What is the best radiology dictation software?

It depends on the job. If you need a full reporting platform with patient and study context, templates, structured data, quality checks and enterprise interfaces, use a radiology reporting system built for that. If you want free, local-first speech-to-text that pastes at an active cursor, test OpenWhispr in your actual report field.

Does OpenWhispr integrate with PACS, RIS or EHR software?

No native integration. OpenWhispr does not receive patient or study context from PACS, RIS, EHR, DICOM, HL7 or FHIR. It transcribes speech and pastes text at the active cursor. Optional Agent Mode can use screen context, which is not diagnostic integration. Test your reporting software and virtual desktop.

Can it navigate templates or build a structured radiology report?

OpenWhispr ships no built-in radiology structured-reporting integration, report macros, voice-command field navigation or template logic. Generic Agent Mode can reformat text from your prompt, but it does not know the report fields. Use your existing system template and cursor.

How does it handle terminology, numbers and laterality?

The custom dictionary lets you add recurring anatomy, eponyms, protocol names and abbreviations as recognition hints. It is not a radiology lexicon or clinical error checker. Proofread every report for terminology, measurements, negation and laterality before signing.

Can I use it offline with patient information?

After a local model is downloaded, local speech-to-text runs offline and does not upload audio when the separate local-to-cloud fallback is off. Cleanup is configured separately. Your organization still decides which devices and applications are approved for patient information; cloud transcription is a separate global mode.

Is local radiology dictation really free?

Yes. Every desktop plan includes unlimited local dictation, a custom dictionary and 100+ languages at $0. Pro is $8 per month and adds unlimited OpenWhispr Cloud transcription, more meeting hours, mobile and device sync.

Best radiology dictation software for imaging specialists

Keep the images in view. Get dictated text at the cursor.

Choose a local speech-to-text model, place the cursor in an editable report field, and speak. Audio is transcribed on the workstation; use local cleanup or turn cleanup off to keep the text there too.

Open source · 80,000+ downloads

Common reporting tools, not integrations:

PowerScribe OneEpic RadiantSectra IDS7Visage 7InteleViewerMicrosoft Word

Where radiology dictation breaks

The images need your eyes. The report still needs your words.

A radiology dictation tool has to respect the active field, the vocabulary and the final read. Miss one, and the keyboard comes back.

Your eyes leave the study for the keyboard.

Place the cursor once, then hold the hotkey and dictate the finding. OpenWhispr pastes the transcript into the active field so you can stay with the images.

The same term comes back wrong every case.

Add names, modalities, anatomy and local abbreviations to the custom dictionary. They are supplied as hints to supported transcription paths.

One missing 'no' changes the report.

Speech recognition can change clinical meaning. OpenWhispr supplies text, not clinical quality control, so the radiologist still proofreads before signing.

A simple dictation test turns into an integration project.

OpenWhispr is a desktop speech-to-text layer, not a PACS or RIS replacement. Try it in an editable field without changing the reporting stack.

What you get

Cursor dictation, not another reporting platform.

OpenWhispr handles speech to text. Your worklist, images, templates, measurements and signing workflow stay in the systems that already own them.

Person working at two monitors beside a desktop computer

Findings transcribed on the workstation

Choose a local speech-to-text model and audio is processed on the device. Use local cleanup or turn cleanup off if report text must stay there too; after model download, speech-to-text works offline.

Radiologist checking a reference card beside a medical scan

A dictionary for the terms you actually dictate

Add recurring anatomy, eponyms, protocol names and abbreviations. OpenWhispr supplies the list as recognition hints, and you still check the result.

Radiologist typing beside monitors displaying medical scans

One hotkey at the active report cursor

Open the report field, place the cursor, hold the hotkey and speak. The transcript is pasted there for review, with no claim of a native PACS, RIS or EHR integration.

Dictated audio uploaded in local mode

None

with local-to-cloud fallback off, audio stays on the radiologist's workstation

Cost per radiologist

unlimited local dictation for every radiologist

Setup takes

5 min

from download to a test dictation at the cursor

How it works

From spoken finding to text in the open report.

Keep the reporting workflow you already know. OpenWhispr adds a system-wide hotkey and a local transcription option.

Radiologist working at a laptop beside brain scans

Download for free.

Mac, Windows or Linux. Choose a local model during setup.

Put the cursor in the report.

Open an editable findings or impression field, then press the hotkey and dictate.

Proofread and sign.

Check terminology, numbers, negation and laterality, then finish the report in your reporting system.

No convincing needed

10 reasons radiologists choose OpenWhispr

Use it for the narrow job it ships to do: turn speech into text at the active cursor. Keep the clinical and reporting workflow under your control.

Local transcription at the reading station

Choose a local model and, with local-to-cloud fallback off, audio is transcribed on the device without an upload step.

Text lands at the active cursor

The desktop app pastes the transcript into the focused editable field. If automatic paste is unavailable, it can leave the text on the clipboard.

No reporting-stack replacement

Keep the worklist, viewer, report template and signing system your practice already uses.

A dictionary for radiology vocabulary

Add anatomy, eponyms, protocol names and abbreviations as hints for supported transcription and cleanup paths.

Keeps working off the hospital network

Once a local model is downloaded, dictation does not need the reading-room network or internet.

$0 local dictation per radiologist

Every desktop plan includes unlimited use of local speech-to-text models.

Three desktop operating systems

Run the same desktop dictation app on the operating system your workstation uses.

Your IT team can inspect the paste path

Your organization can inspect the transcription and paste paths on GitHub.

You read the images. OpenWhispr handles speech to text.

It is not a diagnostic image reader and has no native patient, study or radiology-system context. Agent Mode can use optional screen context, but it does not diagnose or replace review.

100+ spoken languages

OpenWhispr supports 100+ languages. Availability and accuracy vary by local model and cloud provider.

Before you download

What radiologists ask before testing dictation software.

Straight answers on report fields, terminology, integrations, patient data, offline use and cost.

What users say

What users say about local dictation.

These quotes are verbatim. None is rewritten as a radiologist endorsement.

Job in the reporting stack

OpenWhispr supplies speech-to-text at the active cursor. Your reporting system keeps the patient, study, template and signature workflow.

Started using OpenWhispr with my local models and hardware. I have to say, this is better than typing.

0xSero@0xSero

I switched to voice input for my Claude Code chats. Even when I stumble and rephrase mid-sentence, the transcription comes out clean and polished.

j3iiifn@j3iiifn

I needed a local model for when I'm travelling or have no WiFi, and this perfectly solves it. The UI and performance are great.

Gabe@gabe__perez

Pricing

Start free with local dictation.
Upgrade for cloud or team features.

Compare OpenWhispr plans for radiologists
	FreePopular $0No card details needed Loading...	Pro $6.67/user/mo$80/user billed annually Start with Pro	Business $13.33/user/mo$160/user billed annually Start with Business
Best for	Radiologists who want unlimited local cursor dictation and can run a model on the workstation	Radiologists who want unlimited OpenWhispr Cloud transcription	Teams that want OpenWhispr Cloud, recordings and priority support
Main reason to choose	Unlimited local speech-to-text at $0, with audio staying on the workstation	Unlimited cloud transcription without managing local models or keys	Unlimited recordings and priority support for a team
Offline speech-to-text	Included	Included	Included
Cloud speech-to-text	2,000 words/week via OpenWhispr Cloud, or unlimited using your own API keys	Unlimited OpenWhispr Cloud speech-to-text	Unlimited OpenWhispr Cloud speech-to-text
Meeting recordings	5 hours/month	20 hours/month	Unlimited
Privacy & data handling	Offline audio stays on your device. Cloud audio is sent only to transcribe it, then never stored.	Offline audio stays on your device. Cloud audio is sent only to transcribe it, then never stored.	Offline audio stays on your device. Cloud audio is sent only to transcribe it, then never stored.
Setup experience	Hands-on: install app, choose local models, optionally add API keys	Easy: install app, upgrade, use unlimited cloud speech-to-text	Moderate: configure users, Agent mode, and data workflows
Advanced features	Custom dictionary improves names/terms 100+ languages multilingual speech-to-text	Custom dictionary improves names/terms 100+ languages multilingual speech-to-text Device sync use across devices Mobile companion app dictate on mobile API / MCP access connect tools/workflows	Custom dictionary improves names/terms 100+ languages multilingual speech-to-text Device sync use across devices Mobile companion app dictate on mobile API / MCP access connect tools/workflows Agent mode automate actions Chat over your data ask about files/transcripts
Team management	None	None	Basic team / workflow use
Support	Community support	Email support	Priority support

Need SSO, compliance features, admin controls, or dedicated support for a larger team?

We also offer a custom Enterprise plan with managed onboarding and tailored features.

Talk to us

Built in the open

We built the speech-to-text layer, not a radiology stack.

Radiologists already work across a worklist, image viewer and reporting system. OpenWhispr does one narrower job: turn speech into text and paste it at the active cursor.

We build in public. Your reading-room or IT team can inspect the local transcription and paste paths on GitHub instead of relying only on a product page.

And if a report field will not accept the paste, you talk to the people who built it, in Discord.

Free · open source · local-first

Test one dictated finding at the cursor.

Start in a blank text field, then confirm cursor paste in an approved report field before clinical use.

Takes 5 minutes to set up. If it doesn't work, ask us for help in Discord. Free forever on Mac, Windows & Linux.