Local Whisper vs Cloud Transcription: Which is Better in 2025?

OpenAI's Whisper changed the game for speech recognition. But should you run it locally or use a cloud service? Let's break down the pros and cons of each approach.

What is Whisper?

Whisper is OpenAI's open-source speech recognition model. It supports 99 languages and achieves near-human accuracy. The model comes in different sizes, from "tiny" (39M parameters) to "large" (1.5B parameters).

Local Whisper: Run It on Your Mac

With Apple Silicon, running Whisper locally is now practical. Tools like whisper.cpp optimize the model for M1/M2/M3 chips.

Advantages of Local Processing

• Complete Privacy: Your audio never leaves your device
• No Internet Required: Works offline, anywhere
• No Ongoing Costs: One-time setup, no subscriptions
• Low Latency: No network round-trip delay
• No Data Limits: Transcribe as much as you want

Considerations

• Requires decent hardware (M1+ Mac recommended)
• Larger models need more RAM
• Initial setup can be technical (unless using an app like Sotto)

Cloud Transcription Services

Services like Otter.ai, Rev, Descript, and Assembly AI process your audio on their servers.

Advantages of Cloud

• No Local Resources: Works on any device
• Always Latest Models: Providers update automatically
• Team Features: Collaboration, sharing, search
• Meeting Integration: Auto-join Zoom, Meet, etc.

Drawbacks of Cloud

• Monthly Fees: $10-30/month adds up to $120-360/year
• Privacy Concerns: Your conversations are on their servers
• Internet Dependent: No connection = no transcription
• Usage Limits: Most plans cap monthly minutes
• Vendor Lock-in: Cancel subscription = lose access

Cost Comparison Over 3 Years

Privacy: Why It Matters

Think about what you dictate: emails, code comments, personal notes, medical information, business strategy. Do you want all of that processed through a third party?

With local processing, your audio stays on your machine. It's encrypted, it's yours, and it's never analyzed for advertising or training someone else's AI.

When to Choose Cloud

Cloud services make sense if you:

• Need team collaboration features
• Want auto-transcription of meetings
• Use older hardware that can't run Whisper
• Need searchable archives across your organization

When to Choose Local

Local Whisper is better if you:

• Value privacy for your content
• Want to avoid recurring subscriptions
• Need to work offline frequently
• Have a modern Mac (M1 or later)
• Do real-time dictation (typing replacement)

The Best of Both Worlds

Apps like Sotto give you local Whisper with optional cloud fallback. Use local for speed and privacy, switch to cloud (OpenAI, Groq) when you need maximum accuracy for tricky accents or technical jargon.