MacWhisper alternative: local processing and a service, side by side
MacWhisper is a desktop application for the Mac: it runs Whisper, Parakeet and other models on your own machine, so the audio never leaves it. Transcrib Si is a service in the browser: you upload a file, and the text comes back with timecodes and speakers, ready for a script, an agent or a DOCX. The two solve the same problem for different machines and different rules.
What we compared, and how
Everything in the other column was read from public pages on 21 October 2026. Where a page could not be read, the cell says “not measured” — we do not fill those cells from advertising or from memory. Our own column comes from our pricing page, our service contract and our privacy policy, all published on this site.
| What | Transcrib Si | MacWhisper | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | a web service and REST API that transcribes the files you upload | a desktop application for macOS that transcribes audio, video, meetings and system audio locally, with Whisper, Parakeet and other models | the home pages of both services, read on 21 October 2026 |
| Where the audio is processed | on our own transcription infrastructure outside the United States for Russian and mixed files, and on a third-party cloud speech provider in the United States for a purely English file when that fallback is enabled on the server | locally on your Mac — that is the central claim of the product | our privacy policy; macwhisper.com description, read on 21 October 2026 |
| Free plan | $0: 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes and 64 MB per file, timestamps and speaker labels, exports to TXT, Markdown, SRT, VTT and CSV, no card | a free version of the application, with a paid Pro option distributed through Gumroad and the Mac App Store | our pricing page; macwhisper.com description, read on 21 October 2026 |
| Paid plan | Pro $10 a month paid yearly ($120 a year) or $20 a month paid monthly; Team on request | not measured — the /pricing page did not load on 21 October 2026; an earlier survey of 21 September 2026 recorded a one-time licence of $30–64, and that figure was not confirmed on 21 October 2026 | our pricing page; macwhisper.com/pricing, read on 21 October 2026 |
| Supported platforms | any browser on any system — Windows, macOS, Linux, a phone | macOS only | our pricing page; macwhisper.com, read on 21 October 2026 |
| Models | one engine, tuned for Russian and for mixed Russian-English speech; the language is set by you or detected | Whisper, Parakeet and other models; the user chooses the model and the settings | our llms.txt; macwhisper.com description, read on 21 October 2026 |
| Transcription languages | 2 — Russian and English, with automatic detection | multilingual by model; the number of languages was not measured on 21 October 2026 | our llms.txt; macwhisper.com, read on 21 October 2026 |
| Longest single file | 120 minutes and 64 MB on every plan, including Team and the API | not measured — the limit depends on the model and the machine | our service contract |
| Export formats | 6 — TXT, Markdown, SRT, VTT, CSV, DOCX (DOCX is a Pro feature) | export exists; the list of formats was not measured on 21 October 2026 | our pricing page |
| API, MCP and agent plugins | REST v1 under api.transcrib.si, an MCP server with 4 tools, plugins for Claude and ChatGPT | not measured on 21 October 2026 — the product is a desktop application | our llms.txt |
| Team features | Team plan on request: shared workspaces, a shared glossary, SSO, user management, a committed volume | none — a desktop application is a single-machine tool | our pricing page; macwhisper.com, read on 21 October 2026 |
| Machine-readable facts | llms.txt, llms-full.txt and JSON-LD with the prices and the limits | none — llms.txt and llms-full.txt answer 404, the sitemap of the site holds 7 URLs and the documentation site returned 404 in our snapshot | the llms.txt and the sitemap of both sites, read on 21 October 2026 |
Where MacWhisper is better
- Local processing. The audio never leaves the Mac — for a file that must not go to any server, that is the whole argument, and it is a good one.
- The models are yours to choose: Whisper, Parakeet and others, with the settings under your control.
- A one-time purchase instead of a subscription, according to an earlier survey of 21 September 2026; the price was not confirmed on 21 October 2026.
- It records meetings and system audio, not just files you already have.
- No account, no quota and no per-minute accounting: it is an application, not a service.
Where Transcrib Si is better
- Any platform. Any browser, any system, and a phone — MacWhisper is macOS only, and the macOS user still needs to buy and install it.
- The text arrives in a pipeline: a REST API under api.transcrib.si/v1, an MCP server with 4 tools, plugins for Claude and ChatGPT, and six export formats including DOCX and CSV.
- A stated allowance and a stated limit: 1,500 minutes of audio per calendar month on Pro, 64 MB and 120 minutes per file on every plan.
- Team work: shared workspaces, a shared glossary, SSO and user management on the Team plan.
- Machine-readable facts about the service: llms.txt, llms-full.txt and JSON-LD with our prices and limits.
Who should pick which
- Pick MacWhisper if the file must not leave the machine — a confidential recording, a legal interview, a patient conversation, a source that cannot be uploaded anywhere.
- Pick Transcrib Si if you need the text on another platform, if you need a shared workspace, or if the transcript has to arrive inside a script or an agent.
- Pick MacWhisper if you like choosing the model and tuning the parameters yourself.
- Pick Transcrib Si if you would rather not install an application and keep the device: it runs in the browser and works from a phone.
- Pick either if you need Russian and English: our engine is tuned for Russian and for mixed Russian-English speech, and we publish the number of languages instead of a phrase.
When a MacWhisper alternative is the right move
Local processing is a real advantage and we will not argue with it. If a recording cannot be uploaded to any server — a patient, a client, a source, a witness — then an application that never sends the audio anywhere is exactly right. Nothing on this page changes that.
There are three situations where the local application is the wrong tool anyway. The first is the platform: MacWhisper is macOS only, so a team on Windows or Linux cannot use it, and a person who wants to transcribe from a phone cannot either. The second is the pipeline: a desktop application gives you a file on your disk, and anything downstream — a script, a CRM, a notebook, an agent — has to be wired up by hand, one person at a time. The third is the sharing: a local application has no accounts, no workspaces and no way for a colleague to open the transcript you made.
One more thing we will not paper over: we could not measure MacWhisper's current price. The /pricing page did not load for us on 21 October 2026, and an earlier survey of 21 September 2026 recorded a one-time licence of $30–64 through Gumroad and the Mac App Store. That figure was not confirmed on 21 October 2026, so treat it as an earlier reading and check the store yourself.
How to move if you switch
The formats on the MacWhisper side were not measured on 21 October 2026 either, so export your transcripts from the application before you stop using it. Then:
- Export the text you need from the application while it is still installed.
- Keep the audio file. It is the master copy, and a transcript can always be redone from it.
- Upload the file to Transcrib Si from any browser: mp3, wav, m4a, mp4, webm, ogg, flac, aac, wma or mov, up to 64 MB and 120 minutes per file on every plan.
- Set the language, or leave it on automatic detection, and turn on speaker separation when more than one voice is on the recording.
- Take the result out as TXT, Markdown, SRT, VTT, CSV, or DOCX on Pro — or call the API and skip the copy-paste.
What we could not measure about MacWhisper
On 21 October 2026: the current price and the limits, the number of transcription languages, the list of export formats, the API and the JSON-LD. The site has only 7 URLs in its sitemap, llms.txt and llms-full.txt answer 404, and the documentation site returned 404 in our snapshot. Its marketing site is small, and its documentation is where the details live.
Put a file on the page and read the first lines.
The widget below is the same one as on the home page: file → transcript with timecodes and speakers → export. Sign in and the transcript moves into your account.
Drop an audio or video file
or — mp3, wav, m4a, mp4, up to 64 MB and two hours
Transcription runs without an account: sign in to keep the text, the history and the exports.
No account yet? The free plan needs no card. Create a free account or sign in.
Questions this page answers.
Is MacWhisper cheaper than Transcrib Si?
We could not confirm MacWhisper's price on 21 October 2026 — the /pricing page did not load for us, and an earlier survey of 21 September 2026 recorded a one-time licence of $30–64. Our Pro is $10 a month paid yearly ($120 a year) or $20 a month paid monthly, and the free plan is $0 with no card. Compare a one-time licence against a year of subscription on your own volume.
Does MacWhisper send my audio to a server?
That is the claim of the product: it transcribes audio, video, meetings and system audio locally on your Mac, using Whisper, Parakeet and other models. We cannot audit the application, so we report the claim and not a verdict. Our own answer is published in the privacy policy: a Russian or mixed file is processed on our own infrastructure outside the United States, and a purely English file may be passed to a third-party cloud speech provider in the United States when that fallback is enabled on the server.
Which languages do you support?
Russian and English, with automatic detection; the answer states which source was used. MacWhisper's multilingualism comes from the models you choose, and the number of languages was not measured on 21 October 2026.
Does Transcrib Si work on a Mac?
It works in any browser, on any system, including a Mac — and on a phone, which is where most voice memos come from. There is nothing to install and nothing to update.
Can I use Transcrib Si inside Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes — a plugin for each, both going through the same MCP server: transcribe_audio, summarize_transcript, extract_actions and list_transcripts.
Related pages.
The same two, compared row by row.
The other file-based transcription service.
An editor against a transcription service.
Short recordings and what they cost.
Our plans, limits and fair-use rule in full.
Where a file is processed and how long it is kept.
Mark Burmistrov, Founder.
Every number on this page comes from the service contract, the pricing page or our own measurements. The author of the page and the publisher of the site are the same person. Questions and corrections: support@transcrib.si.