The best bilingual dictation apps for Mac (2026)

If you write in two languages on a Mac, Sayburst is the easiest pick when both are on its default model's list: it detects English and 24 European languages by itself, on your Mac, so you just talk. If one of your languages is Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Arabic, switch Sayburst to its Whisper model, or use Apple Dictation for free and change language with the Globe key.

We make Sayburst, so weigh our ranking with that in mind. Competitor details come from each vendor's own site and help docs, checked October 31, 2026. We describe what each tool documents; the hands-on notes are about Sayburst, which we test daily.

#The short answer by situation

• English plus a European language (Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Polish, Ukrainian and more): Sayburst with Parakeet v3. No switching.
• English plus an Asian or Middle Eastern language: Sayburst with Whisper Large v3 Turbo, or Superwhisper.
• You want it free and you dictate now and then: Apple Dictation, switching by hand.
• You need to speak one language and get English out: Superwhisper Pro's translation.
• You also dictate on Windows or Android: Wispr Flow or Superwhisper.

#What "bilingual" actually means in a dictation app

Three different features hide behind the word, and vendors blur them:

1. Several supported languages. Almost every app has this. It only means you can pick a language in settings.
2. Automatic detection. The app hears which language you're speaking and transcribes in it, without you touching a menu. This is what makes switching painless.
3. Mixing within a sentence ("Can you send me el presupuesto by Friday?"). This is the hard one. Speech models generally commit to one language per stretch of audio, and Wispr Flow's help center says plainly that it "detects one language per dictation, not per word."

Translation is a fourth thing entirely: turning Spanish speech into English text. Only one app on this list does it as a built-in feature.

#At a glance

#The apps

1

Sayburst

Best for Two languages, no switching, voice stays on your Mac · Price $29 once (1 Mac), $49 (3 Macs)

Hold fn, speak, let go, and the text lands wherever your cursor is: Mail, WhatsApp, Slack, Word, a browser. The default model, Parakeet v3, covers English and 24 European languages (German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Ukrainian, Swedish, Greek and others) and identifies the language on its own. That means an English reply to your manager and a Portuguese message to your mother can come out of the same key, one after the other.

For languages outside that set, download Whisper Large v3 Turbo in Settings → Models. It covers 99 languages, including Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic, and you can set a spoken language there or leave detection automatic. Either way, recognition runs on your Mac and audio is never uploaded.

Why it's first: automatic detection across the languages most bilingual Mac users actually mix, with no account and no subscription. Trade-offs: Mac only (Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later). It doesn't translate, and like every model here it's most reliable with one language per dictation. Whisper is slower than Parakeet: in our benchmark on clean English speech, Parakeet v3 took a median 82 ms per dictation and Whisper Large v3 Turbo 320 ms.

Here's a real bilingual afternoon. First dictation, into Mail:

"hi Daniel the contract is signed new paragraph I'll send the invoice on Monday"

Hi Daniel, the contract is signed.

I'll send the invoice on Monday.

Second dictation, a minute later, into WhatsApp, without touching a setting:

"hola Marta te mando el presupuesto el jueves por la mañana y si te parece lo vemos en la oficina"

Hola Marta, te mando el presupuesto el jueves por la mañana y, si te parece, lo vemos en la oficina.

Each language came out in its own spelling and punctuation. Names in either language can go in Sayburst's vocabulary so they're spelled your way.

2

Apple Dictation

Best for Free, occasional bilingual dictation · Price Free, built into macOS

Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation, click Edit next to Languages and add the ones you speak. While dictating, click the language abbreviation next to the cursor or press the Globe key to switch. Apple says dictation has no length limit and stops after 30 seconds of silence, and many languages are processed on the device.

Why it's here: free, built in, and good for short bursts in either language. Trade-off: switching is manual, and Apple's guide doesn't describe automatic detection. There's no filler cleanup, vocabulary or history. Our Sayburst vs Apple Dictation comparison goes deeper.

3

Superwhisper

Best for Translating your speech into English · Price Free; Pro $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr or $249.99 lifetime

Superwhisper lists 100+ languages and dialects on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, with local Whisper models free and unlimited. The bilingual standout is Pro's translation: speak any supported language and get English text.

Why it's here: the only app on this list with built-in speech-to-English translation, plus phone apps. Trade-off: translation and cloud AI models are Pro features, and the lifetime licence is the most expensive one-time price here. See Sayburst vs Superwhisper.

4

Wispr Flow

Best for Bilingual people on Mac, Windows and phones · Price Free tier; Pro $15/mo or $12/mo yearly

Flow supports 100+ languages. Its help center explains the rules clearly: on Mac, Windows and iOS, auto-detect can choose from every supported language, but it picks one language per dictation, and for the best accuracy Wispr recommends selecting the specific languages you speak. Android has no auto-detect. There's also a Hinglish option for Hindi written in Latin letters, which you select by hand.

Why it's here: strong language coverage on every major platform, including a mode built for Hindi-English speakers. Trade-off: transcription happens in the cloud, so it needs internet and an account. Our Sayburst vs Wispr Flow page compares the two in detail.

5

Aqua Voice

Best for Cloud dictation in a mid-sized language set · Price Free (1,000 words); paid plans

Aqua Voice says it understands 49 languages and runs on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. Its site doesn't describe how it handles switching or mixed-language speech, so test your exact pair during the free allowance.

Why it's here: a capable cloud option if your languages are on its list. Trade-off: text is stored on its servers unless you turn on Privacy Mode, and the free tier is small.

6

Microsoft Word Dictate

Best for Bilingual documents in Word · Price Included with Microsoft 365

In Word for Mac, choose Home → Dictate (or ⌥F1), then pick the spoken language from the gear menu. Microsoft lists Chinese, several Englishes, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish, plus preview languages with weaker punctuation.

Why it's here: if your bilingual writing is mostly long Word documents, it's already in the toolbar. Trade-off: it needs a Microsoft 365 subscription and a reliable internet connection, it only works in Word, and you switch language by hand. More in dictating in Word on a Mac.

7

Google Docs Voice typing

Best for Free bilingual drafting in a browser · Price Free

Open Tools → Voice typing in Chrome, Edge or Safari and pick your language in the voice typing panel. Google lists a long set of languages and regional variants.

Why it's here: free and fine for drafting in either language. Trade-off: it only works inside Docs, it switches by hand, and Google says its voice commands (like "select paragraph") work only when both the account and the document language are English. See voice typing in Google Docs on Mac.

#How we chose

We started from what bilingual writers ask for: dictate in either language without fiddling, get correct spelling and punctuation in each, keep private messages private, and sometimes translate. We ranked apps on how they detect or switch languages (from their own documentation), where audio is processed, how many of the languages people commonly pair are covered, and total cost. We left out apps that don't publish a language list, and phone keyboards, which are a different job.

#Dictation and translation are different jobs

The search "dictation translation" usually means one of two things:

• You want to speak Spanish and get Spanish text. That's dictation in a second language. Sayburst, Apple Dictation, Wispr Flow and the rest do this.
• You want to speak Spanish and get English text. That's translation. Superwhisper Pro does it into English. OpenAI's Whisper model family can also translate speech into English, although the README notes the turbo model wasn't trained for it.

Sayburst deliberately writes what you said, in the language you said it. Sayburst Writer, its optional on-device AI, cleans up and formats but never translates, so a French sentence stays French. If you need a translation, dictate first, check the text, then translate it with the tool you trust. You'll catch recognition mistakes before they turn into translation mistakes.

#Tips for dictating in two languages

• One language per dictation. Finish the English sentence, let go, then start the Spanish one. Every tool here is more accurate this way.
• Pick the model for your weakest language. If one language is outside Parakeet's 25, use Whisper for everything rather than switching models daily. Our models page lists what each covers.
• Add names from both worlds. Family names, street names and product names are where bilingual dictation slips. Add them to Sayburst's vocabulary once.
• Check the setting that's listening, not the keyboard layout. Your Mac's input source doesn't change the spoken language. If text comes out in the wrong language, these checks usually find it.
• Say longer phrases. Detection needs a few words to be confident. A one-word "gracias" is a coin toss for any model.

#Limits worth knowing

No app here promises clean mid-sentence code-switching, and you shouldn't expect it. Accuracy differs by language and accent even within one model; our benchmark numbers come from clean English speech and say nothing about Polish or Hindi. Sayburst is Mac-only, so on an iPhone or Android phone use your keyboard's built-in dictation. And if your work is mostly translating other people's recordings, a transcription tool built for files will suit you better than any dictation app.

Questions people ask

Can I dictate in two languages on a Mac?

Yes. Apple Dictation lets you add several languages and switch with the Globe key. Sayburst's default model detects English and 24 European languages on its own, so you can dictate an English email and then a Spanish message without changing anything.

Can dictation apps handle switching languages in the middle of a sentence?

Not reliably. Most tools, including Wispr Flow by its own documentation, pick one language per dictation. Keep each dictation in one language and you'll fix far less.

Is there a dictation app that translates as I speak?

Superwhisper Pro can translate any supported language into English. Sayburst, Apple Dictation and Wispr Flow write down what you said in the language you said it. For other directions, dictate first and translate the text afterwards.

Which bilingual dictation app works offline?

Sayburst transcribes on your Mac in every language it supports, and Superwhisper's local models work offline too. Apple Dictation runs on-device for many languages. Wispr Flow, Word Dictate and Google Docs need a connection.