Guide
The best dictation apps for Mac in 2026
I make one of these apps, so weigh that. I've tried to write the list I'd want to read: what each app costs, where your voice goes, and who it's actually for. Every price was checked on the app's own site.
Short answer: Pick by where you want your voice processed and how you want to pay. On your Mac, one payment: Precis or VoiceInk. One tool across Mac, Windows and phone: Wispr Flow. The most features: Superwhisper. Transcribing audio files: MacWhisper. Free and built in: Apple Dictation.
| App | Best for | Price | Speech | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precis | Clean text shaped for each app, on your Mac | $19 once, for 2 Macs. 7-day free trial. | On your Mac | Macs with Apple silicon, macOS 26.5 or later |
| Wispr Flow | One tool on Mac, Windows and phone | Free up to 2,000 words a week; Pro $12 a month billed yearly, or $15 monthly | On Wispr's servers | Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android |
| Superwhisper | Power users, meetings and audio files | Free plan; Pro $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once | On your Mac or in the cloud | Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android |
| VoiceInk | Open source, and Macs on older macOS | $25 for one Mac, $39 for two, $49 for three | On your Mac | Macs with Apple silicon, macOS 14.4 or later; also iPhone |
| MacWhisper | Transcribing audio and video files | Free version; Pro €64 once | On your Mac | Mac |
| Apple Dictation | Free, for a quick sentence | Free, built in | On your Mac with Apple silicon | Any recent Mac |
1. Precis
Best for: Clean text shaped for each app, on your Mac- Price
- $19 once, for 2 Macs. 7-day free trial.
- Speech
- On your Mac: Parakeet (about 0.1 s a sentence on an M4) or Whisper (99 languages)
- Runs on
- Macs with Apple silicon, macOS 26.5 or later
- Good to know
- Styles rewrite for the app you're in with Apple Intelligence on your Mac. The recorder sits beside your text cursor. No account. Not open source, and Mac only.
2. Wispr Flow
Best for: One tool on Mac, Windows and phone- Price
- Free up to 2,000 words a week; Pro $12 a month billed yearly, or $15 monthly
- Speech
- On Wispr's servers, so it needs a connection
- Runs on
- Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android
- Good to know
- Polished rewriting, a shared dictionary and admin features on team plans. Needs an account.
3. Superwhisper
Best for: Power users, meetings and audio files- Price
- Free plan; Pro $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once
- Speech
- On your Mac or in the cloud, your choice
- Runs on
- Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android
- Good to know
- Custom modes and prompts, Super Mode that uses what's on screen, meeting notes and file transcription.
4. VoiceInk
Best for: Open source, and Macs on older macOS- Price
- $25 for one Mac, $39 for two, $49 for three
- Speech
- On your Mac
- Runs on
- Macs with Apple silicon, macOS 14.4 or later; also iPhone
- Good to know
- Open source. AI enhancement is optional; the cloud option sends your text, not your voice.
5. MacWhisper
Best for: Transcribing audio and video files- Price
- Free version; Pro €64 once
- Speech
- On your Mac
- Runs on
- Mac
- Good to know
- Built around transcripts of interviews, lectures and meetings, with speaker labels and subtitles in Pro. It can dictate into apps too.
6. Apple Dictation
Best for: Free, for a quick sentence- Price
- Free, built in
- Speech
- On your Mac with Apple silicon, for supported languages
- Runs on
- Any recent Mac
- Good to know
- Works anywhere you type, with automatic punctuation and voice commands. No clean-up or rewriting, and no custom vocabulary documented.
How I compared them
- Where your voice goes: on your Mac, or to a company's servers.
- What it costs over time: one payment, or a subscription.
- What comes out: a raw transcript, or text that's cleaned up and shaped for the app.
- Where it runs: Mac only, or Mac, Windows and phones.
Prices and plans were read on each app's own site: Wispr Flow, VoiceInk, MacWhisper and Apple on 4 October 2026, Superwhisper on 1 October 2026 (plans rechecked 4 October). Also worth a look: Spokenly and EmberType.
Questions
What's the best free dictation app for Mac?
Apple Dictation is free and built in. Superwhisper's free plan includes unlimited local Whisper models, and MacWhisper has a free version focused on transcribing files.
Which Mac dictation apps work offline?
Precis, VoiceInk and MacWhisper run on your Mac, as do Superwhisper's local models and Apple Dictation on Apple silicon for supported languages. Wispr Flow needs a connection.
Which is best for dictating prompts to ChatGPT or Claude?
Precis's Prompt Style turns what you say into a prompt: the ask first, then each detail as a bullet. Superwhisper's custom modes can do something similar once you set them up.
Which is the cheapest one-time purchase?
Of these, Precis at $19 for 2 Macs, then VoiceInk at $25 for one Mac. MacWhisper Pro is €64 and Superwhisper's lifetime plan is $249.99.
Try Precis free for 7 days
Hold ⌥ Space in any app and talk. No card and no account, then $19 once for 2 Macs.
Free for 7 days, no card. Needs macOS 26.5 on Apple silicon.