Veterinary dictation software for vets & vet techs
Say it once. Get the SOAP note.
OpenWhispr turns that dictation into a SOAP note, a discharge or a client email on your own computer. No per-DVM subscription, and it still works in a barn with no signal.
Open source · 80,000+ downloads
The documentation squeeze
Documentation shouldn't cost your evenings and $99 a vet a month.
You want the note written for you. You don't want a subscription per DVM, a recorder in the exam room, or a tool that dies the moment you leave WiFi.
Charting follows you home.
Turn dictated text into a structured note with a custom action.
A per-DVM subscription is another monthly line item.
The Free plan includes unlimited local AI models and 100+ language support at $0.
No signal, no scribe.
Barn calls, farm visits, a back room with one bar. A cloud scribe can stall exactly where you are, leaving you to rebuild the note from memory that night. OpenWhispr runs on your device, fully offline.
A recorder in the euthanasia room.
Some conversations shouldn't be uploaded to a stranger's server to become a note. You dictate the findings afterwards, and with a local model everything is processed on your machine. Nothing sits on the table while you talk a client through it.
What you get
Records closed before you lock up. No per-DVM bill.
An AI scribe listens to the room so you never have to say it. OpenWhispr waits for you to dictate, then a local model drafts the note from a prompt you saved yourself, on your own laptop.
Dictated at the treatment table, transcribed on your laptop
Signalment, history, exam findings, assessment and plan, straight into the mic. Pick a local model and it's transcribed on your laptop, never uploaded, and you decide what's kept and when it goes.
One dictation, two documents
Save your own SOAP, discharge and client-email prompts as one-click actions, then run whichever one the case needs. The same dictation becomes the record for the file and the instructions the client reads in the car park. You check both before either is filed.
Types into the PIMS field you're already in
Press a hotkey and dictate into the Cornerstone note field, an ezyVet consult tab, a discharge template or a referral email to the specialist. Clean, punctuated text, processed locally.
Client conversations uploaded
None
in local mode, not the estimate conversation, not the goodbye
Cost per DVM, per tech
$0
unlimited local dictation, including the relief vet who works Saturdays
Setup takes
No fixed time
Install the app, then choose a local model or OpenWhispr Cloud.
How it works
Dictate on the walk back to treatment.
This is one app on the practice laptop, with no PIMS migration or IT project.
Download for free.
Mac, Windows or Linux. Pick a local model during setup.
Dictate the case.
Signalment, presenting complaint, exam findings, assessment and plan. In the room, in the treatment area, or in the truck between farms. It's transcribed on your device, and one click turns it into the draft.
Review, paste, close the record.
Fix what it got wrong, drop it into the patient's record in ezyVet or Cornerstone, and delete the audio. All of it happens on your laptop.
No convincing needed
10 reasons to choose OpenWhispr
In a three-vet practice this is a budget decision the owner signs off on, not an IT project. Here are the facts, and the practice manager can hand the repo link to whoever does your IT.
Choose local when dictation must stay on your device
Dictation, and note drafts with a local model, are processed on your machine. The open-source code shows there's no upload step.
Every DVM and every tech, $0
Unlimited local dictation, forever. Scribes charge per DVM and leave the techs writing records for free anyway.
Works in the barn and in the truck
The local model runs with the laptop in airplane mode. Dictate in the truck, file the note when you're back in range.
Dictate into the PIMS you already run
A system-wide hotkey drops clean text wherever your cursor is: ezyVet, Cornerstone, Avimark, a discharge template, a referral email. No integration to build, and no reason to change PIMS.
One dictation, the SOAP note and the discharge
Save the prompt once. A local model, or your own AI key, turns the same dictation into the record for the file and the instructions the client takes home.
No recorder in the room
You dictate afterwards. Nothing sits on the table during the estimate, and nothing is running when you put a hand on a client's shoulder.
Choose how long local records stay on the practice laptop
When you enable local audio or transcript retention, files stay on this device and are deleted after the retention period.
Read the code before the owner signs anything
Every line is on GitHub. The practice manager can send the link to whoever does your IT and have an answer the same week.
Knows cephalexin from Cerenia
The custom dictionary learns the drug names, breeds and procedures you correct, and you add the abbreviations your clinic already writes: OHE, TPR, BAR, QAR.
100+ languages
Take the history from a client who would rather explain it in Spanish, transcribed on your laptop.
Before you download
The questions vets ask first.
Straight answers on cost, terminology and what happens when you leave WiFi. If yours isn't here, ask us in Discord.
Do you record the appointment, like a scribe does?
Do vets even need this? HIPAA doesn't cover animals.
Does veterinary dictation software get drug names and breeds right?
Will it work on a farm call with no signal?
Can it write the discharge as well as the SOAP note?
Is it actually free?
What users say
Built by people who wouldn't put a recorder in the room either.
Three OpenWhispr users describe how they use it.
0
Consults on a server
You dictate afterwards, so there is no appointment recording to begin with. In local mode the dictation is never uploaded either.
Started using OpenWhispr with my local models and hardware. I have to say, this is better than typing.
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.
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.
Pricing
Free forever.
Upgrade when you want more.
FreePopular $0No card details needed | 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 | Vets and techs who want free, private, offline dictation and are fine with a quick local setup | Vets who want easy, reliable cloud transcription | Practices and teams documenting at volume |
| Main reason to choose | Free offline dictation, with consult audio staying on your device | Unlimited cloud transcription without managing local models or keys | Unlimited recordings plus advanced workflow features for a team |
| Offline speech-to-textOffline speech-to-text runs entirely on your own device, it works without internet connection, and it's unlimited and free. | Included | Included | Included |
| Cloud speech-to-textCloud speech-to-text sends audio to OpenWhispr Cloud for the highest accuracy and speed, with no local models to download. | 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 |
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| 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?
Enterprise includes team features and admin controls, plus dedicated support.
Talk to us
Built in the open
The goodbye appointment doesn't belong on a vendor's server.
OpenWhispr started with a simple objection: the three conversations that take the most out of you, the diagnosis, the estimate and the goodbye, shouldn't have to pass through a stranger's server to become a note.
We build in public. The code is on GitHub. When you choose local processing, dictation stays on your device. A practice can verify that in the code.
And if anything breaks, you talk to the people who built it, in Discord.
Free · open source · local-first
Last appointment at six. Records closed at six.
Download OpenWhispr and dictate the next case on the walk back to treatment. Choose local models when dictation needs to stay on your laptop and work offline.
Loading...Unlimited local AI models are free on macOS, Windows and Linux.