Dictus is a free, open-source iOS keyboard that adds voice dictation to any app. All speech recognition runs on-device via WhisperKit (Apple CoreML) — no server, no account, no subscription. French-first, with English and German support.
Why Dictus?
- 🔒 100% on-device — your voice never leaves the iPhone. No cloud, no telemetry, no account.
- 🆓 Free & open source — MIT licensed, no subscription, fully auditable code.
- ⌨️ Works in every app — system-wide keyboard with AZERTY / QWERTY / QWERTZ layouts.
- 🇫🇷 French-first — built for FR, with EN & DE; multiple Whisper sizes (tiny / base / small).
- ✨ Native iOS feel — iOS 26 Liquid Glass design.
How Dictus compares
| Feature | Dictus | Apple Dictation | Wispr Flow | SuperWhisper | MacWhisper |
|---|
| Price | Free | Built-in | Free / $15/mo | Free / $8.49/mo | Free / $6.99/mo |
| 100% offline | ✅ | ⚠️ | ❌ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ |
| Privacy-first | ✅ | ⚠️ | ❌ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ |
| Open source | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Custom keyboard | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Cross-platform | ✅ (iOS · Android · Desktop) | iOS · macOS · watchOS | iOS · macOS · Win · Android | iOS · macOS · Win | iOS · macOS |
See the full comparison on getdictus.com.
Install the beta
Join via TestFlight: Install Dictus Beta →
Requirements: iPhone 12 or later, iOS 17.0+
- Tap the link above on your iPhone (or scan it with your camera).
- Install TestFlight from the App Store if you don't have it.
- Open Dictus and follow the onboarding to download a speech model.
- Enable the keyboard: Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Dictus.
- Allow Full Access when prompted (required for microphone).
Feedback: shake your device in Dictus to send feedback via TestFlight, or open an issue.
Features
- Custom iOS keyboard with AZERTY / QWERTY / QWERTZ layouts
- On-device speech recognition powered by WhisperKit (Whisper via CoreML)
- Multiple model sizes (tiny / base / small) — speed vs accuracy
- Optional Parakeet engine for alternative transcription
- Cold-start audio bridge for seamless dictation from the keyboard
- Sound feedback for recording start / stop
- iOS 26 Liquid Glass design
Roadmap
Have an idea? Open a feature request — we prioritize the most-upvoted ones.
Building from source
git clone https://github.com/getdictus/dictus-ios.git
cd dictus-ios
open Dictus.xcodeproj
- Select the DictusApp target and pick your device.
- Build and run (
Cmd + R).
- Follow onboarding to download a speech model.
- Enable the Dictus keyboard in Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards.
- Allow Full Access (required for microphone).
See DEVELOPMENT.md for the full development guide.
Requirements
- iOS 17.0+
- iPhone 12 or later (A14 Bionic+)
- Xcode 16+
- ~100–500 MB storage for speech models
Architecture
Dictus is organized into three Xcode targets:
| Target | Role |
|---|
| DictusApp | Main app — onboarding, settings, model manager |
| DictusKeyboard | Keyboard extension — custom keyboard + dictation trigger |
| DictusCore | Shared framework — App Group storage, models, preferences |
The app and the keyboard extension communicate through an App Group (group.solutions.pivi.dictus). WhisperKit runs inside DictusApp (the keyboard extension has a ~50 MB memory limit), and an audio bridge handles cold start so dictation works seamlessly from the keyboard.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md. Good entry points:
good first issue and help wanted in Issues- Bug reports with TestFlight feedback (shake your device)
- Translations & locale tuning (FR is the reference; EN / DE in progress)
Privacy
Dictus collects no user data. All speech processing happens on your device. See our Privacy Policy.
Support the project
Dictus is free and will stay free. If it helps you every day, consider supporting development — it directly funds new features and platform support.
Community
License
MIT — see LICENSE.
Acknowledgments
- WhisperKit by argmaxinc — on-device Whisper inference
- Parakeet by slingshot-ai — alternative STT engine
