Gabble vs OpenWhispr: two free local dictation apps

OpenWhispr and Gabble start from the same idea: dictation that runs on your own computer and costs nothing. They then go in different directions. OpenWhispr is an open source, cross-platform app that has grown into dictation plus notes, meetings and an AI agent. Gabble is a Mac menu bar app that does dictation and file transcription and stops there.

At a glance

OpenWhispr details come from its GitHub repository, website and pricing page.

Where OpenWhispr is the better choice

You want open source. OpenWhispr is MIT licensed, free for personal and commercial use, and you can read every line. Gabble is closed source for now. If auditing the code matters to you, that settles it.

You are not on an Apple Silicon Mac. OpenWhispr runs on Intel Macs, Windows and Linux. Gabble runs on none of them. Note that OpenWhispr's README says live speaker identification is unavailable on Intel Macs.

You want meetings and notes in the same app. OpenWhispr has meeting transcription with speaker diarization, notes with semantic search, and team spaces. Gabble has none of that.

You want a cloud option. OpenWhispr lets you switch between local models and hosted transcription. Gabble has no cloud transcription.

You want more AI providers. OpenWhispr lists GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Groq, Tinfoil, OpenRouter and local models. Gabble supports Ollama, Anthropic, and anything that speaks the OpenAI API format.

You want to build on it. OpenWhispr has a public API and MCP support. Gabble has neither.

You need translation or a wider language list. OpenWhispr advertises 100+ languages with auto-detection, and translation. Gabble's default model covers 25 European languages, and its largest Whisper model covers 99. Gabble does not translate.

You want something with a track record. OpenWhispr is past version 1.10. Gabble is at 0.1.

Where Gabble is the better choice

You want a small tool that only does dictation. Gabble is a menu bar app with a floating waveform pill. There are no notes, no workspaces and no agent to learn. OpenWhispr is built on Electron and covers a lot more ground. Whether that is a plus depends on what you want open on your Mac all day.

You want modes that follow the app you are in. Gabble has per-app rules: Email mode in Mail, Message in Slack, Developer in Xcode, VS Code and Terminal. You can add custom modes with your own prompt. We could not find per-app modes described on OpenWhispr's pages, so check its current docs if this matters to you.

You use voice snippets. Say a trigger and Gabble pastes a block of text. Again, we did not find an equivalent described on the OpenWhispr pages we read.

You want no tiers to think about. Gabble has no account, no sign-in, no paid plan and no feature that unlocks later. OpenWhispr's local dictation is also free and needs no account, but its cloud features, sync and team spaces are tied to sign-in or to paid plans.

You want Core ML models. Gabble runs Parakeet through FluidAudio and Whisper through WhisperKit, both on Core ML. OpenWhispr runs Whisper through whisper.cpp and Parakeet through sherpa-onnx. We have not benchmarked one against the other and make no speed or accuracy claim here. It is a difference in approach, and you can try both for free.

How do they compare on privacy?

For local dictation, the two are close.

OpenWhispr's README says that in local mode your audio never leaves your device, and that the app has no data collection and no telemetry. If you choose cloud transcription, audio goes to the provider. The website describes cloud mode as optional, with data deleted after transcription. Because the code is open, you can check all of this yourself.

Gabble has only the local path. Audio is held in memory, transcribed on the Mac, and never written to disk or uploaded. History is local JSON with a retention setting (forever, 30 days, 7 days, or do not save). If you enable AI cleanup with a cloud API key, the transcript text goes to that provider and audio does not. With Ollama, nothing leaves the machine. API keys are stored in the macOS Keychain.

The trade is simple. OpenWhispr gives you proof through source code. Gabble gives you fewer ways to send data out by accident, because there is no cloud transcription switch to flip. You have to take our word for the rest until the source is published.

What does each one cost?

Gabble is free, with no paid version.

OpenWhispr prices as of October 2026, from openwhispr.com/pricing:

• Free: $0. Unlimited local models. Hosted cloud transcription limited to 2,000 words a week, and 5 hours of meeting recordings a month.
• Pro: $80 per user per year. Unlimited cloud transcription, 20 hours of meeting recordings a month, sync across devices.
• Business: $160 per user per year. Unlimited meeting recordings and chat over your data.
• Enterprise: custom, with SSO, SAML and SCIM.

If you stay on local models, both apps cost nothing. Check the pricing page before relying on these numbers.

Verdict

OpenWhispr is the better pick for most people who care about open source, for anyone on Windows, Linux or an Intel Mac, and for anyone who wants meetings and notes alongside dictation.

Gabble makes sense if you are on an Apple Silicon Mac and want a narrower tool: hold a key, talk, get text, with modes that switch per app and snippets for things you say often. Both are free, so the honest advice is to install both and keep the one you reach for. You can download Gabble here.

For more options, see free and local alternatives to Wispr Flow, Gabble vs VoiceInk, or the full Mac dictation roundup.

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenWhispr really free?

Local transcription in OpenWhispr is free and unlimited, and the code is MIT licensed. Its hosted cloud transcription is capped at 2,000 words a week on the free plan, with paid Pro and Business plans above that, as of October 2026.

Is Gabble open source like OpenWhispr?

No. Gabble is closed source for now. OpenWhispr is open source under the MIT licence, so if you need to read or modify the code, OpenWhispr is the one to choose.

Do Gabble and OpenWhispr both work offline?

Both can transcribe on your own machine. Gabble only works that way. OpenWhispr lets you choose between local models and cloud transcription.

Does Gabble run on Intel Macs, Windows or Linux?

No. Gabble needs an Apple Silicon Mac on macOS 14 or later. OpenWhispr supports Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, Windows and Linux.

Which is better for meeting transcription?

OpenWhispr. It has meeting transcription with speaker diarization. Gabble does not record meetings or label speakers.