Free dictation software, with honest limits
Vurb's free plan gives you 2,000 words a week of private speech to text in any app on Mac, Windows or Linux. No card, no account, no trial clock.
What the free plan includes
- 2,000 words a week
- Counted on your computer from your local history.
- Local transcription
- Whisper runs on your machine. Your audio never leaves it.
- All 90+ languages
- With automatic detection.
- Hold-to-talk and hands-free
- Plus Esc to cancel and your choice of key.
- History and stats
- Search past dictations; see words per minute, streaks and time saved.
- Custom vocabulary
- Names and terms spelled your way.
- AI cleanup
- Optional, with your own Claude API key.
- All speech models
- Fastest, Fast, Balanced and Best.
How far 2,000 words goes
People typically speak at about 130–150 words per minute, so 2,000 words is roughly 15 minutes of talking a week. That covers a lot of emails, chat replies and notes. It's meant to be usable every day, not a demo.
It won't cover drafting long documents or dictating most of your writing. That's what Pro is for.
Getting started for free
Download Vurb for Mac, Windows or Linux from the download page and open it. There's nothing to sign up for. The app downloads a speech model the first time (148–574 MB depending on which one), and after that transcription runs on your computer, even offline.
Click into any text field, hold your dictation key — fn on a Mac, Right Control on Windows and Linux — and talk. Let go and the text is typed. Your weekly word count is shown in the app, so you'll always know where you stand before you reach the limit.
When Pro makes sense
Upgrade if you hit the weekly limit regularly. Pro is $4.99 a month, or $39 a year (about $3.25 a month), and includes:
- Unlimited words
- Use on up to 3 computers
- Priority support and early access to new features
- Built-in AI cleanup without your own key, when it ships (coming soon)
Pro and Growth come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Teams can put everyone on Growth with one invoice. Full details on the pricing page.
Free doesn't mean we look at your data
There are no ads. Your dictations, history and stats stay on your computer, and the app doesn't send them to us. We don't need an account to give you the free plan, so there's nothing to sign up for. More on the privacy and security page.
Questions about the free plan
Is Vurb's free plan really free?
Yes. No card and no account. You get 2,000 words a week with local transcription, all languages, hold-to-talk and hands-free, and history and stats.
What happens when I reach 2,000 words?
The weekly limit resets each week. If you regularly need more, Pro removes the limit.
Can I use AI cleanup on the free plan?
Yes, with your own Anthropic (Claude) API key. Built-in cleanup without your own key is coming to Pro.
Is there a refund if I upgrade and change my mind?
Pro and Growth have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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Download Vurb free
No card, no account. macOS, Windows and Linux.