How to Use Dictation on Mac: Setup, Shortcuts, Offline Use

To use dictation on a Mac, open System Settings, click Keyboard, and turn on Dictation. Then click in any text field, press your Dictation shortcut (the microphone key on recent Mac keyboards, or the Globe/Fn key twice), and start talking. Press the shortcut again or Esc to stop.

Apple Dictation is free and works in almost any app. On Apple silicon Macs it runs without internet for supported languages. The rest of this page covers the shortcut options, spoken punctuation, what Dictation can't do, and when a dedicated voice-to-text app is worth installing.

How to turn on dictation on Mac

These steps work on macOS 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia and 26 Tahoe.

1. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
2. Click Keyboard in the sidebar. If you can't find it, type "Dictation" in the search field at the top of the sidebar.
3. Scroll to the Dictation section and turn on the Dictation switch.
4. If macOS asks you to confirm, confirm it.
5. Optional: click Edit next to Languages to add another language and region.
6. Optional: use the Microphone source menu to pick a specific mic, such as a headset, instead of the built-in one.
   The same section has an Auto-punctuation switch in languages that support it. With it on, macOS adds commas, periods and question marks as you speak. You can still say punctuation out loud.

Apple's own reference is Use Dictation on Mac.

Start and stop dictation

1. Click where you want the text to go. Dictation needs a text cursor, so click into a document, message or search field first.
2. Press your Dictation shortcut. A microphone icon appears near the cursor.
3. Speak normally. Text appears as you talk.
4. To stop, press the shortcut again or press Esc. Dictation also stops on its own when it hears no speech for 30 seconds.

You can also start dictation from the menu bar in most apps: Edit ▸ Start Dictation.

Change the Dictation shortcut

In System Settings ▸ Keyboard, open the Shortcut menu in the Dictation section. It offers presets such as pressing the microphone key (on keyboards that have one), pressing Globe/Fn twice, pressing Control twice, or pressing a Command key twice. Choose Customize to set your own key combination.

Pick a key you won't double-press by accident. Control twice is a good choice if you already use Globe/Fn for emoji or switching input sources.

Add punctuation and new lines by voice

Say the punctuation where you want it. These work in English:

For example, "Pick up milk comma eggs and bread period new line call the dentist" comes out as two clean lines. For more spoken commands, see our Mac dictation commands list.

Controlling the Mac by voice (clicking buttons, scrolling, editing) is a separate feature called Voice Control. Our page on Voice Control vs Dictation explains the difference.

Does Mac dictation work offline?

It depends on your Mac and language. According to Apple's Dictation help page (as of November 2026):

• Apple silicon Macs (M1 and later, which includes every current MacBook Air) process dictation on the Mac for supported languages. No internet connection is needed.
• Intel Macs, and any Mac using a language without on-device support, send what you dictate to Apple for processing. You need to be online.
• With Apple Intelligence in macOS 27, an on-device model improves spelling, punctuation and capitalization. Apple says this works in English on Macs with M3 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory.

So on a recent MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, dictating in English works on a plane. On an older Intel Mac, it doesn't.

Limits of built-in Dictation

Apple Dictation is enough for most people. It falls short in these cases:

• It types what you say. It doesn't rewrite rambling speech into polished paragraphs the way AI dictation apps such as Wispr Flow advertise. Superwhisper's comparison table (a competitor's claim) rates Apple Dictation's AI formatting as "No".
• Offline only in some cases. Intel Macs and some languages need Apple's servers.
• Not every language or region is supported, and Apple notes that features vary by language.
• The newer Apple Intelligence model needs newer hardware: M3 or later with at least 12GB of memory, English only.
• It stops after 30 seconds of silence, which can cut you off if you pause to think.
• No place to collect thoughts. Dictation fills whatever field is active. If you want to talk ideas into one running note, you still need an app to hold them.

When a dedicated voice-to-text app is worth it

We make Gubb, one of the apps below, so weigh our view accordingly; we've tried to be fair to each option.

Prices are as of November 2026. The Wispr Flow and Superwhisper prices come from third-party pages that cite the official sites, so check before buying.

Pick Apple Dictation if you dictate short messages and documents across apps, your language is supported, and saying "comma" out loud doesn't bother you. It costs nothing.

Pick Wispr Flow if you want speech turned into cleaned-up text in every app, on your Mac and phone, with your personal dictionary and settings synced. Paid use is subscription-only, and the free tier is capped by a weekly word count.

Pick Superwhisper if you want local models that work offline in any app, many languages, and custom AI modes. It offers a lifetime license. Its offline models run best on Apple silicon; on Intel Macs, Superwhisper says cloud models work better.

Pick Gubb if you want to talk ideas into a notes scratchpad, in English, offline, without a subscription. It doesn't type into other apps.

For a longer comparison, see the best dictation apps for Mac and Wispr Flow vs Superwhisper.

Dictate notes into Gubb with a local Whisper model

Gubb is a small notes window that also has clipboard history, timers and break reminders. Its Speech to Text records from your microphone and inserts the transcript into the open Gubb note, at the cursor. With a downloaded Whisper model selected as the active model, transcription runs on your Mac.

Set up a local model

1. Hover over the right edge of the Gubb window and click Settings (the gear).
2. Click Voice to Text. Check that the Voice to Text switch is on and Transcription Provider is set to Local Models (the default).
3. Under Available Models, click Download next to one model:
   • Whisper Small: 480 MB. Start here.
   • Whisper Medium: 1500 MB. Gubb recommends 8GB or more of RAM.
   • Whisper Large: 3000 MB. Gubb recommends 16GB or more of RAM.
4. Wait for the Download Complete message. The progress bar doesn't move during the download, so give it time.
5. Under Active Model, select the model you downloaded. You should see Model Changed. If you skip this step, transcription fails with an error until you select the model or restart Gubb.
   The Transcription Provider menu also lists OpenAI API. In the current version, that option can show "OpenAI API is not configured" even after you save a key, so we recommend Local Models.

Record into a note

1. Click in the note where you want the text.
2. Hover over the right edge and click Speech to Text (the mic icon). A pill appears at the bottom: "Click to start recording (Local Model)".
3. Click the mic to start. The first time, macOS asks for microphone access; allow it.
4. Speak for at least a second or two, and keep it under 30 seconds.
5. Click Stop. After "Processing audio...", the text appears at your cursor, followed by a space.

Repeat for the next thought. Each clip lands where the cursor is, so you can build up a note in short bursts. When you're done, ⌘⇧C (Command-Shift-C) copies the whole note as plain text so you can paste it into Mail, Slack or a document.

What Gubb's voice-to-text can't do

• Only the first 30 seconds of each recording are transcribed. Anything longer is cut off.
• English only in local mode, with no language setting.
• No global shortcut or push-to-talk. You start recording from the Gubb window.
• It doesn't type into other apps, even though the settings switch description says "anywhere".
• No live text. The transcript appears after you stop recording.
• No microphone picker. Gubb records from your Mac's default input device.
• The active model resets at launch to the first downloaded one (Small, then Medium, then Large). If you prefer Medium, keep only that model downloaded.

Our guide to dictating notes on Mac covers the note-taking workflow in more detail. Gubb is $59 one-time (as of November 2026), and the Mac download includes a 7-day free trial.

If dictation doesn't work

The shortcut does nothing. Check that Dictation is on in System Settings ▸ Keyboard, and see which key the Shortcut menu is set to. Click into a text field before pressing it, then try Edit ▸ Start Dictation to rule out the key itself.

The mic icon appears but no text shows up. Check the Microphone source menu in the Dictation section. If a disconnected headset or display mic is selected, switch to the built-in microphone. System Settings ▸ Sound ▸ Input shows whether the mic is picking up your voice.

Dictation stops on its own. It ends after 30 seconds without speech. Start it again.

It only works online. You're on an Intel Mac, or using a language without on-device support. Built-in offline dictation needs an Apple silicon Mac and a supported language.

Gubb shows "Recording Failed" or "Transcription Error". Make sure a model is downloaded and selected under Active Model. Then open System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Microphone and check that Gubb is turned on. If the text stops mid-sentence, the recording ran past 30 seconds.

For more fixes, see Mac dictation not working.

FAQ

Is dictation on Mac free?
Yes. Dictation comes with macOS, with nothing to buy or subscribe to.

Does dictation work on a MacBook Air?
Yes. MacBook Air models with Apple silicon process dictation on the device for supported languages, so it works without internet. Older Intel MacBook Air models send dictation to Apple and need a connection.

Is my voice sent to Apple?
Not on Apple silicon Macs in supported languages. On Intel Macs, or in languages without on-device support, Apple says your dictation is sent to Apple for processing.

Can I use Gubb's voice-to-text in Word or my browser?
No. Gubb puts the transcript into a Gubb note. Copy it out with ⌘⇧C, or use Apple Dictation, Wispr Flow or Superwhisper if you need to type straight into other apps.