Enable Apple's built-in dictation in 2 minutes. Then discover a better way.
macOS includes built-in dictation that lets you type with your voice. Here's how to set it up — and why Whisper Talk is a more powerful alternative for anyone who dictates regularly.
Get Whisper Talk$19Open System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation. Toggle it on. Choose your shortcut (default is pressing fn twice). You're ready to dictate.
Open any text field — Notes, Messages, Mail. Press your dictation shortcut twice and start speaking. Press the shortcut again or hit Return to stop.
Limited accuracy, no grammar cleanup, struggles with names and jargon, needs internet on most Macs, no push-to-talk, no transcription history.
Push-to-talk (hold ⌘⇧Space, speak, release). OpenAI Whisper accuracy. Works offline. AI grammar correction. Custom vocabulary. $19 once.
Apple's server-side dictation sends audio to their servers. Whisper Talk keeps everything on your Mac. No internet needed after setup.
Unlike Apple dictation which can be inconsistent across apps, Whisper Talk pastes into any text field reliably — Slack, VS Code, Google Docs, email, and more.
Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation and toggle it on. Set your preferred shortcut (the default is pressing the fn key twice). You can start dictating in any text field.
The default is pressing fn twice. You can change it in System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation. With Whisper Talk, the default is ⌘⇧Space (hold to record, release to stop).
Check that dictation is enabled in System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation. Make sure you have an internet connection if using server-side dictation. Try restarting the app you're dictating into. If issues persist, Whisper Talk offers a more reliable offline alternative.
Apple's on-device dictation works offline on Apple Silicon Macs but with lower accuracy. Whisper Talk works 100% offline on all supported Macs (macOS 12+) with near-human accuracy using OpenAI's Whisper model.
For basic use, Apple's built-in dictation is fine. For regular dictation with better accuracy, offline support, grammar correction, and custom vocabulary, Whisper Talk is the best option at $19 one-time.
$19 one-time · 30-day money-back guarantee · Works offline
Buy Whisper Talk for $19