Spokenly or Dictaty for Mac?
Spokenly dictates locally for free, lists apps for four platforms, and sells cloud models as a subscription. Dictaty is a paid Mac-only dictation app with a one-time license.
Choose by the job, not by the category.
Spokenly is the stronger free offer: on-device Whisper and Parakeet models cost nothing, unlimited, with no word cap, no trial clock, and no account. Spokenly lists apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, and iOS. Pro adds managed cloud transcription for $144 per year when billed yearly.
Dictaty asks for €29 once after a 7-day test and gives you a narrower, documented Mac workflow in return: every finished text has a visible delivery path, secure fields are excluded, and a failed transcription stays recoverable for seven days. If free is your main criterion, Spokenly is the honest answer, not Dictaty.
Dictaty is free for 7 days, then €29 once for one Mac including VAT. No subscription, no account. Requires an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. A new installation downloads about 630 MB before dictation is ready.
What each tool does, and what it costs.
Every competitor cell below repeats what its own pages state. Nothing here is an accuracy benchmark.
| Feature | Spokenly | Dictaty |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Local dictation costs $0 forever. Bring-your-own-keys costs $0 on top of provider usage. Pro is $12 per month when billed yearly ($144 per year), or $15 per month billed monthly. | €29 once for one person and one Mac, including VAT. Every Dictaty 1.x update is included. No subscription. |
| Free use | No trial clock and no word caps for local models: unlimited offline dictation in more than 100 languages, with no account. | Free for 7 days, then €29 once to keep dictating. The trial needs no account. |
| Where transcription runs | On-device models; Spokenly states that local-only mode blocks every network request. Pro adds managed cloud transcription and hosted AI text processing. | A new installation downloads about 630 MB before dictation is ready. An existing installation with the earlier local model can keep dictating while the newer one downloads in the background. Recording and transcription run on the Mac. The internet is used for activation, license checks, model downloads, and update checks. Dictaty sends no recordings and no transcripts to a Dictaty server. |
| Models | Free local Whisper and Parakeet models. You can also connect your own API keys from OpenAI, Deepgram, Groq, ElevenLabs, Mistral, and other providers; Spokenly charges nothing on top. Pro adds managed cloud models such as GPT-4o Transcribe, Deepgram Nova 3, and Soniox. | One included local model covers 25 languages. Further languages appear only when macOS reports a usable on-device engine on that Mac. |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux, and iOS. | Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later. One license covers one Mac; a second Mac needs a second license. |
| Product scope | Dictation in any app with streaming text, AI instructions for grammar and formatting, searchable and exportable history with audio replay, an MCP server for coding agents, and cross-device sync in Pro. | Live dictation into most editable fields of the Mac app in front of you, clipboard fallback, custom words, and local History. No meeting transcription, no imported audio or video files, no AI rewriting, no mobile or Windows app. |
| Failed dictation | Spokenly keeps a searchable history of past dictations and can replay their audio. The pages reviewed on September 27, 2026, do not describe re-running a failed transcription. | A failed transcription keeps its recording in local History for another attempt. History expires after seven days. |
| Account and license | Local dictation needs no account. Depending on platform and purchase source, Pro activation may need a sign-in, an App Store restore, or a linked subscription. | No account and no sign-in. The license is activated in the app and stored on the Mac. |
Competitor facts retrieved September 27, 2026, from the vendor pages listed under sources. Plans, prices, and features change; the vendor page is authoritative.
When Spokenly fits better
- You want unlimited local dictation for free, with no account, no word cap, and no expiry.
- You dictate on Windows, Linux, or an iPhone as well.
- You want AI cleanup, formatting rules, or an MCP server for coding agents in the same tool.
- You prefer a searchable history with audio replay over a seven-day recovery window.
Sources and limits.
Spokenly plans and features change. The links below are the vendor pages this comparison was built from, retrieved September 27, 2026. The Pro price was read again on November 12, 2026.
- Spokenly: pricing, free local tier, and Pro
- Spokenly: product overview and local-only mode
- Spokenly: dictation for Mac
- Dictaty local processing boundary
- Dictaty seven-day recovery
- Dictaty price and license scope
Spokenly is a product of its own developer. Dictaty is not affiliated with or endorsed by Spokenly. No competitor logo is shown on this page.