You can run NVIDIA Parakeet on your own Mac, Windows PC or Linux machine with Off Grid AI Desktop (OGAD). Open Models, download Parakeet TDT 0.6B, press Use, and your voice and audio files turn into text on your computer. No Python, no command line and nothing uploaded.
It is free.
Download Off Grid AI · See the desktop app
What Parakeet is
Parakeet TDT 0.6B is NVIDIA's open speech-recognition model. It is small, at 0.6 billion parameters, and it is known for accurate English transcripts. The v3 build adds 24 more European languages.
Running it yourself usually means NVIDIA's NeMo toolkit, a Python setup and a GPU. OGAD ships a ready-built runtime instead, on all three systems.
What you need
- A Mac, Windows PC or Linux machine with 4 GB of RAM or more.
- About 661 MB of free storage per Parakeet model, and internet for that one download.
- OGAD 0.0.56 or later, free from the download page.
Set it up
- Install Off Grid AI Desktop and open it.
- Open Models, then the Transcription tab.
- Pick a Parakeet model and select Download:
- Parakeet TDT 0.6B v2 for English.
- Parakeet TDT 0.6B v3 for English and 24 other European languages.
- When it finishes, select Use. The card now says Active.
From then on, Parakeet does your speech to text.
Use it
- Transcribe an audio file. In Chat, use +, then Attach files, or drop the recording on the message box. Click the attachment's text preview to read the full transcript.
- Talk to the assistant. Speak instead of typing in chat.
- Dictate into any app, with Pro. Press your dictation shortcut, speak, and the text lands where your cursor is. The dictation guide covers the setup.
Long recordings are fine. OGAD cuts them into pieces of up to 30 seconds, at a quiet moment so no word is split, and joins the text back together.
Parakeet, Whisper or Qwen3-ASR
OGAD's Transcription tab offers all three, and you can switch any time with Use.
| Model | Languages | Download | Pick it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parakeet TDT 0.6B v2 | English | About 661 MB | Accurate English |
| Parakeet TDT 0.6B v3 | 25 European languages | About 661 MB | Accurate European languages |
| Qwen3-ASR 1.7B | 30, detected for you | About 2.5 GB | Mixed or unknown languages |
| Whisper Large v3 Turbo | 99 | About 1.6 GB | The widest language list |
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The Whisper vs Parakeet vs Qwen3-ASR guide compares them in more detail.
If something goes wrong
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Parakeet couldn't transcribe that, so Whisper did." | Parakeet failed on that recording | Nothing to do. Whisper wrote the text. |
| Parakeet is missing from the Transcription tab | OGAD is older than 0.0.56 | Update OGAD |
| Words in another language come out wrong | v2 is English only | Download v3 and select Use |
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FAQ
How do I run NVIDIA Parakeet without Python?
Install OGAD, open Models, then Transcription, and download a Parakeet model. The runtime ships with the app.
Which Parakeet model should I pick?
v2 for English, v3 for any of 25 European languages. Each is about 661 MB.
Is Parakeet free in Off Grid AI?
Yes, for audio files and voice chat on Mac, Windows and Linux, with no account and no minute limit. Dictating into any app is part of Pro.
Can I run Parakeet on my phone?
Not in Off Grid AI. On a phone, use Qwen3-ASR or Whisper.
Related guides
- How to dictate into Windows apps with local AI in 2026
- How to dictate into Linux apps with local AI in 2026
- Best offline speech-to-text apps in 2026
Download Off Grid AI and run Parakeet on your own computer today.
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