Sayburst vs Apple Dictation: is the built-in one enough?
Apple Dictation is free and on-device for many languages. Sayburst adds hold-to-talk, cleanup, your vocabulary and a safety net. An honest comparison.
Apple Dictation is a good free option, and on Apple silicon it runs many languages on the device. Sayburst is for people who dictate a lot and want the text to come out ready to send.
| Sayburst | Apple Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 once | Free, built in |
| Start and stop | Hold a key while you talk | Press a shortcut to start and stop |
| Stops on its own | When you let go | After 30 seconds of silence |
| Text appears | When you let go | Live, as you speak |
| On-device | ● | Many languages, Apple silicon |
| Removes um, uh and repeats | ● | — |
| Custom vocabulary and replacements | ● | — |
| Writing style per app | ● | — |
| History and recovery | ● | — |
Apple Dictation details from Apple's Mac User Guide, checked October 2, 2026. "No" means we didn't find the feature in Apple's documentation.
When Apple Dictation is enough
You dictate a sentence here and there, you like seeing words appear live, and you don't want to pay. It's free and it's already on your Mac.
When Sayburst is worth $29
- You write long emails, documents or prompts by voice and you're tired of deleting "um".
- You use names and terms that dictation always gets wrong.
- You've lost a paragraph because you clicked away mid-sentence.
Our take
Try Apple Dictation first. If you find yourself dictating every day, Sayburst turns the same speech into cleaner text, spells your words right, and never loses a dictation — still on your Mac.
Hold fn, talk, and clean text lands where your cursor is. Free for 7 days.
Download SayburstQuestions people ask
Is Apple Dictation private?
On Macs with Apple silicon, many languages are processed on the device. Text dictated into a search field may be sent to the search provider.
Can I use Apple Dictation and Sayburst together?
Yes. Give them different keys — for example Apple Dictation on a double press of fn and Sayburst on right Option.