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HoldToType vs OpenWhispr
OpenWhispr is the open-source dictation app that grew a cloud: local models for free, cloud transcription and an agent mode on paid plans, apps for four systems. HoldToType has no cloud at all and no plans. Here is what each choice buys you.
Оновлено · Vitalii Yemets
Who each one is for
OpenWhispr suits you if
you want one app on Mac, Windows, Linux and iPhone, you like the option of cloud transcription when the laptop is slow, you want an agent that rewrites text on request, and you are happy to pay for those extras. The local mode is free and the code is open.
HoldToType suits you if
you want a program that cannot phone home even if you wanted it to: no account, no cloud tier, no telemetry. You are on Windows, you want live text, translation and a model per language, and you would rather run the editor model on your own disk than in someone's cloud.
Side by side
Free, no limits
Free with unlimited local models and 2,000 cloud words a week; Pro $6.67 a month billed yearly, $8 monthly; Business $13.33
None
For the cloud features
MIT
MIT
Windows 10 and 11
Mac, Windows, Linux; iPhone on Pro
Nowhere
Nowhere in local mode; to their cloud or to your own API key in cloud mode
Yes, always
Yes, with local models
Nine, one per language, or your own file
Whisper sizes and Parakeet locally; OpenAI and NVIDIA in the cloud
Yes, with Nemotron 3.5
Not in its feature list
A local model with your prompts, or a server you name
Agent mode: say what to do with the text; cloud, on paid plans
Yes, with replacements and voice commands
Yes, learned from your corrections
Into 7 languages
Not in its feature list
No
Yes, hours per month by plan
There is no side
Zero data retention, as stated
Not yet
Yes
OpenWhispr details from openwhispr.com read on 9 September 2026.
What you give up when you switch
- Mac, Linux and iPhone. OpenWhispr runs there; HoldToType does not.
- Cloud when you want it. On a slow laptop OpenWhispr can send a phrase to a big model in the cloud, or to your own API key. HoldToType never does; on weak hardware you pick a smaller model instead.
- Agent mode and meeting notes. OpenWhispr's paid plans rewrite on request and record meetings. HoldToType has post-processing prompts and nothing for meetings.
- A signed installer. HoldToType is not signed yet, so Windows warns once.
What you get
- No cloud to opt out of. There is no account, no tier and no switch that sends audio away. The privacy page and the program's log say the same thing: zero network requests per dictation.
- Live text on the plate while you speak, with Nemotron 3.5.
- A model per language, nine of them, switching by language, plus model files of your own.
- Translation into seven languages, on your disk.
- Editing on your disk with prompts you write, or on a server of yours; nothing is behind a plan.
- A portable folder. Copy it, delete it, nothing else on the system.
How to move from OpenWhispr to HoldToType
- Download from the download section or the portable archive from releases.
- Pick a model in the wizard; Whisper and Parakeet are the same models you had, and the models page explains the others.
- Set your keys under Shortcuts, or keep Ctrl+Win.
- Type the names OpenWhispr had learned into the dictionary.
- If you used agent mode for cleaning up, turn on post-processing: the built-in prompts cover fillers, punctuation and tone, and you can write your own.
- Nothing conflicts; keep OpenWhispr on the phone if you like it there.
Questions
Are they the same kind of program?
Close: both are open-source push-to-talk dictation with local Whisper and Parakeet. The difference is what sits around the model. OpenWhispr adds accounts, cloud tiers and mobile apps; HoldToType adds live text, translation, a model per language and a local editor, and refuses to add a cloud.
Is OpenWhispr's local mode private too?
In local mode the audio stays on the computer, as far as their site says. HoldToType's difference is that there is no other mode.
Can I use my own API key with HoldToType?
For recognition, no: speech is always local. For post-processing, yes: point the editor at any API you name, and then your text, not your voice, goes there.
Try it next to OpenWhispr
Same open models, no cloud behind them. A minute to install, nothing to sign up for.