Whisper Mate 9.9.8 — Mac version

Whisper Mate — a macOS app that turns speech into text on your own machine, then helps you tidy up the subtitles and translate them.

Local transcription — the heavy lifting happens on your Mac, not someone else's server. Good for privacy and for patchy internet.

Subtitle editor — you get a timeline and tools to split, merge or duplicate lines. Preview the video and audio in sync while you tweak the timing.

Translation — the app can call on DeepL, Google Translate or, on macOS 26, Apple's own translation engine. You can translate just the subtitle file or the whole audio track.

App capture — grab and translate audio from Zoom, Skype or Teams (needs screen recording permission on macOS 13+).

Hard burning — stamp the subtitles right into the video with a style you choose, so they play on anything.

It runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs from macOS 12 upwards. If you record meetings, rough-cut interviews or just want searchable notes from voice memos, it's built for that.

Picking a model size that won’t stall your Mac

Open Preferences before your first transcription. A few defaults are worth a look.

Whisper model size — larger models are more accurate but slower. The app shows processor usage while it works, so you can judge whether a bigger model bogs down your machine too much.

Favourite language — pick your most-used language and the transcription dropdown remembers it. Saves a click every time.

Playback speed — set it to 1.2× or 1.5× for reviewing long recordings. Your ears adjust quicker than you think.

Export format — if you always deliver SRT or VTT, set it once and skip the format picker later. Same goes for subtitle style defaults when you burn hard subs.

Offline transcription and the one feature that phones home

Does it need the internet? Transcription runs entirely offline. Translation needs a connection if you use DeepL or Google Translate, but Apple's translation engine works locally on macOS 26.

Is the whisper mate mac app really free of subscriptions? It's a one-off download. No monthly fees, no token limits, no credit packs. What you see is what you get.

Will it slow down my Mac during transcription? It'll push the processor, yes. The app shows a percentage readout, so you can see the load. On Apple Silicon Macs with 8GB of RAM, stick to the small or medium Whisper model for smoother multitasking.

Does whisper mate mac full version handle multiple speakers? It won't auto-detect who's talking, but you can assign a speaker label to each subtitle line in the editor. Useful for interview transcripts.

Can I transcribe a YouTube clip or streaming audio? Yes — use the app-capture feature. It grabs system audio and turns it into a transcription project. You'll need to grant screen recording permission on macOS 13 or later.

Tip: if you archive old projects from the context menu, the project list stays tidy without deleting anything you might want later.

• Subtitle line translation now taps into macOS 26's built-in translation engine.
• On macOS 26, Apple's transcription engine can deliver partial bilingual results at the same time.

• macOS 12 or later
• Works on Apple Silicon and 64-bit Intel Macs
• Screen recording permission needed for capturing app audio on macOS 13+