Looking for a fast, accurate, and private way to turn audio into text without paying upfront? WhisperUI Desktop offers a 3‑day free trial, runs locally on your computer, and delivers unlimited transcriptions, ideal for interviews, lectures, podcasts, and meeting notes. With GPU acceleration and native support for Apple Silicon, it’s built for speed while keeping your files on your device for enhanced privacy.

Why WhisperUI is a great transcription option

• 3‑day free trial on both Starter and Pro so you can transcribe without paying during the trial window.
• Local processing for privacy audio stays on your machine, avoiding third‑party services and lifting file size or duration limits for local jobs.
• Cross‑platform support for Windows and macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), with experimental acceleration using NVIDIA or AMD GPUs when available.
• Optimized for Apple Silicon (M1–M4) with Metal‑based acceleration and substantial speed improvements.
• Built on OpenAI’s Whisper models, offering multilingual support and robust accuracy even with accents and background noise.

WhisperUI Desktop Plans and Free Trial

WhisperUI Desktop provides two tiers with a 3‑day free trial; both run locally and offer unlimited transcriptions during local processing.

Both plans execute locally by default, support Windows and Mac, and offer experimental GPU acceleration for NVIDIA and AMD, with speed dependent on your hardware.

Local vs. Cloud Transcription

• Local mode: Runs entirely on your machine for maximum privacy and removes any file size or duration constraints for transcriptions.
• Cloud mode: Starter includes 300 minutes; Pro includes unlimited minutes, with daily job caps to manage throughput.
• Data handling: Uploaded files for cloud jobs are deleted by default after transcription, with an option to retain them securely if you prefer.

Apple Silicon Optimization and Model Choices

WhisperUI Desktop is optimized for Apple Silicon with up to roughly 3× faster transcriptions versus comparable Intel Macs, leveraging Metal‑based GPU acceleration and efficient background processing. You can choose from multiple Whisper model sizes to balance speed and accuracy tiny, base, small, large, large‑v2, large‑v3, and large‑v3‑turbo, depending on your workload. Transcripts can be exported to SRT for captions or TXT for notes and documents.

Supported Devices and Requirements

• OS: Windows 10/11 and macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon).
• Memory: Minimum 4GB RAM recommended for desktop use.
• GPUs: Experimental support for NVIDIA and AMD to accelerate transcription when available.

WhisperUI Web App (API‑Key Approach)

Prefer pay‑as‑you‑go in the browser using your own OpenAI account? WhisperUI’s web app uses OpenAI’s Whisper via API, supports MP3, MP4, WAV, and WEBM, generates SRT files, and bills you directly through OpenAI for usage, subject to a 25MB per‑job upload limit tied to the endpoint. This is a strong option if you want browser‑based transcription with API‑key billing.

Step‑by‑Step: Transcribe Audio to Text Free with WhisperUI Desktop

• Download WhisperUI Desktop and start the 3‑day free trial from the official page.
• Install on Windows or macOS; Apple Silicon Macs benefit from native optimization automatically.
• Launch the app and select Local Processing to keep files on‑device and lift file/duration limits.
• Pick a Whisper model for your needs: smaller models for speed, larger ones for accuracy. On Apple Silicon, large‑v3‑turbo is great for fast near‑real‑time use, while large‑v3 maximizes quality.
• Drag and drop your audio file into the app and enable GPU acceleration if your hardware supports it.
• Review the transcript, then export to SRT for captions or TXT for notes and documents.
• If you want cloud processing for convenience or multi‑device workflows, use your included minutes and daily job allocation according to your plan.

Tips to improve accuracy

• Choose larger models (e.g., large‑v3) for long‑form content or challenging audio; use tiny/base for quick notes when speed matters most.
• Turn on GPU acceleration when available to increase throughput without compromising quality.
• For noisy recordings, consider basic cleanup (e.g., light denoising) before transcription to help the model perform better.
• Export SRT to streamline video captioning workflows; use TXT for editing and content analysis.

Real‑world use cases and workflows

• Journalists and researchers: Batch‑transcribe interviews locally to maintain source confidentiality and remove upload limits for long recordings.
• Educators and students: Convert lectures to searchable notes and generate SRT captions for course videos to improve accessibility.
• Podcasters and producers: Use large‑v3 for polished episode transcripts and captions, then export TXT for show notes or SRT for YouTube uploads.
• Corporate teams: Keep meeting audio on‑device to meet compliance expectations while benefiting from GPU‑accelerated throughput on supported hardware.

Performance and model selection guide

Choosing the right model depends on your balance of speed and accuracy.

Apple Silicon devices benefit from Metal acceleration, making larger models more feasible without long waits.

Privacy and data handling

Local processing keeps audio and transcripts on your device, avoiding third‑party transfer and removing size/duration limits for local jobs. In cloud mode, uploaded files are deleted by default after transcription, with a setting to retain them securely if needed. This dual‑mode design lets you choose between maximum privacy and managed scalability per project.

File formats, languages, and exports

The web app supports popular formats including MP3, MP4, WAV, and WEBM via the Whisper API and can generate SRT files for captions. Whisper models are multilingual and perform well with accents and moderate background noise, making them suitable for international teams and diverse recording conditions. On desktop, export SRT for timed captions or TXT for document editing and analysis workflows.

Setup tips and troubleshooting

• GPU drivers: Ensure your NVIDIA or AMD drivers are updated to take advantage of experimental acceleration for faster transcriptions.
• Disk space: Allocate enough space for large media files and temporary caches when running larger models.
• Model switching: If accuracy dips on challenging audio, switch up to large‑v3; if speed is the priority, drop to small or base.
• API‑key billing (web): If using the web app, note the 25MB per‑job upload limit tied to the Whisper endpoint and plan accordingly.

FAQ

• Is the 3‑day trial truly unlimited for local runs? Yes, both Starter and Pro include unlimited local transcriptions during the trial window.
• Do I need internet for local mode? No, local processing runs fully on your machine; internet is only needed for cloud jobs or initial downloads.
• Can I use Apple Silicon GPUs? Yes, WhisperUI supports Metal‑based acceleration with notable speed gains on M‑series devices.
• What if I hit daily caps? Daily job caps apply to cloud mode only; local mode has no such limits on file size or duration.

Conclusion

WhisperUI’s 3‑day free trial offers an easy way to test high‑quality transcription with local privacy, unlimited runs, and hardware acceleration, especially on modern Macs with Apple Silicon. With flexible model selections, cross‑platform support, and optional cloud minutes, it covers everything from quick notes to broadcast‑ready captions.

Try WhisperUI Free

Start your 3‑day free trial of WhisperUI Desktop and transcribe unlimited files locally on Windows or Mac: https://whisperui.com/desktop