Voice to Text on MacBook: The Complete Guide

Your MacBook already has everything it needs to be a voice dictation machine. It has a built-in microphone. If it's running Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, or M4), it has a Neural Engine capable of running speech-to-text models locally. The only question is which software you use to turn your voice into text.

There are three main approaches, each with different tradeoffs on privacy, cost, and quality. Here's how they compare so you can pick the right one for how you actually work.

Option 1: Apple's built-in dictation

Every MacBook ships with dictation built into macOS. To enable it, open System Settings > Keyboard, scroll down, and toggle on Dictation. You can set a keyboard shortcut (double-press the Fn key by default) and start talking in any text field.

For short bursts of text, it works fine. Firing off a quick reply, searching Spotlight, or jotting a reminder. Apple has improved the on-device processing significantly with Apple Silicon, and for basic dictation it's surprisingly decent.

The limitations show up fast, though. Dictation times out after about 30 seconds of silence, and accuracy degrades noticeably with longer passages. There's no filler word removal, so every "um" and "uh" ends up in your text. Punctuation is hit-or-miss. And despite Apple's privacy marketing, dictation can still send audio to Apple's servers for processing unless you specifically disable the "Improve Siri & Dictation" toggle buried in privacy settings. For anything beyond a quick sentence or two, you'll want something better.

Option 2: Cloud-based third-party tools

Apps like Wispr Flow and Otter.ai take a different approach. They record your audio, send it to cloud servers, and use large AI models to transcribe and sometimes rewrite your speech. The results can be impressive. Wispr Flow, for instance, adapts its output to match the context of the app you're typing in.

The downsides are significant. Every word you speak is sent to someone else's servers. You need an internet connection at all times. And the cost adds up: Wispr Flow runs $10/month, Otter.ai charges per minute of transcription on its paid tiers. Over a year, you're looking at $100-$150 just to turn your voice into text. If you work with sensitive information, handle client data, or simply don't want your spoken words leaving your MacBook, cloud tools are a non-starter.

Option 3: Local dictation apps

This is where things get interesting. A new generation of apps runs speech-to-text models directly on your MacBook's hardware, keeping all audio processing on-device. No cloud, no internet required, no one listening.

SuperWhisper is built on OpenAI's Whisper model and supports multiple model sizes. It's powerful but requires a subscription ($10/month or $100/year) and some technical configuration to choose the right model for your machine.

MacWhisper also runs Whisper locally and is great for transcribing audio files like meetings, interviews, and podcasts. But it's designed for file transcription, not real-time dictation. You record, wait for processing, then copy-paste. Not ideal for a "talk and it types" workflow.

Voiced takes a different approach. It's a voice-to-text app for Mac built specifically for live dictation. It runs entirely on-device using Apple's CoreML framework, so there's no model configuration, no cloud fallback, and no account required. You hold a key, talk, and your words appear as text in whatever app you're using. Smart Cleanup automatically strips filler words and polishes your speech. It costs $40 once, not $10 every month.

Which approach is best?

It depends on your use case, but for daily dictation across all your apps, local processing wins on every metric that matters.

• Speed: Local processing avoids network latency entirely. Your MacBook's Neural Engine handles transcription in real time.
• Privacy: Your audio never leaves your machine. No servers, no accounts, no data collection.
• Cost: A one-time purchase beats a recurring subscription every time. $40 once versus $120/year, every year.
• Reliability: No internet dependency means it works on planes, in coffee shops with bad Wi-Fi, and everywhere in between.

If you need AI-powered rewriting or multi-language meeting transcription, cloud tools have their place. But if you just want to talk and have clean text appear on screen, a local app is the right choice.

How to get started with Voiced

Setting up voice-to-text on your MacBook takes about two minutes.

1. Download Voiced from voicedhq.com. The app is a single lightweight download.
2. Grant permissions. macOS will ask for microphone access and accessibility access. Both are required so Voiced can hear you and type into your active app.
3. Wait for the model download. On first launch, Voiced downloads its speech-to-text model (~150 MB). This takes about a minute on most connections and only happens once.
4. Start dictating. Hold the shortcut key, speak naturally, and release. Your words appear as clean text in whatever app is focused.

That's it. No account creation, no model selection, no settings to tweak. Voiced works on every MacBook with Apple Silicon, including MacBook Air (M1, M2, M3, M4) and MacBook Pro (M1, M2, M3, M4, and their Pro/Max/Ultra variants).