The guides
Learn Mac dictation
Sixteen guides, sorted by the question you arrived with. Most of them are about the dictation already built into your Mac, because it is free and it is enough for a lot of people. Where it runs out, the guides say so and name what to do instead.
- Updated
- August 2, 2026
- Guides
- 16, in three groups
- Start with
- How to dictate on a Mac
Where to start
Pick by the question, not the title
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You want to start talking to your Mac.
Setup, the shortcut, the punctuation you have to say out loud, and the mechanics of holding a key instead of toggling one.
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It worked yesterday and does not work now.
The general fix list first, then the two version-specific pages if the trouble started with a macOS update.
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You are deciding whether to keep using it.
Offline behaviour, where the audio goes, whether the built-in is enough, and what the alternatives actually trade away.
Dictate is our app. It appears in these guides where it is genuinely the alternative under discussion, and the pages say what it does not do as plainly as what it does.
Getting started
Getting it working
The mechanics, in the order you meet them. If you have never dictated on a Mac before, the featured guide is the one to read first.
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Start here
How to dictate on a Mac
Turn on the built-in feature, start it with the shortcut, speak your punctuation, and see exactly where it stops. The page every other guide here assumes.
Read it
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Setup
The Mac dictation shortcut
The default shortcut, how to change it in System Settings, and what to check when pressing it does nothing at all.
Read it
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Reference
Dictation commands cheat sheet
Every punctuation, symbol, and formatting phrase macOS Dictation understands, checked against Apple documentation rather than guessed at.
Read it
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Mechanics
Push to talk dictation
Hold a key, speak, release. Why a held key has no ambiguous state, and the honest cases where a toggle is the better tool.
Read it
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How to
How to dictate a letter
A whole letter start to finish: greeting, body, sign-off, which punctuation you have to say out loud, and how to tidy the result.
Read it
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Speed
Dictation vs typing speed
The commonly cited figures are about 40 words a minute typed against 120 to 150 spoken. What editing takes back, and when the gap is real.
Read it
Troubleshooting
When it stops working
Start with the general list. The version pages exist because a macOS update can break something the evergreen fixes do not cover, and they keep reported bugs labelled as reports.
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Troubleshooting
Mac dictation not working
Greyed out, deaf, or ignoring its shortcut. Seven fixes in the order worth trying, checked against current macOS, plus a plan B.
Read it
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Version specific
macOS Tahoe dictation not working
The macOS 26 causes, including the reboot workaround people report on Apple Community and MacRumors. Attributed as user reports, not as fact.
Read it
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Troubleshooting
Why it gets your words wrong
Four real causes of inaccurate dictation: the microphone, the room, your delivery, and words the system has never heard. Only one never improves.
Read it
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How to
Turn off Mac dictation
Switch it off in System Settings, stop a session mid-sentence, or just change the shortcut that keeps firing when you did not ask it to.
Read it
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Version specific
Dictation in macOS 27 Golden Gate
In public beta as of August 2026. What we know about dictation, the Intel cutoff behind it, and what stays exactly where it was.
Read it
Choosing what fits
The questions underneath
Privacy, offline behaviour, and whether the free option is the right one. These are the pages where our own position is more complicated than a competitor's, so they are the ones written most exactly.
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Offline
Does Mac dictation work offline?
Apple can process supported languages on the device on Apple silicon. Dictate cannot transcribe without a connection. The full picture, tool by tool.
Read it
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Privacy
Is Mac dictation private?
Where the audio goes in each tool, including ours: over TLS, transcribed on our servers, then discarded. History keeps text, never recordings.
Read it
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Decision
Is Apple Dictation good enough?
For texts and quick notes, usually yes. The three questions that settle it, and what to reach for when the answer turns out to be no.
Read it
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DIY
OpenAI Whisper on a Mac
What installing Whisper yourself actually involves, when the terminal route is worth it, and what it does not give you.
Read it
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Comparison
Wispr Flow vs Superwhisper
A managed cloud loop against local models, with prices dated and the trade-off named on both sides rather than on one.
Read it
Elsewhere on the site
More ways to browse
- Dictate in a specific app Gmail, Word, Slack, Notion, Cursor, a terminal
- Mac dictation alternatives what to use instead, and how the options differ
- Dictation by profession writers, developers, lawyers, accountants, HR
- Best dictation software for Mac the ranked list, with the criteria stated first
- Free dictation software for Mac what costs nothing, and what it costs you instead
The app
When the built-in has run out
Dictate is our app. You hold a key, speak, release, and the text lands in whatever field the cursor was already in. Flat $8 a month, monthly only. Transcription runs on our servers over TLS and needs a network connection, and the audio is discarded once the text comes back. Unused subscriptions are refunded in full; once anything has been transcribed, that month is not refundable.
FAQ
How to use these guides, and what they do not cover.
Where should I start if I have never dictated on a Mac?
Start with how to dictate on a Mac. It turns the built-in feature on, sets the shortcut, covers spoken punctuation, and says plainly where the built-in stops. Every other guide here assumes you have done that once.
My dictation has stopped working. Which page do I want?
Try the general fix list at Mac dictation not working first, because most causes are the same regardless of version. If the trouble started right after a macOS update, read the Tahoe page next, which is version specific and attributes the reported bugs as user reports rather than as confirmed faults.
Are these guides about Apple Dictation or about Dictate?
Mostly about the built-in feature. It ships with every Mac, it is free, and for a lot of people it is the whole answer, so the guides cover it first and say where it runs out. Dictate is our app, and it appears where it is genuinely the alternative being discussed.
Is any of this tied to a particular macOS version?
Two pages are, and they say so in the title: the macOS 26 Tahoe troubleshooting page and the macOS 27 Golden Gate page, which was written during the public beta in August 2026 and hedges everything Apple has not shipped. The rest apply to any current Mac.
Do I have to buy anything to follow these guides?
No. The setup, shortcut, punctuation, troubleshooting, and privacy pages are about software that is already on your Mac or free to install. Dictate costs a flat $8 a month, monthly only, and none of these guides requires it.
Which page explains where my voice actually goes?
Is Mac dictation private. It sets out each tool separately, including ours: Dictate sends audio over TLS, transcribes it on our servers, and discards it, and the history keeps transcript text and metadata rather than recordings. If your requirement is that audio never leaves the Mac, that page says which tools meet it.