Transcriptionfile transcription
Transcription is converting an existing audio or video recording into text after the fact. It is the after-the-fact counterpart to dictation, which produces text live as you speak.
Transcription starts from a file: a recorded meeting, an interview, a lecture, a voice memo. The tool processes the whole recording, often faster than real time, and returns a document. Because the audio already exists, transcription tools can afford slower and more accurate models, run several passes, and add structure that live dictation never needs: timestamps, speaker labels, paragraphing by topic, summaries.
The confusion with dictation is understandable, because the same speech recognition models sit inside both. What differs is everything around the model, and it is rare for one product to be excellent at both jobs.
What transcription needs that dictation does not
Speaker diarization, so the transcript says who said what. Timestamps, so a quote can be found in the recording. Long-form handling, because an hour of audio is a different problem from a sentence. Summaries and action items, because nobody reads a full meeting transcript. Import from files and links, including video.
None of this helps you write an email faster. A dictation tool spends its effort elsewhere: latency, formatting at the cursor, working inside every app, and behaving in a terminal.
Choosing the right kind of tool
If your recording already exists, you want a transcriber. On the Mac, MacWhisper and Superwhisper both transcribe files locally; Otter.ai transcribes meetings in the cloud with speaker labels and summaries. If you are composing, you want dictation. Some people need both, and two focused tools tend to beat one that stretches.
In Flit
Flit does not transcribe files. It is built for live dictation only, and we say so on the features page rather than stretch.
Where the focus ends →Questions
Fair questions.
Is transcription the same as dictation?
No. Transcription turns an existing recording into text; dictation turns your live speech into text where you are writing. The same recognition models can power both, but the products are built differently and are rarely good at both jobs.
Can a dictation app transcribe a recording?
Some can, as a secondary feature. Most dictation apps cannot, and the ones that do rarely offer speaker labels or timestamps. If files are your main job, choose a transcriber first.
Which local Mac tools transcribe files?
MacWhisper is the strongest, with a free tier and a paid Pro version. Superwhisper transcribes recorded files as well as dictating. Both run local models on Apple silicon.
Where this shows up on flit.fyi
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