Kana as a VoiceInk alternative
An open-source Mac dictation app running speech models locally, now Parakeet and WhisperKit as well as Whisper through whisper.cpp. GPL v3, several thousand GitHub stars, and the app people name first when someone asks for a free native option.
What VoiceInk does better
VoiceInk is open source under GPL v3, so you can read every line, build it in Xcode, and run it for nothing forever. Its Modes system swaps a whole configuration per app or URL, where Kana's per-app routing only changes the rewriting instruction. It also ships an iOS app, and it runs the same Parakeet engine Kana does, so the model is no longer a reason to pick one over the other. If reading the source is the point for you, VoiceInk wins and no feature list changes that.
Where Kana is different
- Japanese runs on a second engine built for Japanese rather than on a multilingual checkpoint.
- AI rewriting works without supplying an API key, and dictation still makes no network call.
- $9.99 once covers three Macs, against $29 for one.
Side by side
| Kana | VoiceInk | |
|---|---|---|
| Source available | No | Yes, GPL v3 |
| Per-app configuration | Rewriting instruction only | Yes, full Modes |
| iOS app | No | Yes |
| Cost to dictate | $9.99 once | $29 to $69 once |
VoiceInk pricing: One-time, $29 for one Mac up to $69 for three, or free if you build it yourself. Checked against tryvoiceink.com on 7 August 2026.
Want more detail? The full VoiceInk review works through it feature by feature.