Dictate / Apple Dictation vs Dictate
Apple Dictation vs Dictate: is Mac dictation private and offline?
Apple Dictation is free, built in and, for many languages, processed on your Mac. Here is exactly when it isn't, and what Dictate does differently.
Apple Silicon Mac · macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Side by side
As of September 2026, from Apple's user guide, feature availability and privacy pages.
| Dictate | Apple Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Where speech is processed | On your Mac, always | On your Mac for about 40 languages after a model download; otherwise on Apple's servers |
| Works without internet | Yes, all 21 languages | Partly: on-device languages only |
| How you talk | Hold any key, speak, release | Press a shortcut to start, Escape to stop; stops after 30 s of silence |
| Languages | 21 European, detected automatically | 56 locales, chosen in settings |
| Your own corrections | Word substitutions for names and jargon | System text replacements |
| Account | None | None required |
| Price | $49 once, lifetime license, no subscription | Free, built into macOS |
When Apple Dictation sends audio to Apple
Apple's guide says it plainly: open Keyboard settings and it will show whether "your voice inputs and transcripts for general text Dictation are processed on your device and not sent to Siri servers". If that line is missing for your language, the audio goes to Apple for transcription. Apple's privacy page adds that server-processed dictation isn't stored unless you opt in to Improve Siri and Dictation, and that request metadata (category of request, device details, performance statistics) is kept for up to two years.
That is a reasonable policy. It is also a policy, which is different from a design that has nothing to send. Dictate's model lives on your Mac; the only connections it ever makes are listed on the privacy page.
What Dictate does differently
Hold to talk
Apple Dictation is a mode you switch on, speak into, and switch off. Dictate is a key you hold. Think, pause, carry on; let go and the text is at your cursor. It fits a two-line Slack reply as well as a long email.
Any key, per keyboard
Right Option by default, Fn (🌐) if you like, F18 on a custom keyboard. Each keyboard you plug in can have its own key, remembered while it's unplugged.
Languages without a setting
Dictate uses NVIDIA's Parakeet model, which recognises which of its 21 European languages you are speaking. English, then Danish, then German, in one sitting.
Names it keeps getting wrong
Add a substitution once ("cooper netties" → "Kubernetes") and it is applied every time after.
When Apple Dictation is the better choice
- You dictate in a language outside Dictate's 21, or one written in a non-Latin script.
- You have an Intel Mac. Dictate needs Apple Silicon.
- You want spoken punctuation and editing commands. Dictate types what you say, with your substitutions applied.
- You dictate rarely enough that a built-in tool is plenty.
Comparing cloud tools instead? See Dictate vs Wispr Flow. Curious what "on-device" actually means? Read the short guide.
Questions
Is Apple Dictation private?
Mostly, with conditions. On an Apple Silicon Mac, Dictation is processed on the device for about 40 of its 56 languages once you've downloaded the speech model; Keyboard settings tells you whether yours qualifies. For other languages your audio is sent to Apple's servers and, per Apple's privacy page, not stored unless you opt in to "Improve Siri and Dictation". Apple keeps request metadata for up to two years. Dictate processes every language it supports on your Mac, so there is no server case.
Does Mac Dictation work offline?
Yes, for the languages that have an on-device model, and only after that model is downloaded. If your language isn't one of them, Dictation needs an internet connection and sends your audio to Apple. Dictate works offline in all 21 of its languages after a single model download.
Why pay for Dictate when Apple Dictation is free?
Because of how you use it, not what it costs. Dictate is hold-to-talk on any key you choose, with a different key per keyboard; the text lands at your cursor the moment you let go. It detects which language you're speaking, remembers your own word substitutions, and never has a server case. If Apple Dictation already does what you need, keep using it; the 7-day trial is there to tell the difference on your own emails.
Does Dictate replace Apple Dictation?
It sits beside it. Dictate is a menu bar app and doesn't change macOS settings, so Apple Dictation keeps working on its own shortcut. Most people pick one and forget the other.
Try it next to Apple Dictation
Apple Silicon Mac · macOS 14 Sonoma or later