Transcription models
wispa can transcribe with local models that run on your device or cloud models that use your own API key. Here is the full lineup.
3 min read
The model is what turns your voice into text. wispa gives you two kinds: models that run on your device, and cloud models you reach with your own API key. Each mode picks one.
On-device models
Whisper runs locally in sizes from Tiny to Large, plus a Turbo build, so you can trade speed for accuracy. Parakeet runs through Apple MLX and is very fast on Apple Silicon Macs, in a multilingual version and a lighter English one. With any local model your audio is transcribed and discarded on your computer, offline if you want.
Cloud models
OpenAI offers whisper-1 and the newer gpt-4o-transcribe and gpt-4o-mini-transcribe. Groq runs whisper-large-v3-turbo very fast. Cloud models need an internet connection and your own API key, and your audio is sent to that provider.
| Model | Where it runs | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Whisper Tiny to Base | On your device | Fast and light, low-resource machines |
| Whisper Small to Large | On your device | Higher accuracy, fully offline |
| Parakeet | On your device (Apple Silicon) | Very fast on a Mac, multilingual or English |
| OpenAI | Cloud, your key | Top accuracy without a download |
| Groq | Cloud, your key | Very low-latency cloud transcription |
FAQ
Questions and answers
Which model is the default?
A local Whisper Base model is the recommended starting point. It downloads quickly and transcribes well on most machines without sending audio anywhere.
Can I use different models for different tasks?
Yes. Each mode sets its own model, so you might use a fast local model for quick notes and a cloud model for long, accuracy-critical dictation.
Is Parakeet better than Whisper?
They are both strong on-device options. Parakeet runs through Apple MLX and is very fast on Apple Silicon, while a large Whisper model can edge it on accuracy. Both keep your audio on your Mac.