About
Dictation that stays yours
SayWrite is an independent Mac app made by the SayWrite team. It exists because we wanted cloud-quality dictation, with the cleanup, without sending our voices to someone else's server or counting words against a weekly allowance.
Last updated
Why SayWrite exists
For most people talking is faster than typing, and modern Macs are fast enough to turn speech into text on the device. So SayWrite does the whole job on your Mac: speech recognition on the Neural Engine, and optional AI cleanup with Apple's on-device model or a model you run yourself. Nothing to sign up for, and it keeps working on a plane.
How SayWrite makes money
Subscriptions, and nothing else. SayWrite has a 14-day free trial (card required; you won't be charged until day 15), then costs $5 a month or $30 a year, with unlimited use. Cancel anytime in your account. There are no ads, the app has no analytics, and we don't sell data. Because the work happens on your Mac, there are no cloud servers to pay for per word, which is why there's no word limit.
What we promise
- SayWrite never uploads your audio or the text you dictate.
- No passwords, no analytics, no telemetry in the app.
- Every network connection the app makes is listed on the security page, and the privacy policy is updated before any change ships.
- Claims about other apps link to their own pages, with the date we checked them.
What SayWrite doesn't do (yet)
- It transcribes English only.
- It needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 15 or later. There's no Windows or phone app.
- AI Polish needs macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence, or your own Ollama or LM Studio model. Plain dictation doesn't.
- The app is closed source and hasn't had an independent security audit. The security page shows how to check its network behavior yourself.
Help and support
Email support@saywrite.app for help installing, with your license, or with billing. A person reads every message. It helps to include your Mac model, macOS version and SayWrite version (SayWrite › About SayWrite). Please don't send recordings or anything you dictated.
- Fn opens the emoji picker: set System Settings › Keyboard › “Press 🌐 key to” to Do Nothing (details).
- Text doesn't appear in other apps: turn on SayWrite under System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility (details).
- Manage or cancel your subscription: SayWrite › Settings › License › Manage Subscription, or on the pricing page.
- Lost your license key: get it sent to your email.
- Found a security issue: see responsible disclosure.
Press, reviews and partnerships: hello@saywrite.app. Logos and product facts are in the press kit.