Free dictation apps for Mac
By petersindex, who makes Inkbie · Updated 5 October 2026
Short answer: Apple Dictation is built in. For all-day voice typing with no word limit, Inkbie, Spokenly, Handy and OpenWhispr are free and run on your Mac. Superwhisper and MacWhisper have free versions, and Wispr Flow's free plan is 2,000 words a week in the cloud.
We make Inkbie, one of the apps here. So every other app is described only from its own site, checked on 5 October 2026, each one says who it suits, and none was speed-tested, so none is called faster or more accurate.
| App | What's free | Where speech becomes text | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Dictation | Apple DictationAll of it, built into macOS | On your Mac or Apple's servers, by setting | Every Apple device |
| Inkbie | InkbieVoice typing, with no word limit | On your Mac | Mac (Apple silicon and Intel) |
| Spokenly | SpokenlyLocal Whisper and Parakeet models, unlimited | On your Mac (cloud models on Pro) | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone |
| Handy | HandyEverything (open source) | On your computer | Mac, Windows, Linux |
| OpenWhispr | OpenWhisprLocal dictation, unlimited, plus 2,000 cloud words a week | On your Mac, or the cloud | Mac, Windows, Linux |
| Superwhisper | SuperwhisperLocal Whisper models, unlimited, up to two modes | On your Mac (cloud models on Pro) | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| MacWhisper | MacWhisperFile transcription and basic system-wide dictation | On your Mac | Mac (see its site for iPhone and iPad) |
| Wispr Flow | Wispr Flow2,000 words a week on a computer | In the cloud | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| FreeFlow | FreeFlowEverything (open source), with a free Groq API key | Groq's cloud by default, or a local model you set up | Mac (Apple silicon and Intel) |
From each app's own site, 5 October 2026 (linked below). Prices in US dollars except MacWhisper, which charges in euros. Plans change, so check before you rely on one.
Who each one suits
Apple Dictation
Built into macOS. Press the Microphone key or your shortcut to start and press again to stop. It stops by itself after 30 seconds of silence, takes “new line” and punctuation by voice, and runs on your Mac or Apple's servers depending on your settings.
Pick it if you dictate a sentence or two now and then and would rather not install anything.
Apple's Dictation guideInkbie
Hold fn, talk, let go, and it's typed wherever your cursor is. It listens for as long as you hold the key, learns your words from a word list, and pastes your last take again with ⌥⌘V. It runs on your Mac and offline after one download (about 600 MB). It's a little ink drop in the corner of your screen, and circles let you say a friend's name to send them the rest. 25 European languages, Mac only.
Pick it if you want hold-to-talk that waits while you think, on an Apple silicon or Intel Mac, and you like the idea of a character in the corner and voice notes to friends.
More about Inkbie →Spokenly
Free local Whisper and Parakeet models with no usage limits and no account, 100+ languages, and a local-only mode that blocks network requests. Pro ($99.99 a year) adds cloud models and AI text cleanup. Runs on Mac, Windows, Linux and iPhone.
Pick it if you need more languages than Inkbie's 25, or you dictate on Windows, Linux or your iPhone too.
Spokenly's siteHandy
Free and open source. Press and hold a shortcut, speak, release, and your words are pasted where you were typing. Runs offline on your computer with Whisper or Parakeet, on Mac, Windows and Linux. Its maker calls it the simplest, most forkable option.
Pick it if you want open source you can read, change and build yourself.
Handy's siteOpenWhispr
Open source, with unlimited local dictation free and 2,000 cloud words a week. 100+ languages, a custom dictionary and meeting notes. Pro is $80 a year for unlimited cloud transcription and an iPhone app. Mac, Windows and Linux.
Pick it if you want open source with meeting notes, or the choice of local models or your own cloud keys.
OpenWhispr's siteSuperwhisper (free plan)
Unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, custom vocabulary, text replacements and up to two modes, and its plans page says nothing you dictate leaves your device. Parakeet, cloud models and AI modes are part of Pro ($8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 once).
Pick it if you might want AI modes later and like the idea of one licence across Mac, Windows and phones.
Superwhisper's siteMacWhisper (free version)
Made for transcribing files and meetings: record from your microphone, 100 languages, subtitle and text export, plus basic system-wide dictation. Pro is €64 once.
Pick it if you mostly transcribe recordings, and dictation is a bonus.
MacWhisper's siteWispr Flow (free plan)
2,000 words a week on a computer and 1,000 on a phone, 100+ languages, a dictionary and snippets, on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Transcription happens in the cloud. Unlimited is Pro: $15 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly.
Pick it if you dictate a little each week across a computer and a phone, and the cloud is fine with you.
Wispr Flow's siteFreeFlow
Free and open source. Hold Fn to talk. By default it sends your audio to Groq for transcription using a free API key you get yourself; you can point it at a local model instead. Works on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Pick it if you're comfortable setting up an API key, and want open source with AI cleanup.
FreeFlow's site
Free plans of paid apps
A few subscription apps have free tiers too: Willow (unlimited on its lighter model), Aqua Voice (1,000 free words) and Typeless (a limited number of words each week). All three transcribe in the cloud. Prices for these and the rest are on the dictation app prices page.
Questions
- What's the best free dictation app for Mac?
- It depends on what you need. For a sentence now and then, Apple Dictation is built in. For all-day voice typing on your Mac, Inkbie, Spokenly, Handy and OpenWhispr are free with no word limit. For more than 25 languages or other platforms, Spokenly and OpenWhispr cover more. For transcribing recordings, MacWhisper.
- Which free dictation apps work offline?
- According to their own sites: Inkbie, Spokenly's local models, Handy, OpenWhispr's local dictation, Superwhisper's free plan and MacWhisper run on your Mac. Apple Dictation can, depending on your settings. Wispr Flow transcribes in the cloud, and FreeFlow uses Groq's cloud unless you set up a local model.
- Which free dictation apps are open source?
- Handy, OpenWhispr and FreeFlow are free and open source. VoiceInk publishes its source code but sells its licence, from $25. Inkbie is free but not open source.
- Do these work on Intel Macs?
- Inkbie runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs on macOS 14 or later, and FreeFlow says it works on both. VoiceInk, a paid app, is Apple silicon only. Check each app's own requirements for the rest.
- Is Wispr Flow free?
- Wispr Flow's free plan gives you 2,000 words a week on a computer and 1,000 on a phone. Unlimited dictation is Pro, at $15 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly.