Open-source transcription that costs $0.02/hour instead of $30/month
I built Whispering because I believe transcription is too fundamental a tool to be locked behind paywalls. It's a cross-platform desktop and web transcription app that turns speech into text with a keyboard shortcut, among other things. The app lets you bring your own API key (OpenAI, Groq, etc.) and make direct calls. If you want complete privacy, it also supports local transcription. Either way, your audio never goes through any middleman servers. It's super lightweight (~22MB), built with Svelte 5 and Tauri, and works on Mac, Windows, and Linux. I've been using it daily for the past few…
Open-source transcription that costs $0.02/hour instead of $30/month launched on July 7, 2025 with 7 votes, #3,844 of 9,223 launches that month and more than 75% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 1 year on.
What it does
⚠️ Moved to EpicenterHQ/epicenter—see README for redirect - braden-w/whispering
Whispering is now part of Epicenter , an ecosystem of local-first, open-source apps. Everything else remains the same—same tools, same philosophy, samefrom github.com
In the maker’s words, at launch
I built Whispering because I believe transcription is too fundamental a tool to be locked behind paywalls. It's a cross-platform desktop and web transcription app that turns speech into text with a keyboard shortcut, among other things. The app lets you bring your own API key (OpenAI, Groq, etc.) and make direct…
Does a similar job
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Whispering – Open-source, local-first dictation you can trust2025 · github.com · ▲591Hey HN! Braden here, creator of Whispering, an open-source speech-to-text app. I really like dictation. For years, I relied on transcription tools that were almost good, but they were all closed-source. Even a lot of them that claimed to be “local” or “on-device” were still black boxes that left me wondering where my audio really went. So I built Whispering. It’s open-source, local-first, and most importantly, transparent with your data. Your data is stored locally on your device, and your audio goes directly from your machine to a local provider (Whisper C++, Speaches, etc.) or your chosen…


I made a free transcription service powered by Whisper AI2022 · freesubtitles.ai · ▲224Free AI transcription: convert video and audio to text, translate into 120 languages, download SRT, VTT, ASS or TXT, or export the video with subtitles on it.
Whisper Buddy2025 · whisperbuddy.com · ▲21I was laid off recently and, instead of looking for another job right away, I decided to build something I always wanted: a transcription tool that respects user privacy. Existing transcription tools often require internet connectivity, send your private audio to cloud servers, or lock you into monthly subscriptions. I wanted something different—so I built WhisperBuddy, a privacy-first AI transcription app that runs entirely on your machine. WhisperBuddy uses OpenAI’s Whisper model (see: https://github.com/openai/whisper). While the model may not always deliver the…
- 01$0.15/hr audio transcription API based on OpenAI Whisper2022 · whisperapi.com · ▲8
Hey HN! I've been working on a side project to create an audio transcription API based on the OpenAI whisper model. Sign up link: https://whisperapi.com I tried to make the API really easy to use and get setup with. Also, because the Whisper model is so good, turns out I can offer the service for about 75% cheaper than what seems like the industry average. I'm always looking to make improvements, so would appreciate any feedback anyone has!
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Source: Show HN post ↗ · launch text quoted in part
Launched alongside, July 2025
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