Guides
Guides to dictating on a Mac
Answer-first guides with sources. Each one starts with a short summary you can read in ten seconds.
The best dictation software for Mac in 2026
Decide first whether your voice may go to the cloud: Wispr Flow transcribes in the cloud; SayWrite, VoiceInk, MacWhisper and Superwhisper's free plan run speech on your Mac.
GuideHow to use voice to text on a Mac
Turn on Dictation in System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation and choose a shortcut.
GuideMac voice to text shortcut: how to start dictation with a key
Press the Microphone key in the function row if your keyboard has one, or the Dictation shortcut you pick in System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation › Shortcut.
GuideMac dictation not working? How to fix it
Check System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation: it must be on, in the language you speak, with the shortcut you're pressing.
GuideWhy is Mac dictation inaccurate? How to improve accuracy
Most wrong words come from the input: the wrong microphone, a low input level, background noise or echo.
GuideMac dictation commands and punctuation: the complete list
Say punctuation by name ("comma", "question mark") and "new line" or "new paragraph" for breaks.
GuideHow to dictate into ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor on a Mac
ChatGPT's Mac app has a microphone icon in the text box for dictation, separate from its voice conversations.
GuideOffline dictation on a Mac: how to dictate privately
Private dictation means your audio is turned into text on your Mac and never uploaded or stored.
GuideThe best offline and private dictation apps for Mac (2026)
Apple Dictation is built in and free, supports many languages, and can run on-device on supported Macs.
GuideHow to transcribe audio to text on a Mac (offline)
Voice Memos transcribes its own recordings on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 15 or later, where available.
GuideHow to use the Fn (Globe) key for dictation on Mac
The "Press 🌐 key to" setting lives in System Settings › Keyboard and has four options: Change Input Source, Show Emoji & Symbols, Start Dictation and Do Nothing.
GuideSpeaking vs typing speed: how much faster is dictation?
In a study of about 168,000 people, the average typing speed on a physical keyboard was 51.56 words per minute.