Get Sablate
Sablate installs like any desktop app, so no terminal is needed. Download the installer for your system from the official site; the Whisper speech models are fetched inside the app on first use.
Platform | Get It |
|---|---|
| Windows | Download for Windows — .exe, Windows 10 64-bit or newer, about 320 MB (1.3 GB installed) |
| Mac | Download for Mac — .dmg, macOS 12 or newer, separate Apple Silicon and Intel builds |
| Free plan | See the plans — no account and no credit card |
| Release notes | Changelog |
| Website | sablate.com |
| Privacy policy | Sablate privacy policy |
| Source code | Closed source; no public repository |
The download page lists Windows and macOS only; no Linux, iOS or Android build is offered.
Sablate at a Glance
Attribute | Sablate |
|---|---|
| Platform | Windows 10+ and macOS 12+ |
| Price | Free tier; Pro $29 once or $5.99/month |
| License | Proprietary, closed source |
| Runs | On your computer with faster-whisper, Argos and ffmpeg; internet for downloads, updates and license checks |
| Languages | About 100 spoken languages with automatic detection; Argos pair count not stated |
| Speaker labels | No, listed as not supported |
| Real-time transcription | Not stated; Sablate processes files, not live audio |
| Usable on CPU only | Yes, slower without an NVIDIA GPU |
| Local API server | Not stated |
Attributes follow the speech-to-text comparison used in the Local LLM Software Directory. A missing statement on the site means unknown, not unsupported.
What Sablate Is
Sablate is a subtitle workflow for files already on your disk, not a live-captioning or dictation tool. You add a video or audio file; the app transcribes it with Whisper, lets you add translation layers on top, offers an editor for timing and text, applies a caption style and exports the result.
Per the developer, Furkan Bağcı, Sablate is made by FuumiSoft, a small independent software studio in Turkey that also makes File Arbor and Vidray; the website does not yet state this, and PromptQuorum has not verified it independently. The pages say it does not download from YouTube, dub, clone voices, auto-clip or label speakers.
This review draws on the website, changelog, documentation, privacy policy and terms. It involved no hands-on testing, so accuracy, speed and stability are not rated here.
How to Get Started
Setup is an install, a model download and a job. The steps follow the website and its documentation.
- 1Install the app
Why it matters: Download the Windows .exe or the Mac .dmg from the [download page](https://sablate.com/download); the free plan needs no account. - 2Add a video
Why it matters: Drop in .mp4, .mov, .mkv, .webm, .avi, .m4v, .mp3, .wav, .m4a or .flac files, or a folder of them on Pro, and pick a Whisper tier. - 3Transcribe and translate
Why it matters: The speech model downloads the first time you use a tier. Then add translation layers: Argos works offline, one language pack per pair. - 4Edit, style and export
Why it matters: Retime and split cues on the timeline, choose one of the 13 presets, then export subtitle files or a burned-in video at 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1.
Features
The feature set centres on private subtitles for short-form and long-form video. Everything below comes from the website, documentation and changelog.
- Local transcription. faster-whisper in four tiers, with automatic NVIDIA GPU acceleration on Windows and a CPU fallback.
- Translation layers. Add a target language on top of a transcript; Argos runs offline, and DeepL, OpenAI and Claude work with your own key on Pro.
- Subtitle editor. Video, transcript and style panel in one window, with timeline retiming, split and merge, and a reading-speed warning.
- Caption styles. Thirteen presets, a word-by-word karaoke sweep and, on Pro, custom presets.
- Export. .srt, .vtt and .txt; on Pro also .ass and a soft-subtitled .mkv with one track per language; burned-in .mp4 on every plan.
- Batch jobs. Pro accepts a folder of videos and exports every language in one click.
Models and Hardware
The app runs Whisper through faster-whisper, with four tiers. The documentation names Fast (tiny, 78 MB), Balanced (small, 486 MB), Accurate (large-v3-turbo, 1.62 GB) and Best (large-v3, 3.09 GB); the download page gives a range of 75 MB to 2.9 GB. Per the developer, both describe the same files: the documentation counts in decimal units and the download page in binary units. Free includes Fast and Balanced, and Pro adds Accurate and Best.
An NVIDIA GPU is used automatically and its CUDA runtime downloads on first use; without one the app runs on the CPU, and on macOS it runs on the CPU. The site gives no RAM or GPU minimum. The Windows install takes about 1.3 GB of disk. The site claims a GPU makes transcription roughly 5 to 10 times faster; PromptQuorum did not measure speed or accuracy.
Privacy, License and Cost
The privacy policy says the desktop application processes your media locally and that audio and video files are never uploaded. The policy is dated October 2026. If you switch on a cloud provider with your own key, the audio or text goes straight from your machine to that provider under its terms, and the app says so at that moment.
The network is still used elsewhere. The documentation lists an update check every few hours, a license check about once a day on Pro, anonymous usage statistics and an optional feature-suggestion form. The statistics go to PostHog in the EU and, per the policy, include the app version, system, processor type, plan and whether a GPU exists, but never audio, video, transcripts, file names or keys. The pages we read describe no setting to turn the statistics off. The code is closed and PromptQuorum did not examine network traffic, so these statements are the maker's own.
It is a freemium, proprietary product. Free covers videos up to 10 minutes and 3 jobs a month with a credit line or corner mark on exports; Pro costs $29 once or $5.99 a month and is active on one device at a time. The site lists prices in US dollars and does not mention VAT. The one-time license has a 30-day refund; monthly payments are not refunded.
From the Maker
Furkan Bağcı, the developer of Sablate at FuumiSoft, read this review and wrote that he checked it against the Sablate pages and found nothing technically wrong. He added who makes the app (now stated above) and explained that the model sizes on the documentation page and the download page describe the same files, in decimal and binary units. The note below is the developer's own words, not PromptQuorum's independent assessment; PromptQuorum has not run the app.
“Sablate exists to do the whole subtitle job on the computer where the footage already is: Whisper transcription, translation, editing and burn-in in one window, with no upload and no per-minute fee. The app is closed source, so rather than ask people to take 'private' on trust, the documentation lists every outbound call it makes (the update check, the Pro license check, anonymous usage statistics and the optional feedback form), and the privacy policy lists exactly what the statistics contain. Cloud engines are only there for people who bring their own key, and the app says so each time one is picked.”
— Furkan Bağcı, FuumiSoft
Trade-Offs: Benefits vs. Limitations
Everything on your computer
- What it means in real use:
- Per the maker, transcription, offline translation and rendering need no upload and no per-minute fee.
- Limitation / caveat:
- Closed source, so the claim cannot be checked; update, license and statistics calls still use the network.
Subtitles you can style
- What it means in real use:
- Thirteen presets and burn-in turn a transcript into finished short-form video.
- Limitation / caveat:
- Free exports carry a corner mark or credit line; .ass and .mkv export need Pro.
One-time price
- What it means in real use:
- $29 once avoids a subscription.
- Limitation / caveat:
- The license covers one device at a time; monthly payments are not refunded.
About 100 languages
- What it means in real use:
- Spoken languages are detected automatically.
- Limitation / caveat:
- Argos language packs are per pair and no pair count is stated; no accuracy figures are published.
Four Whisper tiers
- What it means in real use:
- A small model for quick drafts, larger ones for accuracy.
- Limitation / caveat:
- Accurate and Best need Pro and gigabytes of disk; speed claims are untested.
Active development
- What it means in real use:
- Three releases between 1 September and 19 October 2026.
- Limitation / caveat:
- A very young product with no independent reviews found.
Sablate vs. Alternatives
These are the closest subtitle and transcription tools in the directory: a free open-source subtitle editor, a free open-source transcription app, a one-time-purchase Apple app and a Mac transcription app.
Sablate
- Platforms:
- Windows, Mac
- Price and license:
- Free tier, Pro $29 once, proprietary
- Role:
- Subtitles with burn-in
- Key difference:
- Whisper, translation and styled burn-in in one app; closed source
Also mentioned in Sablate (1)
Also mentioned in:
- Local Voice & Speech Tools Compared (2026): Text-to-Speech, Speech-to-Text and Voice AgentsUpdated November 6, 2026
Subtitle Edit
- Platforms:
- Windows, Mac, Linux
- Price and license:
- Free, MIT
- Role:
- Subtitle editor
- Key difference:
- Open source with many engines; built for editing and translating existing subtitles
Articles about Subtitle Edit (1)
- Subtitle Edit Review: Local Whisper Transcription and Auto-TranslateUpdated October 24, 2026
Buzz
- Platforms:
- Mac, Windows, Linux
- Price and license:
- Free, MIT
- Role:
- Transcription app
- Key difference:
- Free and open source; turns recordings into subtitles and transcripts
Articles about Buzz (1)
- Buzz Review: Free Offline Whisper Transcription and CaptionsUpdated October 24, 2026
Aiko
- Platforms:
- iPhone, iPad, Mac
- Price and license:
- $24 once (US price), proprietary
- Role:
- Apple transcription app
- Key difference:
- Apple devices only; no Windows version
Articles about Aiko (1)
- Aiko Review: On-Device Whisper Transcription for Mac and iPhoneUpdated October 30, 2026
MacWhisper
- Platforms:
- macOS
- Price and license:
- Freemium, proprietary
- Role:
- Mac transcription app
- Key difference:
- Transcribes files, meeting recordings and live dictation; Mac only
Articles about MacWhisper (2)
- MacWhisper Review: Local Speech-to-Text for MacUpdated October 3, 2026
- Meetily Review: Local, Privacy-First AI Meeting NotesUpdated September 18, 2026
Also mentioned in:
- AquaVoice Review: Pricing, Privacy and AI Prompt DictationUpdated November 6, 2026
- Local Voice & Speech Tools Compared (2026): Text-to-Speech, Speech-to-Text and Voice AgentsUpdated November 6, 2026
- FunClip Review: Self-Hosted AI Video Clipping With FunASRUpdated September 19, 2026
- Willow Inference Server Review: Self-Hosted Whisper ASR and TTSUpdated September 19, 2026
Platform, price, and feature details for third-party apps change frequently. Verify current specifics on each project's own page before deciding.
Who Should Use Sablate
- Short-form video creators on Windows or Mac. Styled, burned-in captions come out of the same app that transcribes.
- People who keep footage private. Transcription and offline translation stay on the computer, per the maker.
- Teachers and editors who need several languages. Translation layers export one track per language.
- Buyers who prefer paying once. A $29 one-time Pro license exists next to the subscription.
Who Should Not Use Sablate
- Linux, iPhone and Android users. Only Windows and Mac builds are offered.
- Anyone who needs speaker labels or live captions. The maker lists speaker labels as not supported and describes a file-based workflow; the pages we read do not mention live captioning.
- Anyone who needs auditable software. The code is closed and the privacy claims cannot be inspected.
- Anyone who wants fully free software. Free is limited to 10-minute videos; Subtitle Edit and Buzz are free and open source.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Sablate work offline?
The maker says yes, once the speech model and any Argos language packs are downloaded. Updates, Pro license checks and usage statistics need a connection but, per the docs, the app keeps working without them. PromptQuorum did not test it offline.
Is my video sent to the cloud?
The privacy policy says media is never uploaded to the maker, except when you enable a cloud engine with your own key. The code is closed and PromptQuorum did not inspect network traffic.
Which file formats does it accept?
Video and audio including .mp4, .mov, .mkv, .webm, .avi, .m4v, .mp3, .wav, .m4a and .flac, according to the documentation.
Can I try it before paying?
Yes: the free plan has no account or credit card, but it limits video length to 10 minutes and jobs to 3 a month. No separate trial is mentioned.
Who makes Sablate?
According to its developer, Furkan Bağcı, Sablate is made by FuumiSoft, a small independent software studio in Turkey that also makes File Arbor and Vidray. The Sablate website does not state this clearly yet, and PromptQuorum has not verified it independently.
Verdict
Sablate is a good fit if you want to turn video on a Windows PC or Mac into translated, styled, burned-in captions where, per the maker, the work stays on your own computer, and you accept closed-source software. It has a usable free tier, a one-time Pro price and a recent release.
The caveats are scope and verifiability: no Linux or mobile version, no speaker labels, closed code, a maker (FuumiSoft, Turkey) that only the developer's message names, not the website, privacy claims that PromptQuorum could not check and a product that is only a couple of months old. Try the free plan on a short clip before you buy.
Sources
- Sablate website — features and pricing.
- Download page — platforms and system requirements.
- Documentation — models, formats, network calls and FAQ.
- Changelog — version history; version 1.0.2 dated 19 October 2026.
- Privacy policy — data handling, dated October 2026.
- Terms of use — license, refund and device terms.
- Message from the developer (Furkan Bağcı, 7 November 2026) — maker details, model-size units and the founder note; his own statements, not independently verified.