The best dictation apps for Mac in 2026
We compared nine ways to type with your voice on a Mac — local and cloud, free and paid — on privacy, price and how much cleanup you'll do afterwards.
We make Sayburst, so we're biased — and we'll say so. We've still tried to make this the list we'd want to read: what each app is actually good at, what it costs, and where your voice goes. Prices were checked on each vendor's site on October 2, 2026.
How we judged
- Where your voice goes: on your Mac, or uploaded to a server.
- What you pay: once, or every month.
- How clean the text is: fillers, punctuation, your vocabulary.
- What happens when something goes wrong: do you lose what you said?
At a glance
| App | Transcribes | Price | Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sayburst | On your Mac | $29 once | No |
| Apple Dictation | On device (many languages) | Free | No |
| VoiceInk | On your Mac | $25 once | License key |
| Superwhisper | Local or cloud | Free / $84.99/yr / $249.99 lifetime | — |
| Wispr Flow | Cloud only | $12–15/mo | Yes |
| MacWhisper | On your Mac | Free / €64 once | No |
| Spokenly | Local or cloud | Free (local) / $9.99/mo | Not for local |
| Aqua Voice | Cloud only | $8–10/mo | Yes |
| Handy | On your Mac | Free, open source | No |
Sayburst
Best for Writing all day without your voice leaving your Mac · Price $29 once (1 Mac), $49 (3 Macs)
Hold fn, talk, let go: clean text lands in the app you're using. Sayburst runs NVIDIA's Parakeet right on the Neural Engine, so your words land the instant you let go — and Whisper covers 99 languages. It removes fillers and stutters, lays out emails, spells your vocabulary right, and keeps every dictation recoverable if it can't be typed. AI polish is optional and uses a provider you choose, including local ones.
Why it's first: the fastest path from speech to finished text that we've measured, private by default, and no subscription. Trade-off: Mac only for now (iPhone coming), and the deepest AI rewriting needs a provider you connect.
Apple Dictation
Best for Occasional dictation, free · Price Free
Built into macOS, live text as you speak, and on-device for many languages on Apple silicon. No filler removal, vocabulary or history, and it stops after 30 seconds of silence. Start here if you're new to dictation. Comparison
VoiceInk
Best for Open-source fans · Price $25 once (1 Mac)
Local, one-time, and GPL-3.0 on GitHub. The closest alternative to Sayburst, slightly cheaper for one Mac, with a solo maintainer. Comparison
Superwhisper
Best for Dictation across Mac, Windows and phones · Price Free; Pro $84.99/yr or $249.99 lifetime
Mature and flexible, with local or cloud models and a strong mode system. Its free tier gives unlimited local dictation without AI modes; the lifetime licence is the most expensive one-time price on this list. Comparison
Wispr Flow
Best for Teams on many platforms who are fine with the cloud · Price $15/mo or $12/mo yearly
Polished and everywhere — Mac, Windows, iOS, Android — with team dictionaries and compliance options. Transcription always happens in the cloud, so it needs internet and an account. Comparison
MacWhisper
Best for Transcribing recordings and meetings · Price Free; Pro €64 once
The best tool here for files: speaker labels, subtitles, batch processing. Dictation is a secondary feature. Comparison
Spokenly
Best for Free local dictation · Price Free (local models); Pro $9.99/mo
Unlimited local Whisper and Parakeet for free, without an account. Its cloud models and AI cleanup are the paid part; check which model is active on first run.
Aqua Voice
Best for Fast cloud dictation with realtime mode · Price $10/mo or $8/mo yearly
A strong cloud model and realtime typing on its Max plan. It needs an internet connection and an account; audio is processed in the cloud.
Handy
Best for Tinkerers who want free and open source · Price Free (MIT)
Hold a shortcut, get text — locally, on Mac, Windows and Linux. No AI cleanup or per-app modes, and fn shortcuts only work with Apple keyboards.
Our recommendation
- Dictate occasionally? Apple Dictation.
- Write by voice every day on a Mac and care where your voice goes? Sayburst.
- Need Windows and Android too? Wispr Flow or Superwhisper.
- Mostly recordings? MacWhisper.
Try Sayburst free for 7 days — every feature, no account.
Download SayburstQuestions people ask
What is the best free dictation app for Mac?
Apple Dictation is free and built in, and processes many languages on Apple silicon. Spokenly and Handy offer free local dictation too.
What's the most private dictation app for Mac?
Apps that transcribe on your Mac — Sayburst, VoiceInk, Superwhisper and MacWhisper with local models, and Apple Dictation for supported languages. Cloud-only apps like Wispr Flow and Aqua Voice upload your audio.