Preview. These maps are our reading of public sources and haven't been checked with the projects' maintainers yet.
Plainsay
12 MB native Mac dictation app with free local Whisper and Parakeet, optional AI 'Polishing', and an optional $4/month hosted cloud.
v0.2.38 released 2026-10-09; last push 2026-10-16 (gh api). (checked 2026-10-25)
In Voice dictation apps
Where it stands apart
- Do you need an account to use it? optional account (5% of 19 others)
- If you use cloud speech or AI, how is it paid for? either the maker's cloud or your own key (14% of 21 others)
What it shares with most of the community
- Is it actively maintained? active (100% of 21 others)
- Can it run entirely on your own device or infrastructure, without the maker's servers? yes (57% of 21 others)
- Who is it for? non-developers (76% of 21 others)
- Where does speech recognition happen by default? on your device by default (65% of 20 others)
- Which open speech models can it run on your device? several model families (e.g. Whisper and Parakeet) (53% of 17 others)
- Does it also record meetings or calls? no (52% of 21 others)
Not documented
The public sources we read don't say:
- Which shared standard or format does it mainly build on?
Nearest neighbors
- Dictámelo 79% of 14 shared answers match
- BetterWispr 64% of 14 shared answers match
- Handy 64% of 14 shared answers match
Every answer
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Is it actively maintained? | active | source 2026-10-26 |
| How is the main thing licensed? | permissive open source (MIT/Apache/BSD) MIT-licensed client; the optional Plainsay Cloud service is closed. | source 2026-10-26 |
| How is it mainly sustained? | individual with revenue (paid app, tier, ads, or donations) | source 2026-10-26 |
| Can it run entirely on your own device or infrastructure, without the maker's servers? | yes | source 2026-10-26 |
| Do you need an account to use it? | stands apart optional account Only Plainsay Cloud needs an account. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Who is it for? | non-developers | source 2026-10-26 |
| Which shared standard or format does it mainly build on? | Not documented Offers Whisper (WhisperKit) and Parakeet (FluidAudio) as equal local engines; no single main one. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Where does speech recognition happen by default? | on your device by default | source 2026-10-26 |
| Which open speech models can it run on your device? | several model families (e.g. Whisper and Parakeet) | source 2026-10-26 |
| Does it use an AI model to clean up or rewrite your dictated text, and where does that run? | AI rewrite on device or in the cloud, your choice | source 2026-10-26 |
| If you use cloud speech or AI, how is it paid for? | stands apart either the maker's cloud or your own key | source 2026-10-26 |
| What is the main way users pay the maker? | a subscription, credits, or usage fees Free local mode; Plainsay Cloud is US$4/month. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Where does it run? | Mac only | source 2026-10-26 |
| Does it also record meetings or calls? | no | source 2026-10-26 |
| Is 'your voice never leaves your device' the headline promise? | one of several selling points Leads with size and speed; local/private is one of several claims. | source 2026-10-26 |
Sources
This page was derived from:
- GitHub · github.com/conrader/plainsay · read 2026-10-25
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