The complete 2026 guide to dictating on a Mac — your two options, how to set up Apple's built-in dictation, where it falls short, and the best app for serious, all-day use.
There are really only two routes. The first is Apple's built-in Dictation, free with macOS — great for the occasional sentence. The second is a dedicated dictation app, which you'll want the moment voice becomes part of how you actually work.
This guide covers both, honestly, so you can pick the right one for you.
It's built into every Mac. To enable it:
Dictation only fires when your cursor is in an editable field — pressing the shortcut on the desktop does nothing, which catches a lot of people out.
It's genuinely useful and free, but it was built for quick snippets, not long-form work. The usual frustrations:
If any of that sounds familiar, see our fixes for Mac dictation not working and dictation timing out.
If you dictate daily, a purpose-built app pays for itself fast. The things that matter:
Dictately is a Mac-native dictation app that ticks all of the above. Hold a key, talk, and clean, punctuated text appears wherever your cursor is — in any app, with no timeout and nothing to configure.
It runs on Apple Silicon and Intel, supports 99+ languages with automatic detection, keeps English on-device on Apple Silicon (your audio never leaves your Mac), and is free for 2,000 words a month, then £6.99/month — or £199 once for lifetime access.
Free for 2,000 words a month, no card required. Two minutes to set up.
Open System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation and switch it on. Then place your cursor in any text field and press the dictation shortcut (by default, pressing the microphone/fn key twice, or Control twice). Speak, and your words appear as text.
By default it's pressing the fn (or microphone) key twice, or pressing Control twice. You can change it in System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation. Dictation only works when your cursor is in an editable text field.
Apple's built-in dictation is designed for short bursts, so it times out after a pause or a short period, and standard (non-on-device) dictation also stops if your internet drops. For continuous, long-form dictation, a dedicated push-to-talk app removes the timeout entirely.
Apple's on-device dictation can work offline once the language is downloaded, but standard dictation sends audio to Apple's servers and needs a connection. Dictately runs English on-device on Apple Silicon (offline-capable) and uses the cloud for other languages.
Apple's built-in dictation is fine for occasional use. For all-day, accurate dictation that works in every app, a dedicated app is better. Dictately runs on Apple Silicon and Intel, supports 99+ languages, keeps English on-device, and costs £6.99/month or £199 once.