An open source alternative to Wispr Flow
murmur does the same core job as Wispr Flow: hold a key, speak, and clean text lands at your cursor in any app on Mac or Windows. The difference is who holds the keys. murmur is free and open source, needs no account, and sends your audio only to the speech provider you choose, including a Whisper server on your own computer that works with no internet at all.
Download murmur Read the quickstart
murmur and Wispr Flow side by side
| What | murmur | Wispr Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, with every dictation feature. murmur Pro is an optional one-time purchase of $49. | Free plan with 2,000 words a week on desktop. Pro is $15 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly. |
| Paying for speech | You pay your provider directly, on your own key. Groq's free tier charges nothing, and paid use typically costs cents a month. | Included in your plan. |
| Source code | Open source under GPL-3.0. Every line is on GitHub. | Not public. |
| Who transcribes your speech | The provider you pick: Groq, OpenAI, Mistral, any OpenAI-compatible service, or a Whisper server on your own computer. | Flow itself, over the internet. |
| Without internet | Works, with a local Whisper server such as Speaches. | Transcription needs an internet connection. |
| Account | None. | Required: Google, Apple, Microsoft, single sign-on, or email. |
| Platforms | Mac (macOS 13 or later) and Windows (10 or later). | Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. |
| Weekly limits | None from murmur. Your provider's rate limits apply. | On the free plan, 2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 on mobile; unlimited on Pro. |
Why pick murmur?
- Your setup is yours. Your key, your provider, your model. Switch providers in a minute, or run speech on your own computer.
- Private by design. Nothing records unless you hold the key. History, stats, and settings stay on your computer. There is no murmur account, no murmur server, and no telemetry.
- No subscription. The app is free and complete. Pro is a one-time purchase that funds development.
- Open source. Read, build, or change every line. GPL-3.0 keeps it open for good.
- A dictation is never lost. If the cleanup model errors or misbehaves, murmur types the plain transcript instead.
When is Wispr Flow the better pick?
- You dictate on your phone. Wispr Flow has iPhone and Android apps. murmur runs on Mac and Windows; an iPhone app is planned.
- Your team needs central controls. Wispr Flow Pro adds central billing and user management, higher tiers add single sign-on and admin controls, and every plan offers HIPAA-ready dictation with a signed agreement.
- You want meeting notes. Wispr Flow includes a Notetaker for meetings.
- You never want to touch an API key. Wispr Flow bundles speech into its plans. murmur asks for a key once, in the setup wizard.
How do I switch from Wispr Flow to murmur?
- Download murmur for Mac or Windows. A setup wizard opens on first launch.
- Get a free Groq key at console.groq.com/keys and paste it into the wizard.
- Grant permissions. On a Mac: Microphone, Accessibility, and Input Monitoring; the wizard links each one.
- Pick your hotkey. Quit Wispr Flow first, or choose a different key, so only one app answers it.
- Bring your words. Add your names and jargon under Settings, Dictionary.
Questions
Is murmur a free Wispr Flow alternative?
Yes. The murmur app is free with every dictation feature and no weekly word limit. You pay your speech provider directly on your own key, and Groq's free tier charges nothing. murmur Pro is an optional one-time purchase of $49.
Does murmur work offline, like a local Whisper app?
Yes, when you run speech on your own computer. Point murmur at a local Whisper server such as Speaches and your audio never leaves the machine. How to set up a local server.
Which speech model does murmur use?
By default, OpenAI's Whisper (whisper-large-v3-turbo) running on Groq, which is fast and inexpensive. You can pick whisper-large-v3 for the highest accuracy, or any model your provider offers. Providers and models.
Can I use murmur on my phone?
Not yet. murmur runs on Mac and Windows. An iPhone app is planned as its own phase.
Is Whispr Flow the same as Wispr Flow?
Yes. People often search for Whispr Flow or Whisper Flow; the app is Wispr Flow, made by Wispr. murmur is a separate, open source project and is not affiliated with Wispr.
Wispr Flow's plans, prices, platforms, and requirements checked 2026-10-03 against Wispr's own pages: Wispr Flow pricing, What is Flow? (Wispr help center). Plans and prices change; those pages are the truth. Wispr Flow is a trademark of its owner, and murmur is not affiliated with Wispr.