# Sotto

> Sotto is a native macOS voice-to-text app that uses local AI (Whisper) to transcribe speech and instantly paste text into any app, with no subscription required.

Sotto is a native macOS voice-to-text dictation tool built by indie developer Kitze. It uses a global hotkey push-to-talk model to capture speech and instantly insert transcribed text into any active application — no clipboard, no copy-paste. The app is sold as a one-time purchase and runs entirely on-device by default, with optional cloud model support.

## What It Is

Sotto is a system-wide dictation layer for macOS. Users hold or tap a customizable hotkey to start recording, speak naturally, and the transcribed text is auto-pasted directly into whatever app is in focus — Xcode, Slack, Notes, a browser text field, or anything else. The core transcription engine is WhisperKit, running locally on Apple's Neural Engine, so audio never leaves the device unless the user opts into a cloud provider.

## Local-First Architecture

The default setup runs entirely offline using WhisperKit models ranging from Tiny (~66 MB) to Large V3 Turbo (~954 MB) and Distil Large V3 (~800 MB). Sotto also supports NVIDIA Parakeet models (v2 English at 2.6 GB and v3 Multilingual at 2.7 GB) for state-of-the-art accuracy. For users who want maximum accuracy or have strong accents, optional cloud backends include OpenAI (gpt-4o-mini-transcribe) and Groq (Whisper Large V3 Turbo), billed at approximately $0.006/minute through the user's own API key.

## Key Capabilities

- **Push-to-talk or toggle mode** — hold to speak and release to insert, or tap once to start/stop
- **Auto-paste** — transcripts appear directly in the active app without manual copying
- **Recording history** — every session saved locally with timestamps, full-text search, and audio playback
- **Re-transcribe** — switch models after the fact to improve accuracy on any saved recording
- **Audio file import** — drag and drop voice memos, meeting recordings, or podcast episodes for transcription
- **Custom vocabulary** — add technical terms, names, and jargon as hints for better accuracy
- **Always-on rules** — automatic grammar fixing, filler word removal, smart punctuation, and professional tone rewriting applied to every transcription
- **AI Functions** — one-click post-processing via OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Groq, Mistral, or Grok to transform dictation into emails, coding prompts, summaries, translations, or custom outputs
- **90+ language support** — per-language hotkeys and auto-detect mode for multilingual use

## Platform and System Requirements

Sotto is a native Swift and SwiftUI app built exclusively for macOS 13 (Ventura) and later. It uses Apple's Neural Engine for fast local inference, making it lightweight relative to the model sizes. A license key is delivered by email and covers up to 3 Mac activations.

## Why It Stands Out

The homepage explicitly positions Sotto against subscription-based Whisper wrappers, arguing that paying a recurring fee for a model that is freely available is unnecessary. The one-time purchase model with lifetime updates and 3-device coverage is the central differentiator the product page emphasizes. The developer, Kitze, is also known for Sizzy (a developer browser), Benji, and other indie macOS and web tools.

## Features
- Push-to-talk and toggle dictation modes
- Global hotkey system-wide operation
- Auto-paste into any active app
- 100% local transcription via WhisperKit on Apple Neural Engine
- NVIDIA Parakeet model support
- Optional cloud transcription via OpenAI and Groq
- Recording history with timestamps and full-text search
- Re-transcribe recordings with a different model
- Audio file import (mp3, m4a, wav, webm)
- Custom vocabulary dictionary
- Always-on text cleanup rules (grammar, filler words, punctuation, tone)
- AI Functions for post-processing (email, coding prompts, summaries, translation)
- Support for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Groq, Mistral, Grok
- 90+ language support
- Per-language hotkeys
- Auto-detect language mode
- Native Swift and SwiftUI app
- Lifetime license with 3 Mac activations

## Integrations
OpenAI, Groq, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, Grok, Slack, Discord, Linear, Notion, Xcode, Apple Notes

## Platforms
WINDOWS, MACOS, API

## Pricing
Paid

## Links
- Website: https://sotto.to
- Documentation: https://sotto.to/tools
- EveryDev.ai: https://www.everydev.ai/tools/sotto