The best Apple Dictation alternatives for Mac (2026)

We make SayWrite. Hold Fn in ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Slack or Mail, talk, and let go. SayWrite removes filler words, adds punctuation and uses your personal dictionary. Dictation runs on your Mac, with no word limit. Optional AI Polish rewrites a ramble into clear writing, using Apple's on-device model or a model running on your Mac. SayWrite has a 7-day free trial that starts in the app, with no card and no account. After that it costs $5 a month or $30 a year, charged when you buy, with unlimited use. Cancel anytime; full refund within 14 days of any payment.

English only, Apple silicon Macs with macOS 15 or later, no Windows or phone app, and no team admin features. AI Polish needs macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence turned on, or your own Ollama or LM Studio model.

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Superwhisper's free plan gives unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, custom vocabulary and up to two modes without AI processing, and its documentation says nothing you dictate leaves your device. Pro adds cloud voice models, Parakeet and Cohere Transcribe local models, AI-powered modes, context awareness, file transcription, meetings on macOS and bring-your-own API keys. (Source: Superwhisper docs: Superwhisper Pro)

It supports more than 100 languages and dialects, on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. (Source: superwhisper.com)

SayWrite vs Superwhisper: the full comparison →

Wispr Flow's privacy policy says transcription always happens in the cloud. (Source: Wispr Flow privacy policy)

Its pricing page lists 100+ languages, apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, and SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certification. (Source: Wispr Flow pricing)

SayWrite vs Wispr Flow: the full comparison →

VoiceInk says voice transcription runs on your Mac, so audio never leaves it, and its optional Cloud Enhancement processes only the transcribed text. It has a personal dictionary and text replacements, and licenses are one-time purchases by number of Macs. (Source: tryvoiceink.com)

It's the pick if open source matters to you: the code is on GitHub under the GPL-3.0 license. SayWrite is not open source. (Source: VoiceInk on GitHub (GPL-3.0 license))

MacWhisper is best known for file transcription: drag in audio or video, batch-transcribe, record meetings without a bot joining, and transcribe YouTube links, with speaker recognition, 100+ languages and exports including .srt, .vtt, .docx and .pdf. It includes system-wide dictation, and Pro adds AI prompts through cloud providers or local models in Ollama and LM Studio. (Source: macwhisper.com)

SayWrite vs MacWhisper: the full comparison →

Spokenly offers unlimited on-device transcription for free with no account, a mode that uses your own API keys, and a Pro plan with managed cloud models. Its Local Only Mode restricts network access so audio stays on the device. (Source: spokenly.app)

Voice Control lets you open apps, click buttons, scroll and edit text by voice, with dictation, spelling and command modes. While it's on, standard macOS Dictation isn't available. (Source: Apple Support: Use Voice Control commands on Mac)