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Using Free Tiers

If you want the best OpenScribe experience without paying first, use cloud free tiers.

For this guide, the recommended path is:

  • Transcription on Groq Whisper
  • Transcription model whisper-large-v3-turbo
  • Polish on Groq
  • Polish model openai/gpt-oss-120b
  • Language mode auto
  • Copy on complete On

This setup gives a better first impression than the default local model alone. Groq transcription is fast and optimized, polish adds a large part of the value people notice in OpenScribe, and one provider key keeps the setup simpler.

Free-tier terms can change

These guides focus on providers that currently let many users get started without adding a credit card. Check the linked provider docs to confirm current account, rate-limit, and billing requirements before you rely on them.

  • Groq gives near-instant transcription and feels better than the local baseline for day-one use.
  • openai/gpt-oss-120b on Groq is strong for transcript cleanup without adding a second provider.
  • Gemini can cover both transcription and polish if you want to experiment there, but it is not the recommended polish provider for this guide.
  • Polish makes OpenScribe feel much more useful because the output is closer to ready-to-paste text.
  • This combination stays simple: one provider, one key, and one model catalog to refresh.

How Stefan uses OpenScribe

Stefan's current setup on this machine is:

  • Transcribe with Groq Whisper
  • Model whisper-large-v3-turbo
  • Polish enabled
  • Polish provider Groq
  • Polish model openai/gpt-oss-120b
  • Language auto
  • Copy on complete enabled

If you want to copy the setup that is already working well in practice, use those exact values.

Setup order

  1. Open Settings > Providers and add your Groq API key.
  2. In Settings > Transcribe, choose Groq Whisper.
  3. Set the transcription model to whisper-large-v3-turbo.
  4. In Settings > Polish, turn polish on.
  5. Choose Groq.
  6. Set the polish model to openai/gpt-oss-120b.
  7. Keep language on auto.
  8. Leave copy on complete on.

Provider walkthroughs

OpenRouter and Gemini are useful as alternative experiment paths. The main recommendation for the best free-tier experience is Groq transcription plus Groq polish on openai/gpt-oss-120b.

What about the local model?

OpenScribe transcribes locally with Parakeet by default. It needs no API key and is fast on Apple Silicon. This guide covers the cloud path, which adds Groq transcription and Groq polish. You can also combine local Parakeet transcription with Groq polish.

What about OpenAI?

OpenScribe supports OpenAI, but this page is focused on free tiers. OpenAI belongs in the broader Providers and Models guide rather than this setup path.

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