--- title: "Granola voice typing vs Precis: free cloud dictation or on-device" description: "Granola's new voice typing is free and unlimited but sends your audio and nearby screen text to its providers. Precis runs on your Mac and works offline. Checked 31 October 2026." url: https://myprecis.app/vs/granola --- Compare # Precis vs Granola voice typing Granola added free, unlimited voice typing to its Mac app on 29 October 2026. It's good, and it's free. Here's what it sends to the cloud, what it does better than Precis, and where Precis is the better fit. By [Nithish](https://x.com/nithishgo), who makes Precis · Updated 31 October 2026 **Short answer:** Granola voice typing is free with no word limit, but it needs an internet connection and sends your audio, plus text from the app you're in, to its providers. Precis does everything on your Mac, works with Wi-Fi off, and lays out prompts for AI tools, for $39 once. Pick Granola for free; pick Precis to keep your words on your Mac. | Feature | Precis | Granola voice typing | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | $39 once, for 2 Macs | Free and unlimited on every Granola plan (beta) | | Where speech becomes text | On your Mac | Granola's transcription and AI providers | | What leaves your Mac | Nothing | Your audio, your dictionary and language, and with screen context on, text from the app you're in | | Works with Wi-Fi off | Yes | No. Granola's docs say dictation needs an internet connection. | | Shaping for the app | Styles rewrite for the app: an email in Mail, a short reply in Messages, a prompt with the ask first in ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor | Styles set capitals and punctuation for email, work chat and personal messages. ChatGPT and Claude count as "Other". Needs screen context on. | | Hands-free dictation | Yes: tap the key once, then press it again when you're done | Yes: double-tap the shortcut, up to 20 minutes | | Learns your corrections | No: add words to the Dictionary yourself | Yes, for names and terms you fix straight after dictating | | Meeting notes | No | Yes, it's Granola's main product | | Platforms | Macs with Apple silicon, macOS 26.5 or later | Mac now, with Windows and mobile "coming soon" | Granola details from its help center: [Voice Typing](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/voice-typing/intro), [Dictation history and privacy](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/voice-typing/dictation-history-and-privacy), [Dictation styles](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/voice-typing/dictation-styles) and [Troubleshooting](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/voice-typing/troubleshooting-dictation), read on 31 October 2026. Voice Typing is in beta and may change. Product names belong to their owners. **Where Granola is stronger** - It's free, with no word limit. - It learns names you correct, and can read names from the email or Slack thread you're replying to. - If you already use Granola for meetings, it's one app instead of two. **Where Precis is stronger** - Nothing leaves your Mac: not your voice, not the email you're replying to. It works with Wi-Fi off. - In ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor it lays out what you said as a prompt: the ask first, then each detail as a bullet. - Every rewrite is checked before it's typed, and one that adds a name, number, date or link you didn't say is thrown away ( [how it's tested](https://myprecis.app/how-precis-is-tested) ). - No account to sign in to. ## What Granola sends, in its own words Granola's privacy page for voice typing is clear about it. To turn speech into text, Granola sends your audio, your dictionary and your chosen language to its transcription and AI providers. With screen context on, which is the default, it also sends text from the app you're dictating into: the window title, the website address in a browser, the text before and after your cursor, and other visible text nearby, "like the email you're replying to or messages in the conversation". Granola says its providers don't train on dictations, that it reads text rather than taking screenshots, and that it skips password fields. You can turn screen context off, but Granola's styles and app-specific formatting turn off with it, because that's how Granola knows which app you're in. Precis gets the app from macOS itself, and the tab's title in a browser, and does the speech recognition and the rewriting on your Mac. That's the whole difference in one line: Granola is free and runs in the cloud, and Precis costs $39 and keeps everything on your Mac. ## Who should pick which - **Pick Granola.** if free matters most, you're happy for your voice and the surrounding text to go to Granola's providers, or you already take meeting notes in Granola. - **Pick Precis.** if you dictate client work, code or anything you'd rather keep on your Mac, if you work offline, or if most of what you dictate is prompts for AI tools. They can share a Mac. Granola's default shortcut is the fn (🌐) key and Precis's is ⌥ Space, so they don't collide out of the box. ## Questions ### Is Granola voice typing free? Yes. Granola says Voice Typing is included for free in every Granola plan, with no word limit, while it's in beta. It launched on 29 October 2026 for Mac, with Windows and mobile coming later. ### Does Granola voice typing work offline? No. Granola's troubleshooting page says dictation needs an internet connection. If the connection drops, it can keep the audio for 24 hours so you can retry. ### What does Granola voice typing send to the cloud? Your audio, your dictionary and chosen language, and with screen context on (the default), text from the app you're dictating into, such as the text around your cursor and the email or messages you're replying to. Granola says its providers don't train on dictations. ### Is there an on-device alternative to Granola voice typing? Yes. Precis does speech recognition and rewriting on your Mac, so nothing is sent anywhere and it works with Wi-Fi off. It's $39 once for 2 Macs, after a 7-day free trial. ### Can I use Granola and Precis on the same Mac? Yes. Granola uses the fn key by default and Precis uses ⌥ Space, so give each its own shortcut and they won't both start listening. **Nithish Govindasamy** An independent developer in India and the maker of Precis. He uses it every day for email, prompts and notes, and checks the facts on these pages against each app's own site. [@nithishgo on X](https://x.com/nithishgo) ## Try Precis free for 7 days Hold ⌥ Space in any app and talk. No card and no account, then $39 once for 2 Macs. [Download for Mac](https://myprecis.app/download/latest) [Buy for $39](https://checkout.dodopayments.com/buy/pdt_0NorxSfZNcxMOquMUwCPN?quantity=1) Free for 7 days, no card. Needs macOS 26.5 on Apple silicon. [Wispr Flow vs Granola voice typing](https://myprecis.app/wispr-flow-vs-granola) [Is Wispr Flow private?](https://myprecis.app/is-wispr-flow-private) [Free dictation apps for Mac](https://myprecis.app/free-dictation-app-mac) [Offline dictation on Mac](https://myprecis.app/offline-dictation-mac) --- [Precis for Mac](https://myprecis.app/) · [Download](https://myprecis.app/download/latest) · [Pricing](https://myprecis.app/pricing.md) · [All pages](https://myprecis.app/llms.txt)