Questions about Vocula
The short answers. Each one is backed by a page on this site or by the app’s own source, and links there when there is more to say.
Privacy
Does Vocula send my voice anywhere?
No. Recognition runs on your Mac, and nothing you dictate leaves it — not the audio and not the text.
What network connections does it make?
Two, both to Vocula’s own GitHub releases: the speech model, downloaded once, and a daily check for a new version. The check ships switched on and you can turn it off in Settings → Permissions; with it off, Vocula makes no connection after the model download.
How can I check that for myself?
Run nettop -p Vocula in Terminal while you dictate and watch the byte counters stay at zero, or follow the ten-minute check on the verify-offline page, which works on any dictation app. The ten-minute check →
Where is my dictation history kept?
On your Mac only: one file per day, encrypted with AES-GCM, kept for a year, with the key in your Keychain. You can switch history off entirely. What else is stored on your Mac →
Languages
How many languages does Vocula support?
With the Whisper engine, 100. With the faster Parakeet engine, 25 European languages. The full list, with codes, is on the Whisper languages page. All 100 languages →
Can I dictate in two languages without switching?
On Whisper, yes: you tick the languages you speak and Vocula picks among only those, from the start of each recording. It can still choose the wrong one of yours on a very short or unclear phrase. On Parakeet with automatic detection on, the list does not constrain the result — pin one language there instead.
Can I mix languages inside one sentence?
On Whisper, yes — mixed words and alphabets are kept. Parakeet holds to one alphabet per phrase, so for mixed sentences stay on Whisper, which is the default. Whisper or Parakeet →
Price and licence
Is Vocula a subscription?
No. It is a one-time $29 purchase with no account and no recurring charge. Every 1.x update is included. Pricing →
What does the free trial include?
The whole app for 30 days. After that it caps at ten dictations a day until you buy, and it never adds anything to your text.
How do I activate a licence?
Paste one line into Settings → Licence. The key is a signature your Mac checks by itself, so it works offline, on the day you buy it and in ten years.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, by email, no questions. A refunded key keeps working; the app has no kill switch.
Is it open source?
Yes, GPL-3.0. You can build it yourself from the published source; paying is for the people who would rather not spend the afternoon. The source and the build →
Requirements
Which Macs does Vocula run on?
Apple Silicon Macs on macOS 26 or later. It does not run on Intel Macs or on older macOS.
How much disk space does it need?
The Whisper engine is a 1.62 GB download and Parakeet is 468 MB, plus 885 KB for the voice-activity detector. Only the engine you select is downloaded. The two engines, side by side →
Using it
How do I dictate?
Hold fn (or the key you set), speak, let go. The text is pasted where your cursor is, in any app. Esc cancels an open recording. One press records for up to three minutes, and a pause does not end it.
Does it work in every app?
In any app that accepts a paste. It will not type into password fields, and nothing can while another app holds macOS’s secure input. What secure input is →
Does it have voice commands?
No. There is no “new line” or “delete that”; the model punctuates by itself and anything more is typed.
Does it show text while I speak?
No. The text appears when you let go of the key, not word by word.
Something missing? [email protected] — a person reads it.