Speech to Text for Mac
Turn your speech into text anywhere on your Mac: press a shortcut, talk, and Harker types it at your cursor — free, unlimited, and on-device.
Download FreeYou talk about three times faster than you type, but getting speech into text on a Mac usually means a trade-off: the built-in dictation is a take-it-or-leave-it tool, and most third-party apps meter your words, require an account, or send your audio to their servers.
Using the dictation built into macOS
- 1
Turn it on
Open the Apple menu → System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar (scroll down if you don't see it), go to Dictation and turn it on. Click Enable if macOS asks.
- 2
Start dictating
Put your cursor where you want the text. Press the microphone key on the function row if your Mac has one, press the Dictation keyboard shortcut, or choose Edit → Start Dictation.
- 3
Speak
Dictation types as you talk, for as long as you talk — there is no length limit. In supported languages it adds commas, periods and question marks for you. On Apple silicon you can keep typing while you dictate.
- 4
Stop
Press Escape, the microphone key, or your shortcut. Dictation also stops on its own after 30 seconds of silence.
Where it stops
- It transcribes, it doesn't edit. No rewriting, reformatting, grammar correction or translation.
- One engine, one accuracy level. There is no choice of model for jargon or names.
- Whether your voice stays on the Mac depends on the language and the setting; Keyboard settings shows you which.
- It isn't available in every language or region.
Steps read from Apple Support: Dictate messages and documents on Mac, 2026-08-03.
How Harker helps
Harker turns speech into text in any app on your Mac: email, docs, Slack, code, AI prompts. Press the global shortcut (Cmd+Shift+Space by default) or hold a key to talk, and the transcription is pasted at your cursor when you stop. No dictation window, no copy-paste.
Transcription runs on local Whisper models, on your device. That's why the free tier has no word caps and no account requirement: there's no server to meter you. It works fully offline, transcribes 100+ languages with automatic detection, and you pick the model tier — nano for speed, large for accuracy.
If you want more than a faithful transcript, Premium ($7/month, or $69/year — $5.75/month) adds AI writing styles, smart formatting, grammar correction, and translation. Only the transcribed text goes to the cloud for those; your audio always stays on your Mac.
Speech to text on a Mac
Speech to text on a Mac converts spoken words into typed text. Harker does this with local Whisper models: press a keyboard shortcut, speak, and the transcribed text is pasted at your cursor in any app — free, unlimited, offline, and without your audio ever leaving the device.
Does a Mac have speech to text built in?
Yes. Dictation ships with macOS. Turn it on under Apple menu → System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation, then start it with the microphone key on the function row, the Dictation keyboard shortcut, or Edit → Start Dictation.
How do I use speech to text on a Mac?
Turn on Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation. Put your cursor where you want the text, press the microphone key or your Dictation shortcut, and speak; press Escape to stop. That covers plain transcription. For a choice of local model, transcription that always runs on your device, and optional AI cleanup, use a dedicated tool like Harker: set a global shortcut, speak, and the text is pasted at your cursor.
Is speech to text different on a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?
No. Dictation is a macOS feature, not a model feature, so the steps are the same on a MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro, an iMac or a Mac mini. The only difference is whether your keyboard has a microphone key on the function row; if it doesn't, use the Dictation keyboard shortcut or Edit → Start Dictation instead.
Is there a time limit on Mac dictation?
No. Apple's documentation states you can dictate text of any length without a timeout. Dictation stops on its own after 30 seconds without speech, and you restart it with the same key.
What does the built-in Mac dictation not do?
It transcribes rather than edits: no rewriting, reformatting, grammar correction or translation. It offers one engine at one accuracy level, with no choice of model for jargon or names. Whether your voice is processed on the Mac depends on the language and the setting, which Keyboard settings shows you, and it isn't available in every language or region.
Is there a free speech to text app for Mac?
Yes. Harker's free tier does unlimited speech to text on macOS with local Whisper models, with no word cap, no trial period, and no account. It transcribes 100+ languages and works with no internet connection. The metered free tiers to compare it against: Wispr Flow caps its free tier at 2,000 words per week, Typeless at 8,000 words per week, and Dictro at 10,000 words per week.
How accurate is speech to text on a Mac?
Accuracy depends on the model. Harker lets you choose between Whisper model tiers, from nano (fastest) to large (most accurate on jargon and names), all running locally on Apple Silicon.
Does Mac speech to text work offline?
Harker's transcription runs entirely on your device, so it works with no internet connection at all. Only the optional Premium AI features need a connection, because they process the transcribed text in the cloud.
How it works
- 1
Set your shortcut
Pick a global keyboard shortcut, or keep the default Cmd+Shift+Space. Harker waits in the background until you call it.
- 2
Speak
Talk naturally in any app. Local Whisper turns your speech into text on your device, even offline.
- 3
Text appears
The transcription is pasted at your cursor, right where you were typing.
Harker saves me hours every week. It's become a core part of how I vibe-code apps and move from idea to working product faster.
Charles Green
My favourite part about Harker compared to all the other voice-to-text tools is that it's built for privacy... everything stays locally, and my thoughts and brilliant ideas are not floating around in the cloud somewhere.
Tara Thompson
Questions
Start speaking instead of typing
Free, unlimited, and private. No account required.