Yap — On-Device Voice Dictation for Mac and Windows

What is Yap?

Yap is a desktop voice dictation utility that converts speech into text on the device itself, with no audio leaving the machine. It runs on macOS (Apple Silicon) and Windows 10 or 11 64-bit, and positions itself against both cloud dictation services and legacy dictation software — the site explicitly names Dragon for Mac, Wispr Flow, and Aqua Voice as migration sources.

The pitch is speed plus privacy: the site cites a median 0.56 seconds from voice to text on an Apple M5 Pro (older Macs are slower), and states that processing is "100% everything local" — recordings are never uploaded, and dictation history stays on the computer. The same company, O-mega Enterprise Inc., also builds Yapmap (a spoken web map) and YapCam (a voice-triggered teleprompter camera), but Yap itself is a single-purpose desktop tool.

How Yap Works

The interaction is a three-step loop: place your cursor where text should go, hold the Fn key and speak at your own pace, then release — Yap transcribes, tidies, and pastes the text. Because output lands at the cursor, it works inside whatever app is already open: documents, email, chat, or a terminal. The site specifically demonstrates dictating prompts into Claude Code.

Setup requires an internet connection once, to download the speech model. After that, dictation works offline. Spoken punctuation commands such as "new paragraph" are supported and enabled in Settings. A browser-based demo also lets visitors test the speech model without installing anything, capped at 60 seconds per recording and English-only, and a separate web page offers free online dictation for longer recordings.

Main Features

• On-device transcription — speech is converted to text locally, with no cloud upload of audio and no internet needed after setup.
• Hold-to-talk hotkey — hold Fn, speak, release; transcribed and tidied text is pasted at the cursor in any application.
• Spoken punctuation commands — say "new paragraph" and similar commands to structure text hands-free (enabled in Settings).
• Local history — dictation history stays on the machine and remains readable, copyable, and deletable even when a subscription lapses.
• Custom shortcuts and hands-free recording — configurable activation keys on both plans.
• Browser demo and web dictation — a no-install demo (English, 60-second cap) plus free online dictation for longer recordings.

Pricing

Yap is free for 3 days from first launch, with no account or card required. After that, continued use requires choosing a plan and starting a 10-day trial with a card: Monthly costs $6.90 per month and Yearly costs $69 per year (a $13.80 saving). Both plans include the same feature set — unlimited on-device dictation, English plus additional languages, dictation in any computer app, custom shortcuts, local history, and automatic app updates — and both renew automatically until cancelled. Cancelling before the trial ends means no charge. There is no permanent free tier; when access ends, new dictation pauses, and offline use is capped at 24 hours without an active free, trial, or paid period.

Common Use Cases

• Dictating into AI coding tools — the site demos speaking prompts into Claude Code instead of typing them.
• Everyday writing — emails, messages, and documents composed by voice across existing apps.
• Multilingual dictation — English plus additional languages on both plans.
• Migrating from legacy dictation — the site targets users coming from Dragon for Mac, Wispr Flow, or Aqua Voice.

Limitations

Yap is deliberately narrow: it does dictation and nothing else — no editing suite, team features, or audio-file transcription are described. The 0.56-second median applies to modern Apple Silicon; older Macs are slower. First-time setup needs internet access for the model download, and offline access is capped at 24 hours, so a periodic license check is required even for a fully local product. The current version is 0.7.40, indicating pre-1.0 maturity. The browser demo is English-only and limited to 60 seconds, and spoken punctuation commands must be enabled manually in Settings. No refund policy is stated — the terms emphasize cancelling before the trial ends to avoid charges.

Summary

Yap is a focused, privacy-first dictation utility that competes on a simple loop: hold a key, talk, and have clean text appear at your cursor in whatever app you are using. Its concrete speed figures, transparent pricing, card-free trial, and fully local processing are genuine differentiators for privacy-conscious users. Its limits are equally clear — a single feature, 0.x maturity, a 24-hour offline cap, and no stated refunds. For Mac and Windows users who type by voice daily and want recordings to stay on their machine, it is a straightforward choice; for occasional dictation needs, the lack of a free tier may matter more.