Speech-to-text

Kalam turns your voice into a transcript with a speech-to-text engine. You choose the engine per dictation mode — there is no single global mode to get right.

The three kinds of provider

Provider	Where audio goes	Needs a key?	Plan
Local	Nowhere — runs on your device	No	Free and up
Cloud (BYOK)	Groq or OpenAI	Your own API key	Free and up
Kalam Cloud	Kalam's hosted Whisper	No — uses your license	Coming soon (Max)

Set a mode's speech engine in Dictation → a mode → Hear your voice. Modes left on Same as Base inherit the Base mode's engine.

Local

On-device engines: SenseVoice Small and Parakeet / Moonshine (Sherpa-ONNX), plus Whisper Base (whisper.cpp). Audio never leaves your machine. Models download once and work offline. Download and manage them in Settings → AI & Models → Local engines. Parakeet is CC-BY-4.0 (NVIDIA NeMo).

Cloud (bring your own key)

Audio is sent to Groq or OpenAI for fast, high-accuracy transcription. You supply your own API key in Settings → AI & Models → Providers. Keys are stored on your device.

Kalam Cloud

Kalam Max is coming soon. When it ships, Kalam will transcribe for you on hosted infrastructure with no API key; your license is the credential. It is not currently selectable in the app. Use Local or Cloud (BYOK) today.

Choosing an engine

Priority	Pick
Maximum privacy	Local
Speed and accuracy	Cloud (BYOK)
No setup, no keys	Kalam Cloud (coming soon with Max)
Works offline	Local

See the full decision guide: Choosing a speech mode.

Sensitive apps override everything

If sensitive app detection is on and the focused app matches your list, Kalam forces local transcription for that dictation regardless of the mode's provider — and fails closed (no transcription) if no local engine is installed. Details: Sensitive apps and privacy.

Older versions had "Auto" and "Hybrid" modes

Earlier releases offered global Auto/Hybrid speech modes. These are retired: you now pick a provider per mode, and sensitive-app force-local applies to any mode automatically.