The best offline and private dictation apps for Mac (2026)

Disclosure: SayWrite is our app. We describe every option using its developer's own documentation, checked in September 2026. Prices and features change, so check each site before you buy.

What makes a dictation app “offline”?

An offline dictation app recognizes your speech with a model stored on your Mac, so it keeps working with no internet connection and your audio doesn't travel to a server. Most offline apps on the Mac use OpenAI's Whisper models (often through the open-source whisper.cpp project) or NVIDIA's Parakeet models. Apple silicon runs these fast enough for everyday dictation.

Two things are worth checking beyond “offline”: whether any AI cleanup or rewriting also runs locally, and whether the app is built for live dictation into other apps or for transcribing recordings.

Which offline dictation apps are there, at a glance?

Apple Dictation: is the built-in option good enough?

For many people, yes. It's free, already on your Mac, supports dozens of languages (fewer of them on-device), and adds commas, periods and question marks automatically in supported languages. Apple says there is no time limit, and dictation stops after 30 seconds without speech. Keyboard settings show whether your dictation is processed on your device. What it doesn't do is clean up your text: no filler-word removal, rewriting, snippets or per-app style.

SayWrite: private dictation with cleanup built in

SayWrite is built for dictating straight into whatever app you're using. Hold the Fn key, talk, and the text is typed at your cursor. Recognition uses NVIDIA's Parakeet TDT 0.6B v2 model on the Neural Engine and works offline after a one-time model download (about 465 MB). On top of plain dictation it adds filler-word removal, AI Polish (Apple Intelligence's on-device model or your own Ollama or LM Studio), spoken commands, snippets, a personal dictionary, local History, speaking-speed Stats and file transcription.

Its limits: SayWrite is English only and needs Apple silicon and macOS 15 or later. It has a 7-day free trial in the app with no card, then costs $30 a year, with no word limit.

MacWhisper

MacWhisper, from developer Jordi Bruin, runs Whisper models locally on your Mac and is well known for transcribing recordings such as interviews, meetings and podcasts. It has a free tier and a Pro version sold as a one-time purchase, and it's also available on the Mac App Store.

Superwhisper

Superwhisper's free tier offers unlimited dictation with local Whisper models. Its Pro plan adds cloud models, AI modes and real-time transcription, and is sold monthly, yearly or as a lifetime license. It runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. If you want everything to stay on your Mac, stick to its local models.

VoiceInk

VoiceInk transcribes with local models by default, and its GitHub README describes it as 100% offline. You can also connect optional cloud providers. Its source code is published on GitHub under the GPL-3.0 license, and licenses are sold as a one-time purchase per number of Macs. It requires Apple silicon.

Aiko

Aiko, by Sindre Sorhus, transcribes audio on your device with OpenAI's Whisper and runs on Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro. It's a focused, minimal transcription app rather than a system-wide dictation tool.

Which popular dictation apps are not offline?

Wispr Flow is a popular dictation app, but its own security FAQ says it processes dictated audio in the cloud, so it isn't an offline option. Dragon is often recommended from memory, but Nuance ended sales and updates of Dragon Professional Individual for Mac on October 22, 2018. Existing licenses still work, but it isn't maintained for current versions of macOS.

How do you choose?

• You dictate in several languages: start with Apple Dictation.
• You want clean, rewritten text typed into any app, fully on your Mac: try SayWrite.
• You mostly transcribe recordings: look at MacWhisper or Aiko. SayWrite can transcribe files too, with .txt, .md and .srt export.
• You want to read the source code: VoiceInk is open source.

Whatever you pick, test it the same way: disconnect from every network and dictate a paragraph. For more on that, see how to dictate on a Mac privately.