Manual Models and processing
Cloud vs local processing
Neato Echo runs locally by default. Here's what that means, and when you might add your own cloud provider key.
Neato Echo processes speech and AI text on your own PC. You don't need an account or an API key for anything. If you want a hosted model instead, you can add your own key from a cloud provider, but that is optional and off by default.
Local processing (the default)
During setup Neato Echo downloads two models to %USERPROFILE%\.cache\neato-echo
and runs everything on your machine. Audio never leaves your PC.
- Speech-to-text: NVIDIA Parakeet (Parakeet TDT 0.6B v3, about 600 MB, multilingual). Whisper and Nemotron models are also available in Settings → Speech-to-Text.
- Language model: Qwen 3.5 4B (about 2.5 GB) for summaries, dictation cleanup and the agent, with smaller Qwen sizes for lower-end PCs in Settings → Language Models.
- Works offline after the initial download.
- See local models for the full list and how to choose.
Cloud Providers (optional, your own key)
Under Cloud Providers in Settings you can enter an API key from a third-party provider and pick it for speech-to-text, the agent, or both:
| Provider | What you get |
|---|---|
| OpenAI | Transcription plus GPT models for AI actions |
| Groq | Fast Whisper transcription plus hosted reasoning models |
| Mistral | Voxtral transcription model |
| Anthropic / Google Gemini | AI agent and text enhancement models |
| Others | Additional providers are listed in the same section |
With a cloud key, the audio or text you send goes to that provider under its own terms and pricing. Anything you haven't pointed at a cloud provider keeps running locally.
Comparison
| Local (default) | Cloud Providers (your key) | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Download models | Add API key |
| Speed | Depends on your PC | Fast |
| Privacy | Fully private | Audio or text sent to the provider |
| Internet | Not needed | Required |
| Cost | Free | Your provider's pricing |
Still need help?
Write to [email protected] with your Windows version, your Neato Echo version (Settings → System), and what you were doing. A person reads every message.