Sayburst vs Apple Dictation: is the built-in one enough?

Apple Dictation is free, already on your Mac, and on Apple silicon it handles many languages on the device. For the odd sentence it's all you need. Sayburst is for when you dictate every day and want the text to come out ready to send: no "um", names spelled your way, emails laid out like emails, and nothing lost if you click away.

We make Sayburst, so weigh our view accordingly. Apple Dictation details come from Apple's Mac User Guide, checked October 31, 2026.

#Side by side

A "no" in Apple's column means we didn't find the feature in Apple's guide. On Macs with M3 or later and at least 12 GB of memory, Apple Intelligence also uses an on-device model to improve spelling, punctuation and capitalization in English dictation.

#Where Apple Dictation is the better fit

• You dictate occasionally. A text, a search, a quick note. Free beats $29.
• You like watching words appear in the document. Apple types as you speak, and on Apple silicon you can keep using the keyboard while it listens. Sayburst shows your words in a small overlay and inserts the finished text when you stop.
• You want it on your iPhone and iPad too. Same feature, same habits, every Apple device.
• You need a language Sayburst's models don't cover. Check Apple's list for yours.

#Where Sayburst is worth $29

The cleanup. Apple writes down what you said, hesitations included. Sayburst removes fillers and accidental repeats, fixes capitals and punctuation, and resolves corrections. Here's a Teams message with two names that dictation often gets wrong:

"um, can you send the Q3 deck to Anneliese and, and cc Joaquín, actually no, cc Rafa instead"

With Anneliese and Rafa in your vocabulary, what lands:

Can you send the Q3 deck to Anneliese and cc Rafa?

Your words, spelled right. Add colleagues, clients, products and jargon to the vocabulary and Sayburst spells them your way. Replacements turn a phrase into text, so "my address" becomes the full street address. If you fix a name by hand after dictating, Sayburst offers to add it. More in our custom vocabulary guide.

Modes per app. Email in Mail gets a greeting, paragraphs and a sign-off. Message in Slack stays casual with no forced final period. Notes turns spoken lists into bullets. You set the mode once per app.

It doesn't lose things. If text can't be inserted because you switched apps or landed in a password field, Sayburst keeps it and offers it back, and ⌃⌥⌘V pastes your last dictation anywhere. History is searchable. How that works.

No 30-second cutoff. Apple stops listening after 30 seconds without speech, which bites when you pause to think. Sayburst listens as long as you hold the key, or until you tap again in hands-free mode. If Apple's version keeps cutting out on you, see Mac dictation keeps stopping.

Rewrite and Ask. Select a paragraph, hold the rewrite shortcut and say "make this friendlier", and the selection is replaced. The Ask shortcut answers a spoken question in a panel.

#Privacy: both keep your voice on the Mac, mostly

Apple says the text under System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation tells you whether general dictation is processed on your device and not sent to Siri servers. Dictating into a search box is excluded from that note, and Apple has a separate, optional "Share Audio Recordings" setting.

Sayburst recognizes speech on your Mac and never uploads audio. Cleanup and the optional Sayburst Writer model run on the Mac too. If you choose to connect a cloud writing provider with your own key, only text goes to it, never audio, and Sayburst shows you what will be sent before you turn it on.

#Free speech to text on a Mac: your options

If free is the requirement, start with Apple Dictation. Two other free options exist: Superwhisper's free plan gives unlimited local Whisper dictation without its AI modes (plans), and MacWhisper has a free version focused on transcribing recordings. Sayburst isn't free, but the 7-day trial includes every feature with no card, and after that it's $29 once with no subscription.

#On iPhone

Sayburst is a Mac app with no iPhone version. The best free dictation on iPhone is the one in the keyboard: turn on Settings › General › Keyboard › Enable Dictation, then tap the microphone key in any text field. It punctuates automatically in supported languages, understands "new line" and "new paragraph", lets you say "select" or "delete" to edit, and stops after 30 seconds of silence or when you say "stop dictation" (Apple's iPhone guide).

#Using both on one Mac

They don't fight if they're on different keys. A setup that works:

1. In System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation, set Apple's shortcut to the Microphone key or another option from the Shortcut menu that doesn't use fn.
2. In Sayburst, use hold fn, or pick right ⌥ if fn is taken.
3. If pressing fn opens the emoji picker, Sayburst warns you and shows where to change it. Our fn key fix walks through it.

New to all of this? How to dictate on a Mac covers both. Other head-to-heads are on the compare page.

Our take

Try Apple Dictation first; it's free and good. If you find yourself dictating every day and fixing the same fillers, names and missing paragraphs, Sayburst turns the same speech into text you can send, on your Mac, for $29 once.

Questions people ask

Is Apple Dictation good enough, or do I need Sayburst?

If you dictate a sentence here and there, Apple Dictation is free and good enough. Sayburst is worth it when you dictate every day and want fillers removed, names spelled right and text laid out for the app you're in.

Is Apple Dictation private?

Apple says your Keyboard settings show whether general dictation is processed on your device and not sent to Siri servers. Dictation into a search box is excluded from that, and the search provider may receive it.

What is the best free speech to text for Mac?

Apple Dictation, because it's built in and costs nothing. Superwhisper's free plan and the free version of MacWhisper are other free options. Sayburst has a free 7-day trial, then costs $29 once.

What is the best free dictation app for iPhone?

The dictation built into the iPhone keyboard: tap the microphone key in any text field. Sayburst is a Mac app and doesn't run on iPhone.

Can I use Apple Dictation and Sayburst together?

Yes. Give them different keys, for example Apple Dictation on the Microphone key and Sayburst on right Option, and use whichever suits the moment.