Universal Voice Typing for macOS
A background client and a global hotkey, typing into whatever window is in front — Mail, Slack, Xcode, Safari, Notes, a terminal. No thirty-second cap, and the same account works on your Windows and Linux machines too.
No thirty-second ceiling
Apple Dictation stops on its own during continuous speech and you restart it. Dictating a long email or a document section works here as one uninterrupted pass.
Your Mac is not doing the work
Recognition runs on our servers, so there is no local model to download, no GPU load and no thermal throttling on a long session — the same on an M4 as on a 2019 Intel MacBook.
Getting it running on a Mac
Download and open the client
It runs in the menu bar. macOS will ask for microphone access, and for Accessibility permission so that it can type into other applications — that second prompt is the one people miss, and nothing will appear in your apps until it is granted.
Link it to your account
The client shows a device code that you confirm once in the browser. After that it holds an API key of its own; you do not sign in again on that machine.
Set a hotkey and dictate
Pick a shortcut that does not collide with Spotlight or your window manager, put the cursor in any text field, hold it and speak. Text streams in as you go.
Where Apple Dictation stops
Apple Dictation is free, already on your Mac, and perfectly good for a sentence in a search box. It is worth being specific about where it runs out rather than vague about it being “limited”.
It ends a continuous session on its own, which is fine for a message and irritating for a long email; the enhanced offline model has to be downloaded per language and per machine; recognition quality varies with which model your Mac ended up using; and none of it follows you to a Windows or Linux machine, because it is a macOS feature rather than a product. If you work on one Mac and dictate in short bursts, it may well be all you need, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
The case for paying for something is continuous dictation, uniform behaviour across machines and operating systems, and transcription that does not depend on the age of your laptop. If your comparison is with a third-party Mac app rather than with Apple, the MacWhisper comparison is the more useful page.
What it does not do
- Accessibility permission is required. macOS will not let any application type into another one without it, and the client is no exception.
- It needs a network connection. Recognition happens on our servers, so there is no offline mode — on a plane, Apple Dictation with the offline model is the tool that still works.
- It is not voice control. You cannot drive menus, click buttons or navigate macOS by speaking; it types words. macOS Voice Control and Talon are the tools for that.
- There is no iOS app. On a phone the available path is sending voice notes to the WhatsApp bot and receiving text back.
Common questions
How is this different from the dictation already in macOS?+
Three things: it does not end a continuous session on its own, it behaves identically on your Windows and Linux machines under one account, and recognition runs server-side so it does not depend on which model your particular Mac downloaded. For short bursts on a single Mac, Apple Dictation may be all you need.
Does it work on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs?+
Both. Because the transcription happens on our servers rather than locally, the client is doing very little work either way — an older Intel MacBook gets the same speed and the same accuracy as an M-series machine.
Why does it ask for Accessibility permission?+
macOS requires it before any application may send keystrokes to another application. Without it the client will run and record but no text will appear in your apps. It is granted once in System Settings, under Privacy & Security, Accessibility.
Does it work offline?+
No. Audio is streamed to our servers for transcription, so a connection is required. If offline dictation is a hard requirement, Superwhisper and MacWhisper both run Whisper locally on a Mac and are the right answer for that.
What does it cost on macOS?+
The same as everywhere else: 30 minutes a month free with no card, and €3 a month for Pro, which covers the macOS, Windows and Linux clients, uploaded recordings and the WhatsApp bot on one account.
Also on Windows 11 and Linux. Weighing it against a local Mac app? VibeVoice vs MacWhisper.
Last reviewed . Competitor pricing and platform support change; check theirs before buying.