Murmurtale On-device (Free)
In on-device mode, Murmurtale runs a Whisper speech model plus rule-based formatting entirely on your Mac. Nothing you dictate leaves the device, and it works offline. It is less accurate than the cloud engine and formats only clearly tagged dialogue (like “Stop,” he said). With no account you get 5,000 on-device words, one time; a free account gets 5,000 on-device words a month; Pro makes on-device dictation unlimited.
Cloud (Pro)
Pro includes the cloud engine — the default whenever your plan includes it — with 60,000 cloud words a month (fair use); new accounts can try it free for 14 days or 20,000 cloud words, whichever comes first. It is routed through the Murmurtale backend with company-held keys — you will never enter an API key in the app. While you hold the dictation key, your audio streams through Murmurtale’s backend for AI speech recognition in our cloud, and text appears moments after you release — typically well under a second for plain text; Fiction-mode formatting usually adds a fraction of a second. Silence before you start speaking is never sent. A second cloud transcription of each finished dictation is coming in 1.1.6. The live app (1.1.5) does not send that second pass.
In Fiction mode, light AI formatting places dialogue in curly quotes with tags outside the quotes, starts a new paragraph when a different character speaks, and italicizes thoughts you tag (“she thought”) or mark out loud with “in italics”. It may change only punctuation, capitalization, quotation marks, paragraph breaks and italics; Murmurtale checks every result word for word and keeps your exact words wherever the model changed one. It never rewrites your prose. Plain mode does not use AI formatting. On-device mode does not send text for AI formatting.
FallbacksIf the stream is slow, that one dictation’s saved audio is transcribed in our cloud instead; if the cloud is unavailable, Murmurtale transcribes on your Mac. Cloud requests are processed by our subprocessors under their own terms. Who they are is in the Privacy Policy. See also Account and subscription.
On-device vs Cloud at a glance
On-device is a solid fallback and works anywhere, but the cloud engine is noticeably better for fiction. Here is what changes:
| Cloud | On-device | |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | Most accurate, including names, accents and noisy rooms | Good in a quiet room; more misheard words, especially names |
| Dialogue | Quotes any spoken line, even without “she said” | Quotes only lines with a tag like “she said” or “he asked” |
| New speakers | New paragraph whenever someone else speaks or acts | New paragraph only between tagged lines of dialogue |
| Thoughts | Italicizes thoughts you tag (“she thought”) or mark out loud with “in italics” | Italicizes thoughts you tag (“she thought”) or mark out loud with “in italics” |
| Speed | Text lands moments after you release | Instant formatting; transcription speed depends on your Mac |
| Privacy | Cloud requests are processed by our subprocessors under their own terms. See the Privacy Policy. | Audio and text never leave your Mac |
| Works offline | No | Yes |
| Limits | Pro: 60,000 words a month; trial: 20,000 | Pro: unlimited; free: 5,000 words a month |
TipOn-device formats dialogue best when you say the tag: “Hold the door, Reyes shouted” becomes “Hold the door,” Reyes shouted. Untagged lines stay as narration rather than risk a wrong quote.
What formatting changes
In every mode Murmurtale is an editor, never a ghostwriter: it adds punctuation, capitalization, your spoken commands and your dictionary’s spellings, and in Fiction mode it places quotes, paragraph breaks, and italics for thoughts you tag (“she thought”) or mark out loud with “in italics”. It never changes, adds or removes your words — repeated words and fragments you meant stay exactly as you said them.
"Uh" and "um" are dropped by the speech engine itself. Spoken commands, your dictionary's spellings, capitalization, and curly quotes are applied on your Mac in every mode.