Hex

Hex is an open-source voice dictation app for macOS, Windows, and Linux, with more than 3,000 stars on GitHub. Hold a key, speak, and Hex transcribes your words on your own device and pastes them into whatever application you are working in — no cloud round trip, no subscription, and no audio leaving your machine.

Overview

Hex takes the opposite approach to cloud dictation services: the first run downloads a speech model to your computer, and after that everything happens locally. You hold the shortcut, say what you mean, let go, and the text appears where your cursor already is — in an email, a document, a chat window, or a code editor. Because transcription runs on-device, Hex keeps working offline and keeps private conversations, notes, and drafts off other people’s servers. The project is written in Rust, released under the MIT license, and under active development, with regular stable and dev-channel builds.

Key Features

• Hold-to-talk dictation: Hold the shortcut, speak naturally, release, and Hex pastes the transcription straight into the app you are already using.
• Fully local transcription: A speech model downloaded on first run does all the work on your device; after setup, nothing you say leaves your machine.
• Works in any application: There is no editor or window to learn — Hex pastes into email clients, documents, browsers, chat apps, and code editors alike.
• Cross-platform coverage: Native builds for macOS on Apple silicon, Windows on x64 and ARM64, and Linux on x86_64 and ARM64, including .deb and .rpm packages.
• Simple installation: Install with Homebrew on macOS, a one-line script or package on Linux, or an installer or PowerShell command on Windows.
• Experimental Labs features: New capabilities land first in Labs at the bottom of the sidebar, so you can try them early.

💳 Pricing

Hex is completely free. The app is open source under the MIT license, and the official download page lists a price of 0 USD — there is no paid tier, no account, and no subscription to unlock dictation.

Who Is It For

Hex is for writers, developers, and professionals who think faster than they type, for people with repetitive-strain or accessibility needs who want a reliable hands-free input method, and for privacy-conscious users who want voice dictation without sending audio to the cloud. It is also a strong pick for Linux users, who have had far fewer polished dictation options.