Download for Mac
Version 4.7.67 · Chirp-4.7.67-universal.dmg
One Download for Every Recent Mac
Chirp ships as a single universal app that runs natively on Apple Silicon (M-series) and Intel Macs. On Apple Silicon, speech recognition runs on the GPU through Metal, so a short dictation is usually transcribed in well under a second. Intel Macs run the same engine on the CPU and take a little longer.
System Requirements
- macOS 13 (Ventura) or later
- Apple Silicon or Intel processor
- About 53 MB download (the app includes its speech model, so there is nothing else to fetch)
- A working microphone (built-in or external)
Installation
Chirp comes as a signed and notarized .dmg. Open it, drag Chirp to your Applications folder, and launch it. On first launch Chirp walks you through the permissions it needs:
- Microphone — so Chirp can hear you.
- Accessibility — so Chirp can detect the Fn key and paste the transcript into the app you are using.
macOS may also ask whether Chirp can control “System Events”; that is how it sends the paste keystroke. You can change any of these later in System Settings > Privacy & Security.
The Fn Key
Press Fn once to start recording, speak, and press Fn again to stop. Option+M does the same thing, and you can change that second shortcut in Settings > Keyboard. Chirp plays a short sound when it starts and stops, then pastes the text wherever your cursor is. The text is also left on your clipboard. A single recording can run for up to 5 minutes; Chirp counts down the last 20 seconds and then stops on its own.
Menu Bar
Chirp keeps an icon in the menu bar that changes while you are recording, so you always know whether it is listening. You can also turn on a small floating record button if you prefer clicking to pressing a key.
Private by Design
Transcription happens entirely on your Mac using whisper.cpp and a bundled English Whisper model (ggml-tiny.en-q5_0, about 30 MB). Your audio is never uploaded, and the recording is deleted as soon as it has been transcribed. The text goes into a local, searchable history that you can export to CSV or delete entry by entry. There is no account and no analytics. The only network traffic is an update check when the app launches and, once you have a paid license, a license check about once a day.
Features
- On-device transcription, no internet needed to dictate
- Auto-paste into any app, plus a copy on the clipboard
- Searchable local history with CSV export and word-count stats
- Start, stop and paste sounds
- Light, Dark, Vampire and System themes
- Automatic updates
Limitations
- English only.
- The bundled model is small and fast. It is accurate for clear speech but makes more mistakes with heavy accents, specialist jargon and background noise than larger models do.
- Recordings are capped at 5 minutes each.
For a fuller picture, including how Chirp compares with Apple Dictation and other apps, read our guide to private, offline dictation on Mac and Windows and the round-up of the best offline speech-to-text apps. Side-by-side comparisons: Chirp vs macOS Dictation, MacWhisper, Superwhisper and Wispr Flow. Recent changes are in the changelog.
Pricing
Chirp comes with 28 free transcriptions — no account and no time limit. After that, a $9.99/year license unlocks unlimited transcriptions on up to 5 devices.