Audacity was created in 1999 by Dominic Mazzoni and Roger Dannenberg as a free, open-source audio editing project, and it has grown into one of the world's most trusted audio tools. Its AI Transcription feature uses OpenAI's Whisper model to convert speech into accurate, time-stamped text entirely offline, making it ideal for podcasts, interviews, lectures, meetings, subtitles, and research. Users appreciate that their audio never leaves their computer, there are no upload limits or subscriptions, and transcripts can be exported as SRT, VTT, or plain text in just a few clicks. The feature supports 99 languages, multiple Whisper models for different accuracy levels, and even experimental speaker identification. Best of all, Audacity and its OpenVINO AI Transcription plugin are completely free to use with no subscription or usage fees.