dictaty
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dictaty

Mac dictation without a monthly bill

You can dictate on a Mac without paying every month. The free tools are real, and for a lot of people they are enough. Pay once only when you know which limit you are tired of hitting.

The short answer

For a quick note, use Apple Dictation. It is already on your Mac. Keyboard settings show whether that dictation stays on the Mac, and it stops after 30 seconds without speech.

If you dictate through the day, try BetterWispr or Spokenly’s free local plan before you pay anyone. Choose Dictaty when you want one Mac, text that stays on that Mac, and a single payment: 7 days free, then €29 once, VAT included.

Try it free for 7 days.

After the 7 days, Dictaty is €29 once, VAT included. No subscription, no account. One license covers one Mac, and every version 1 update is included.

Try it free for 7 days

Dictaty is a Mac app. Save this link and open it on your Mac.

Needs a Mac with an M1 chip or later and macOS 14 or later. The first download is about 630 MB.

Free, one-time, and subscription

Each row repeats what that company says on its own site. This is not an accuracy test.

Mac dictation without a monthly bill, as of November 2026
AppWhat you payWhere it runs, and the limit that matters
Apple DictationFree. It comes with macOS.Keyboard settings show whether general dictation stays on your Mac. It stops after 30 seconds without speech. You can keep talking until that pause.
BetterWisprFree, with public source code under the Apache-2.0 license. No account.Built-in recognition runs on your Mac. You need macOS 14 or later, and Apple silicon is recommended. A recording can run for hours; from ten minutes on, the app asks before it sends audio to an online provider or pastes the text by itself. An optional online connection sends that audio to the provider you picked.
SpokenlyLocal dictation is free, with no account and no word cap. Local+ is $29 once. Pro is $12 a month billed yearly ($144), or $15 month to month.The free local plan stays on the device. Spokenly lists apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, and iOS. Pro adds cloud transcription that you do not have to wire up yourself.
MacWhisperThe free tier is €0 and already includes system-wide dictation. Pro is €64 once per license. As of November 2026.It transcribes files, meetings, and video on the Mac, and it also dictates into other apps. It is the larger tool when the job is a recording you already have.
SuperwhisperFree local dictation, up to two modes. Lifetime is $249.99 once. Monthly is $8.49, and yearly is $84.99.On the free plan, what you dictate stays on the device. One paid license covers your Macs, Windows PCs, iPhone, and Android phone. Paid plans can add cloud processing.
Wispr FlowFree, with a weekly allowance of 2,000 words on a computer (hard cap 5,000) and a limited weekly amount on a phone. Pro is $15 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly, per person.Transcription runs in the cloud. You can dictate on Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android.
Aqua Voice2,000 words free, no credit card. Pro is $10 a month billed yearly, or $12 month to month.Aqua processes the audio on its servers, and the app needs an internet connection. It also runs on Windows, iPhone, and Android, and it can read your screen to format the text.
Dictaty7 days free, with no account and no payment details. Then €29 once, VAT included, for one person and one Mac. Every version 1 update is included.On your Mac after setup. Dictaty does not send recordings or the finished text to a Dictaty server. You need Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later. Internet is for the license, the first download of about 630 MB, and updates. There is no iPhone app, and one license is not a shared license for coworkers.

Prices were read on November 12, 2026. Apple’s 30-second pause is from Apple’s Mac User Guide, read the same day. Aqua’s server and internet lines come from Aqua’s comparison page, which carries the date October 6, 2026 and which we read on November 12, 2026. Plans change, so check the vendor page before you pay.

When a free option is enough

  • Short messages and notes: Apple Dictation is already installed.
  • You want the source code, and you are fine downloading speech files once: BetterWispr.
  • You also dictate on Windows, Linux, or iOS, and a word cap would get in the way: Spokenly lists apps for those and sets no word cap on local dictation.
  • Most of your work is an existing recording, and live dictation is occasional: MacWhisper’s free tier.

When a one-time price fits

  • One Mac, a 7-day trial with no account, and €29 once after that: Dictaty.
  • Files, meetings, and live dictation in one Mac app, paid once: MacWhisper Pro at €64.
  • One license for several computers and phones, paid once: Superwhisper Lifetime at $249.99. If two modes are all you use, the free plan may already be enough.
  • You only want the extra recording styles on top of Spokenly’s free local plan: Local+ is $29 once.

When a subscription does more

  • You dictate on a phone and a computer. Wispr Flow and Aqua Voice run on both. Dictaty stays on the Mac.
  • You want the app to rewrite what you said, or to read the screen and format the text. Dictaty types what you said. It does not rewrite it.
  • A weekly word cap is fine and you stay under it. Wispr Flow’s free plan then costs nothing.

Common questions

Is there a free dictation app for Mac?

Yes. Apple Dictation, BetterWispr, Spokenly’s local plan, and MacWhisper’s free tier are all free to use. Each one has a limit in the table above. Free is a fair answer when that limit matches how you write.

Can I buy Mac dictation once?

Yes. Dictaty is €29 once after the 7-day trial. MacWhisper Pro is €64 once. Superwhisper Lifetime is $249.99 once. Spokenly Local+ is $29 once and keeps the free local dictation.

Does Dictaty work without internet?

Yes, after the license is active and the speech files have downloaded. You still need internet to activate and check the license, to download those files, and to update the app.

What will Dictaty not do?

There is no iPhone app. One license covers one person and one Mac, not a team. Dictaty does not transcribe a file or a meeting, and it does not rewrite your text.

Sources

We read these vendor pages on November 12, 2026. They describe each product. They are not a ranking.

Apple, BetterWispr, Spokenly, MacWhisper, Superwhisper, Wispr Flow, and Aqua Voice are separate products. Dictaty isn’t affiliated with their makers. No other company’s logo appears on this page.