on Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a speech to text app for Mac that works offline?
Yes. Jarvis runs transcription on-device, so it works with no internet connection and the audio never leaves your Mac. It is free and open source, and supports Apple Silicon (M1 to M4) and Intel Macs on macOS 12 or later.
Does Apple Dictation work offline?
Apple's on-device and Enhanced Dictation can work offline once the language model is downloaded, but it still caps phrases around 50 words and is less accurate on technical speech. Jarvis is fully on-device with no phrase limit.
Is offline dictation as accurate as cloud dictation?
Yes, at the top end. Jarvis runs around 3.1% word error rate on technical English locally, comparable to the best cloud apps and better than Apple Dictation. Running on-device mainly trades a server round-trip for lower latency, not accuracy.
Does my voice get sent anywhere?
No. With Jarvis, audio is processed in memory on your Mac and never uploaded or stored on a server. Because the app is open source, you can confirm it. Data only leaves your Mac if you opt into an optional cloud model with your own API key.
Will offline dictation drain my battery or slow my Mac?
On Apple Silicon the model is light enough that dictation uses a few hundred megabytes of RAM during transcription and finishes in well under a second, so day-to-day impact is small. It only works while you are actively dictating.