Offline dictation on Windows:
how it works

The short version

On Pro, VoltType can run its speech model on your own PC. You download a voice pack once, switch to Offline mode, and from then on your audio is transcribed on your own PC. It works with the network cable unplugged. No special graphics card is needed; the model runs on the processor.

In cloud mode it is different, and we say so plainly: your voice is sent over the internet to be turned into text.

What happens when you press the hotkey

Click where you want to write, hold Ctrl + Space and talk, or press Ctrl + Shift + D once to start and once to stop. When you finish, the words appear at your cursor, in whatever app you were in: an email, a Word document, a form in your practice software. If you can type into it, you can talk to it.

In Offline mode the path is short. The microphone hands the audio to the speech engine on your computer, the engine turns it into text, and VoltType types the text into the app. An NVIDIA speech model does the listening, on your CPU. There is no server in that loop.

Notes and meeting notes can also be written on your PC. That needs a second, separate download for the offline writer, about 1.1 GB, and the app asks before it starts. Be aware that writing notes on the processor is slower than doing it online.

The one-time download

The voice pack is about 670 MB. You need the internet once, to fetch it. After that, dictation in Offline mode does not need a connection at all. Plug out the cable, turn off Wi-Fi, take the laptop on a train; the words still land where you type.

The pack covers 25 languages. We wrote a separate page about what to expect from each language offline, because they are not all equally good.

Why it stays on your PC in Offline mode

Three things keep Offline mode honest.

• The audio never needs to go anywhere. The model is on your disk and runs on your processor, so there is nothing to upload.
• Every connection has an off switch. The app has a few connections besides dictation: usage counts, the licence refresh and update checks. Each one can be switched off, one button turns them all off, and switching to Offline turns the data switches off by itself.
• What you dictate offline stays out of the cloud later. When you go back online, nothing you dictated in Offline mode is used as context for a cloud request. The AI rewrite commands, such as “make this formal”, need the cloud, so in Offline mode they are blocked instead of quietly sending your text.

What Offline mode does not mean

We do not say “nothing ever leaves your PC”, because that would not be true of the app as a whole. With the data switches on, VoltType checks your licence now and then and looks for updates. You decide whether those stay on. And cloud mode is a different thing: your voice is sent over the internet to be turned into text. The app tells you which mode is on before you start speaking.

How to check it yourself

You do not have to take our word for any of this. In Offline mode the mode card in the Windows app shows a counter, “Sent since Offline”: the bytes sent since you switched to Offline, starting at 0 on every switch, so you can watch it while you dictate. A few things can still go out in Offline mode and would show in that count: the subscription check (at most every 6 hours), the daily check for a newer version if “Automatic updates” is on, and anything you press yourself, such as “Check once” for updates. The verify page lists them.

If your IT department wants more than a counter, there is a 10-minute check they can run: Windows' own connection log plus a Wireshark capture, first while you dictate offline, then after you switch back online. When we ran it on 18 September 2026 with the installed VoltType 1.2.120 on Windows 11, the offline phase showed no connections opened by VoltType. The page also lists what that check does not prove.

What you need

• A Windows 10 or 11 PC and VoltType from the Microsoft Store or the installer.
• Pro: €29 a month or €290 a year, the final price. Free is a 3,000-word taste in the cloud and has no voice pack.
• Android works the same way once the pack is downloaded. On a Mac or iPhone you use the web app, which has no on-device engine and needs the internet.

See pricing for what each plan includes, and private dictation for who tends to need Offline mode and why.

Frequently asked questions

Does offline dictation need a graphics card?

No. The speech model runs on your processor. No special graphics card is required; speed depends on your PC.

Is Offline mode part of the free plan?

No. Offline mode and the voice pack are part of Pro, €29 a month or €290 a year. Free runs in the cloud: 3,000 words a month, no card.

Do I need the internet at all?

Once, to download the voice pack (about 670 MB). After that, dictation in Offline mode works with no connection.

Can I see whether anything was sent?

Yes. In Offline mode the Windows app shows “Sent since Offline”: the bytes sent since you switched to Offline, starting at 0 on every switch. The verify page describes a 10-minute check with Windows' own connection log and Wireshark.

Does it work on a Mac?

Not offline. On a Mac you use VoltType in the browser, which needs the internet; there is no Mac app yet.