# whisper.cpp

> whisper.cpp runs OpenAI's Whisper models in plain C/C++ with CPU-only inference plus Metal, CUDA, Vulkan, ROCm and other backends. Memory ranges from ~273 MB (tiny) to ~3.9 GB (large). Code is MIT and the ggml model conversions are tagged MIT. You build it with CMake; the CLI wants 16-bit WAV input. Experimental speaker-turn marking (tinydiarize) works with one English model only. It does not summarise meetings or join calls.

- Repository: https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp
- Official docs: https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp#readme
- Checked: 2026-10-15

## What it replaces
- ElevenLabs: Speech recognition (full). Local transcription; speaker turns only via experimental tinydiarize with an English small model.
- Otter.ai: Meeting transcription (partial). Transcribes recordings locally; no live meeting capture, named speakers or summaries.

## Facts, with sources

| Question | Status | Answer | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on my machine? | Confirmed | Yes, CPU-only or GPU, fully offline | https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp#readme | 2026-10-15 |
| Code licence | Confirmed | MIT | https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp/blob/master/LICENSE | 2026-10-15 |
| Model weights licence | Confirmed | MIT (ggml conversions of OpenAI Whisper weights) | https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp | 2026-10-15 |
| Commercial use | Confirmed | Yes, MIT code and weights | https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp/blob/master/LICENSE | 2026-10-15 |
| Paid services needed? | Confirmed | None required | https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp#quick-start | 2026-10-15 |
| Hardware | Confirmed | CPU fine; memory from ~273 MB (tiny) to ~3.9 GB (large) | https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp#memory-usage | 2026-10-15 |
| Operating systems | Confirmed | macOS, Linux, Windows (MSVC, MinGW), plus iOS, Android, WebAssembly | https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp#readme | 2026-10-15 |
| Setup effort | Confirmed | Hard; build from source with CMake, then download a ggml model | https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp#quick-start | 2026-10-15 |

GitHub: 54428 stars, 6259 forks, last push 2026-10-12, archived: no.
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Source: RepoQuarry (https://repoquarry.dev/projects/whisper-cpp). Data licence: CC BY 4.0. Quotes are from project documentation and belong to their authors.