# Handy Review

> Handy review: Private local-first open-source dictation. Verified pricing, features, and the strongest alternatives in Speech-to-text APIs.

![Handy logo](https://www.versusref.com/logos/handy.png)

Private local-first open-source dictation

Among the 43 speech-to-text tools we track, Handy has the 12th-widest language coverage - a fit for multilingual and localization projects.

See pricing · facts verified Jul 20, 2026

## What we know about Handy

This is our verified profile of Handy, a speech-to-text apis platform - private local-first open-source dictation. Every fact about Handy below carries the source it came from and the day we checked it.

Handy does not publish a public per-minute rate we have been able to verify, so the price figure here stays blank until we can confirm one. We would rather show nothing than a guessed number; if you have a current Handy quote, it is the fastest way for us to close that gap.

On capabilities, Handy covers language auto-detection, custom vocabulary / keyterm boosting, speech translation, self-host / on-prem option, and ai formatting / edit features, and does not offer word-level timestamps, entity detection, and sentiment analysis. Each of those is verified against Handy's own docs or dashboard, not marketing copy.

For compliance, with Handy: SOC 2 Type II is not reported. If you are in a regulated space, confirm the current posture with Handy before you commit, since these change plan by plan.

Handy ranks the 12th-widest language coverage of the 43 speech-to-text tools we track, so where it lands for you depends on which of those matters more.

In total we track 29 verified facts for Handy today, each linking the primary source it came from so you can check our work - and vendor claims we have not measured ourselves are labeled as such on the Handy fact sheet below.

## Fact sheet

### Pricing

| Fact | Value | Verified | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pricing model | one-time | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer) |
| Free tier quota | Unlimited (free app) | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer) |

### Capabilities

| Fact | Value | Verified | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Languages supported | 99 languages | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs) |
| Language auto-detection | ✓  Yes | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs) |
| Speaker diarization | ✗  Not available | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs) |
| PII redaction | ✗  Not available | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs) |
| Word-level timestamps | ✗  No | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs) |
| Custom vocabulary / keyterm boosting | ✓  Yes | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/advanced) |
| Entity detection | ✗  No | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs) |
| Sentiment analysis | ✗  Not offered. | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs) |
| Summarization endpoint | ✗  No | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/post-processing) |
| Speech translation | ✓  Yes | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/post-processing) |
| Priced audio-intelligence add-ons | AI post-processing (reformat/translate/grammar) | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/post-processing) |

### Compliance & trust

| Fact | Value | Verified | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HIPAA BAA available | ✗  Not available | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/faq) |
| SOC 2 Type II | ✗  No | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/faq) |
| GDPR / EU data residency | ✗  No | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/faq) |
| Self-host / on-prem option | ✓  Yes | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer) |

### Build experience

| Fact | Value | Verified | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Supported audio formats | Microphone input only | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/faq) |
| Websocket streaming API | ✗  No | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/faq) |

### Commercial

| Fact | Value | Verified | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Model size (parameters) | Model sizes 31MB-1.6GB (Whisper, Parakeet V3, +more) | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/models) |
| Hardware to self-host | Parakeet: CPU (Skylake+); Whisper: GPU/Apple Silicon | Jul 20 | [source](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cjpais/Handy/main/README.md) |
| Hosted API available | No (local desktop app only) | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer) |
| Project maintenance status | Active - v0.9.3 released 2026-07 | Jul 20 | [source](https://github.com/cjpais/Handy/releases) |
| GitHub stars | 27,007 stars | Jul 20 | [source](https://github.com/cjpais/Handy) |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | Jul 20 | [source](https://github.com/cjpais/Handy) |
| Local vs cloud processing | Fully local/offline STT | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/faq) |
| App pricing (one-time vs subscription) | Free (open-source, MIT) | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer) |
| AI formatting / edit features | ✓  Yes | Jul 20 | [source](https://handy.computer/docs/post-processing) |
| App integrations | Raycast extension; OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoints | Jul 20 | [source](https://github.com/cjpais/Handy) |

Source: https://www.versusref.com/stt/tools/handy/