Free dictation software for Mac, compared

Honest, side-by-side breakdowns of EnviousWispr against the 11 major Mac dictation apps people actually use.

Download EnviousWispr Free macOS 14+, Apple Silicon. No account. Works offline.

Mac dictation tools split into three groups: cloud-based services that send your audio to a server (WisprFlow, Otter.ai, Notta, Google Docs Voice Typing), on-device apps that keep audio local (Superwhisper, MacWhisper, VoiceInk, Willow Voice), and legacy or developer-focused tools (Dragon, Apple Dictation, whisper.cpp). Pricing ranges from free to $144 a year. Each comparison below covers price, accuracy, latency, privacy architecture, and the specific use case the tool fits best, so you can pick the right one without trying all 11.

Want a recommendation rather than a directory? See our guide to the best dictation apps for Mac by use case.

Mac dictation apps at a glance

Side-by-side on the criteria that actually matter: price, where audio is processed, offline support, and language coverage. Sources verified from each tool's official site.

Feature	EnviousWispr	WisprFlow	Superwhisper	MacWhisper	Apple Dictation	Dragon
Price	Free	Free 2k words/wk; $12-15/mo Pro	Free trial; $8.49/mo	Free; $59 one-time Pro	Free (built-in)	$200 one-time (discontinued for Mac)
Audio stays on Mac	Yes, fully on-device	No, cloud transcription	Yes	Yes	Mostly (enhanced uses cloud)	Yes
Works offline	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Enhanced needs internet	Yes
Account required	No	Yes, email signup	No	No	No	No
Languages	English (Parakeet) + 90+ via WhisperKit	100+ languages	100+ via Whisper	100+ via Whisper	~60	~6
Use case	Real-time push-to-talk dictation anywhere on macOS	Real-time PTT dictation, cross-platform	PTT dictation; configurable models	Audio file transcription, not live PTT	Built-in OS dictation	Long-form professional dictation (Mac version discontinued)
AI polish (cleanup)	Yes, on-device Apple Intelligence default; BYOK cloud optional	Yes, cloud	Optional GPT cleanup, BYOK	No	No	No
Open source	Yes, GPLv3 on GitHub	No, closed	No, closed	No, closed	No, closed	No, closed
Apple Silicon optimized	Yes, Neural Engine	n/a (cloud)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No, Intel-era