Hukum vs OpenWhispr
An OpenWhispr alternative, compared fairly.
OpenWhispr is a free, open-source voice typing app for Mac, Windows, Linux and iOS, and a good one. Hukum is a paid alternative for people who want a focused dictation tool rather than a workspace: no account, no word limits, eleven offline models to choose from, and a ready-made preset for Sarvam's Saaras, which keeps Indian English as you said it. You pay for Hukum once.
OpenWhispr details checked 29 September 2026
Side by side
The differences that matter.
| Topic | Hukum | OpenWhispr |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac, Windows and Linux. | Mac, Windows, Linux and iOS. |
| Price | One-time purchase, announced at launch. | Free (local dictation unlimited; 2,000 words a week of its cloud transcription). Pro $80 a year; Business $160 a year. |
| Source code | Closed. | Open source, MIT licence. |
| Offline models | Parakeet V2 and V3, Whisper (four sizes), Moonshine, Canary, SenseVoice, GigaAM v3, Breeze ASR. | Whisper, NVIDIA Parakeet and others. |
| Your own API keys | Saaras, Deepgram, Groq, OpenAI and ElevenLabs for speech; nine providers for clean-up. | Supported, alongside its own cloud service. |
| Indian English and Hinglish | Sarvam's Saaras v3 preset (cloud, your Sarvam key). | Hindi is among its 100+ languages; no Indian-English model is named on its site. |
| Scope | Dictation only: speak, and text appears at your cursor. | Dictation plus meeting notes, AI chat, file upload and team spaces. |
In fairness
Where OpenWhispr is ahead.
It is free to use offline, and its code is open (MIT).
An iOS app.
Meeting notes, AI chat and team features in the same app.
Compliance certifications for its cloud service (it lists HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001).
Which one
Choose by what you care about.
Choose Hukum if…
You want a single-purpose dictation tool with nothing to sign up for, a broad choice of offline models, Indian English through Saaras, and a product you buy once and own.
Choose OpenWhispr if…
You want free and open source, a mobile app, or meeting notes and AI chat in the same place.
Questions
People also ask.
Is OpenWhispr free?
OpenWhispr's free plan includes unlimited local dictation and 2,000 words a week of its cloud transcription; Pro is $80 a year. Hukum is a one-time purchase with no word limits.
Does Hukum work on Linux like OpenWhispr?
Yes. Hukum ships .deb, .rpm and AppImage packages for x64 and ARM64, and types on X11 (xdotool) and Wayland (wtype), or with dotool on either.
Which is better for Indian English?
Hukum has a built-in preset for Sarvam's Saaras v3, which kept “yaar”, “prepone” and “bas” exactly as spoken in our side-by-side test. It runs in Sarvam's cloud with your own key.
Does Hukum work offline?
Yes. By default Hukum transcribes with a free speech model on your own computer, so after a one-time model download it needs no internet connection and your audio is never uploaded.