Offline speech to text on Android (2026): which apps really work without internet

Checked 1 November 2026 by the Murlivo team.

Many apps say "offline", but the word means two different things. Some apps only record offline: the audio stays on your phone, but to get text they upload it to a server, so you wait for a connection. Other apps transcribe offline: a speech model runs on the phone, so you get text in airplane mode, in a basement or abroad without roaming, and your audio is never uploaded to be transcribed. This page sorts Android apps into these two groups, plus a third group whose own pages do not say.

Every app on this page runs on Android.

How we chose

We make Murlivo and wrote this page, so read it knowing that. We picked Android apps that people find when they search for offline transcription on Google Play and Google, plus the big names people ask about (Otter, Google Recorder, Samsung Voice Recorder). For each app we read its own Google Play description and, where it has one, its privacy policy, help pages or pricing page, on 22 October 2026. Every claim links to its source in the References.

We sorted each app by one question: can it turn speech into text with no internet connection? We did not install and time every app, so where an app's own pages do not answer that question, we say "not stated" instead of guessing. If anything here is wrong or out of date, write to support@murlivo.com and we will fix it.

Which apps transcribe offline on Android?

Apps that transcribe on the phone

Murlivo

Best for: voice notes, dictations, meetings and lectures you want as text in your own notes folder.

Murlivo records on an Android phone and transcribes on the phone itself. The speech model downloads once, the first time you open the app; after that, recording and transcription work offline, even in airplane mode. Each transcript goes into one plain Markdown note per day, in an Inbox folder inside a folder you choose, such as an Obsidian vault, with the audio kept in a subfolder. It detects the spoken language or lets you choose one of 20 languages. There is no account, no subscription and no ads.¹²

What to expect: it needs Android 11 or newer, and transcription speed depends on your phone, so a long recording on an older phone takes a while. Recordings stop by themselves after 2 hours by default; you can change or turn off that limit. If you also have a Wear OS 3 or newer watch, you can start a recording from your wrist, but the phone app works fully on its own.¹

Speech to Text - Offline AI

Best for: turning voice messages and audio files from other apps into text.

Its listing says it turns audio into text "entirely on your device", works in airplane mode and can record from the microphone too. It transcribes shared voice messages and audio files, and it can export the text or the audio. The app is about 250 MB, and optional AI tools (summary, translation) are a separate 3.5 GB download. It shows ads, and its listing says the internet is used for ads and for that optional download, never to upload your audio.³ Its privacy policy says "All audio processing and transcription happens entirely on your device."⁴

Saylet

Best for: transcripts you want to export as PDF or Word files.

Saylet calls itself a "100% offline speech to text app". It transcribes live speech and imported audio files on the device, and exports the text as plain text, PDF, Word (.docx) or OpenDocument files. It shows ads.⁵ Its privacy policy says it processes voice data "strictly on your device locally" and needs the internet for "downloading necessary offline AI language models".⁶ It is a new app, with only a few installs so far.

Offline Voice Input and FUTO Voice Input: voice typing

Best for: typing by voice in any app, with no internet.

These two are not recorders. They give your keyboard and other apps a voice input that runs on the phone. Offline Voice Input also makes live subtitles for audio playing on the phone and transcribes audio files you share to it. Its listing says it is "100% offline", free and open source, and downloads its speech model (about 670 MB) once on first launch.⁷ FUTO Voice Input says "All processing is done completely offline on your device" and goes online only when you choose to download optional models.⁸ It is a free download; FUTO sells a license for a one-time payment.⁹

Live Transcribe: live captions

Best for: following a conversation on screen as it happens.

Google's Live Transcribe shows speech as text in real time, made for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. It needs Android 12 or newer, and by default it does not save transcriptions; you can choose to keep them for 3 days. It does not keep the audio.¹⁰ Google's help page says it turns on offline transcription by itself for languages you have downloaded, and that on select Android devices and all Pixel devices running Android 12 or newer you can download several languages.¹¹ It is not a recorder: its listing does not mention saving audio or transcribing files.

Apps that need the internet for the text

These apps can be good choices, but the text is made on a server, so you need a connection to get it and your audio leaves the phone.

Otter

Otter records meetings, lectures and voice notes, writes summaries and lets a team share and edit notes. Its Play listing says it transcribes in real time "when online", and we found no Otter page that says transcription works with no internet.¹² It has a free Basic plan with limits (for example, 30 minutes per conversation) and paid plans.¹³

Wave

Wave is an AI note taker for Android, iPhone and the web.¹⁴ Its privacy policy says "these recordings are uploaded to our server for transcription processing", and the audio is transcribed by outside speech services.¹⁵ The free plan gives 30 minutes a month; Pro is a paid plan with unlimited recording and transcription.¹⁴ It has in-app purchases on Google Play.¹⁶

Wear Audio Recorder

Wear Audio Recorder records on a Wear OS watch and on the phone, and it is free with in-app purchases.¹⁷ Recording works offline, but transcription does not: its privacy policy says you sign in with your Google account, and "The selected audio file is uploaded to our storage bucket" before an outside service turns it into text.¹⁸

Apps whose pages do not say

Google Recorder

Google Recorder transcribes and labels what you record, and it has a Wear OS tile.¹⁹ Google's help says "Recorder app is only compatible with Pixel phones", so you cannot use it on a Samsung or other Android phone.²⁰ The help pages we checked do not say whether the first transcript works with no internet. One of them says "Re-transcribe may process audio files on Google servers."²¹

Samsung Voice Recorder

Samsung's Voice Recorder is built into Galaxy phones and watches, and its listing says you can edit transcribed text from the audio.²² To get text, you open the recording in the Voice Recorder app on the phone and tap Transcribe.²³ The Samsung pages we checked do not say where the transcription runs or whether it needs internet.

Voice Recorder & Transcriber

This app has more than a million installs. Its listing has a "Private & Offline" heading and says "Your recordings are saved locally and can be used offline", but it does not say where the transcription runs.²⁴ Read "offline" here as "your files stay on the phone", not "you get text without internet", until the developer says more.

How to check an app yourself

The simplest test takes two minutes. Install the app and do any first-run setup while you are online, because many offline apps download their speech model then. Next, turn on airplane mode and record 20 seconds of speech. If you get the text while airplane mode is still on, the app transcribes on the phone. If it waits, shows an error, or says it will transcribe later, it uses a server.

Also read the app's privacy policy. An app that uploads audio for transcription usually says so there, often with the name of the outside speech service. Words such as "private", "secure" or "offline" in a store listing are not enough on their own.

When the cloud is better

Offline transcription is not always the right choice. A cloud service can be the better pick when:

• You have a slow or old phone and long recordings. On the phone, speed depends on the processor. A server can finish a long file faster, and it does not use your battery.
• You need features on top of the text. Cloud apps such as Otter and Wave add summaries, chat with your notes, and calendar or video-call integration.
• A team works on the same notes. Cloud apps keep one shared copy that several people can open, edit and comment on. An offline app keeps files on one phone.
• You want a backup without doing anything. A cloud app keeps a copy on its servers. With an offline app, your notes are only as safe as your phone or the folder you sync yourself.
• You need a language the offline model does not handle well. On-device speech models are smaller than cloud ones, so a less common language or a strong accent can come out better on a server.

Offline is the better pick when you record with no signal, when the audio is private (health, legal, family, work talks you should not upload), when you do not want an account or a subscription, or when you want to own the files.

Questions

References

1. Murlivo product facts, checked 22 October 2026.
2. Murlivo on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
3. Speech to Text - Offline AI on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
4. Speech to Text - Offline AI privacy policy, checked 22 October 2026.
5. Speech to text - Saylet on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
6. Saylet privacy policy, checked 22 October 2026.
7. Offline Voice Input on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
8. FUTO Voice Input on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
9. FUTO Voice Input website, checked 22 October 2026.
10. Live Transcribe & Notification on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
11. Android Accessibility Help: Use Live Transcribe, checked 22 October 2026.
12. OtterAI Transcribe Voice Notes on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
13. Otter pricing, checked 22 October 2026.
14. Wave pricing, checked 22 October 2026.
15. Wave privacy policy, checked 22 October 2026.
16. Wave AI Note Taker & Recorder on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
17. Wear Audio Recorder on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
18. Wear Audio Recorder privacy policy (Transcription section), checked 22 October 2026.
19. Recorder (Google) on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
20. Google Pixel Watch Help: Record audio on your Pixel Watch, checked 22 October 2026.
21. Pixel Phone Help: Create, edit & manage transcriptions, checked 22 October 2026.
22. Samsung Voice Recorder on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.
23. Samsung US Support: Use Galaxy AI features on your Galaxy Watch7 and Watch Ultra, checked 22 October 2026.
24. Voice Recorder & Transcriber on Google Play, checked 22 October 2026.