Guide
Offline dictation on Mac
Most Mac dictation apps say they're private. Fewer work with the Wi-Fi off. Here is how to test any app yourself, and what the main ones do.
Short answer: Precis, Apple Dictation (on Apple silicon, for supported languages), VoiceInk, Superwhisper's local models and MacWhisper's local models can all dictate with Wi-Fi off. Wispr Flow can't, because it transcribes in the cloud. To check any app, download its model, turn Wi-Fi off and dictate.
How to check that an app is really offline
- Open the app and make sure its speech model is downloaded. Most need a connection for this once.
- Turn Wi-Fi off (and unplug Ethernet).
- Dictate a few sentences into a note.
- If text appears, speech recognition is on your Mac. If you get an error or a spinner, it needed the cloud.
Test every feature you rely on, not only the first. Some apps recognise speech on your Mac but send the text to a cloud model to clean it up.
The apps, and what offline means for each
| App | Works with Wi-Fi off? | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Precis | Yes, after you download a speech engine once | Needs a connection to download an engine, to activate your licence, and to confirm it about every two weeks |
| Apple Dictation | Yes, on Macs with Apple silicon, for supported languages | Free and built in |
| VoiceInk | Yes, with its local models | Its optional cloud AI enhancement sends your text, not your voice |
| Superwhisper | Yes, with its local models | Also offers cloud models, so check which one you've chosen |
| MacWhisper | Yes, with its local models | Also offers cloud models and your own AI services |
| Wispr Flow | No | Its documentation says transcription always occurs in the cloud |
Read on each app's own site on 4 and 5 October 2026 (see the full comparison). Apps change; run the Wi-Fi test yourself.
Turning on Apple Dictation
Open System Settings, choose Keyboard, then turn Dictation on. On a Mac with Apple silicon it can run on the Mac for the languages Apple supports. It has no clean-up or rewriting. See how Precis differs.
How Precis works offline
Precis downloads one speech engine the first time you use it: NVIDIA Parakeet (about 700 MB, English and 24 European languages) or OpenAI Whisper (about 1.5 GB, 99 languages). After that, speech recognition runs on your Mac. The Styles that shape text for each app use Apple Intelligence, which also runs on your Mac, so they work offline too. If Apple Intelligence is off, Precis still types clean text. The app confirms your licence key about every two weeks, which needs a connection; the 7-day free trial needs no key.
Questions
Does Precis work without internet?
Yes. After you download a speech engine once, recognition and rewriting both run on your Mac, so dictation works with Wi-Fi off. Activating a licence and confirming it about every two weeks needs a connection.
Does Apple Dictation work offline on a Mac?
On a Mac with Apple silicon it can, for the languages Apple supports on-device. Turn it on in System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation.
How do I know if a dictation app is really offline?
Download its speech model, turn Wi-Fi off, and dictate. If text appears, recognition is on your Mac. Check any cleanup or AI features separately, because some send text to the cloud.
Which Mac dictation apps need the internet?
Wispr Flow does: its documentation says transcription always occurs in the cloud. Superwhisper and MacWhisper offer both local and cloud models, so it depends on the model you pick.
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