The 8 best Apple Dictation alternatives for Mac

For short messages, yes. It's already on your Mac, it's free, and there's nothing to install. You turn it on in System Settings under Keyboard, then start it with the Microphone key, a shortcut you pick, or Edit, Start Dictation. The words go anywhere you can type.

According to Apple's Dictation guide, it puts in commas, periods and question marks by itself in supported languages. You can say punctuation, emoji names like “heart emoji,” and commands like “new line” and “new paragraph.” There's no timeout: you can dictate text of any length, and it stops after 30 seconds without speech. On an Apple silicon Mac you can keep typing while it listens. Words it isn't sure about are underlined in blue, so you can click one and pick another.

macOS 27 makes it better on newer Macs. Apple says dictation now turns what you say into polished text, handling capitalization, punctuation and formatting as you talk. That needs a Mac with M3 or later and at least 12GB of memory, and Apple's feature availability page lists it in English only for now.

So why look for an Apple Dictation alternative? Usually because of the Mac you have, the language you speak, or how much you dictate. We make Koi, one of the apps below, so read this with that in mind. Everything about the other apps comes from their own sites, and prices were checked on October 7, 2026.

Where your words are processed depends on your Mac and your language. Apple's macOS Sonoma guide says that on Apple silicon, dictation runs on the Mac for supported languages, with no internet needed. On an Intel Mac, or in a language without on-device support, what you dictate is sent to Apple. The current guide just says to check Keyboard settings, which tells you which one applies to your Mac.

When it does go to Apple, Apple says it isn't stored unless you opt in to Improve Siri and Dictation. If you clicked Share Audio Recordings when you first turned Dictation on, Apple keeps audio from your Mac and may review a sample; you can switch that off in Privacy & Security, under Analytics & Improvements. Dictating into a search box can send the text to the search provider either way.

Languages are uneven. Apple's feature page lists Dictation in 63 language and region versions, and on-device dictation in fewer. Polish, Czech, Greek, Hindi and Ukrainian are on the first list but not the second. Auto-punctuation has a shorter list again: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Thai, but not Portuguese or Russian.

You can't teach it words. Apple documents no custom vocabulary for Dictation, so a client's name or a product term can come out wrong every time. Apple's Voice Control has one, more on that below.

Outside the new English mode on M3 Macs, Apple doesn't describe any cleanup beyond punctuation: nothing about removing filler words, rewriting a messy sentence, or changing tone for the app you're in. And it does one job. Asking about what's on screen or rewriting a paragraph lives elsewhere, in Apple Intelligence.

If Dictation isn't working at all, try fixing it before replacing it. Our guide to fixing Mac dictation walks through the usual causes.

A little, and only on your device. Apple's Siri, Dictation and Privacy page says personalized speech recognition runs on your device, not on Apple's servers, and that dictation done on the device may use information on it to improve accuracy. It also says Siri and Dictation may send some context to Apple, like contact names and nicknames, to help recognize what you say.

What it doesn't have is a way to train it yourself. Apple describes no voice training step and no word list for standard Dictation. If you need one, turn on Voice Control, Apple's own pick at the end of the list, or choose an app with a custom dictionary.

A good alternative fixes whichever gap sent you looking. So we looked at five things, from each app's own pages:

• Where speech becomes text. On your Mac means private and offline; the cloud often means more cleanup.
• Whether it works on your Mac. Some apps need Apple silicon, and some run their local models best there.
• Cleanup. Punctuation is the floor. Some apps also strip filler words, format lists and match the tone of the app.
• Your words. A custom dictionary matters if you say names, product terms or jargon all day.
• What it costs, and how. A monthly plan, a one-time license, or free with a weekly cap.

None of them is best at all five, which is why the list has eight. Each entry says who it suits and where it falls short.

The short version, from each app's own site. Prices are at the time of writing.

If staying offline matters most, our list of offline dictation apps for Mac goes deeper on local models and what each Mac can run.

• On an Intel Mac and want your words to stay on it? Koi. VoiceInk needs Apple silicon, and Superwhisper says Intel Macs do best with its cloud models.
• Want the most AI polish and don't mind the cloud? Wispr Flow or Typeless.
• Need the same app on Windows or Android? Superwhisper, Wispr Flow or Typeless.
• Mostly transcribing recordings? MacWhisper.
• Rather pay once? VoiceInk or MacWhisper.
• Want free local models and no account at all? Spokenly.
• Need hands-free control or a word list without installing anything? Voice Control.

Most of these are free to try, and none of them stops Apple Dictation from working. Run one next to it for a few days of real work: emails, messages, the odd long document. The one you stop noticing is the one to keep. For the wider field, see the best dictation apps for Mac.