TypeVoice vs Apple Dictation
Your Mac already has dictation, and it's free. Here's what TypeVoice adds on top of it, and when the built-in one is all you need.
Free for 7 days · No card, no account · Works offline
Cleanup
The sentence you meant, not every word you said.
Apple Dictation types what it hears and adds punctuation. TypeVoice also drops the ums, catches the restarts and formats numbers, times and lists, on your Mac.
Side by side
Row by row.
As of October 2026, from Apple's macOS guide and feature pages.
 TypeVoice | Apple Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $79 once after a 7-day trial. | Free, built into macOS. |
| Where speech is recognised | On your Mac's Neural Engine, every time. | On Apple silicon, on device for supported languages. Intel Macs and other languages send audio to Apple. |
| Cleanup | Removes fillers, stutters and false starts; formats numbers, times and lists. | Auto-punctuation and spoken punctuation commands. |
| Personal dictionary | Yes, matched by how a word sounds. | None documented. |
| How you start | Hold a key or chord to talk and release to type, or tap to toggle. | The Microphone key, a shortcut, or Edit › Start Dictation. |
| Pauses | Pause as long as you like; up to 10 minutes per dictation. | Stops after 30 seconds of silence. |
| Send the voice as a voice note | Yes: drag any dictation into iMessage, Slack or WhatsApp. | No. |
| History | Every dictation kept on your Mac, searchable. | No. |
| Languages | English, every accent. | Dozens of languages; 48 on device. |
| Platforms | Mac (macOS 26, Apple silicon). | Every Mac, iPhone and iPad. |
In TypeVoice
Two small things people end up loving.
A note on the end, if you want one
For places where spelling gets judged, like a coding assistant or a ticket queue. Your words, added to every dictation.
Names spelled right, however they're heard
Add a word once and TypeVoice matches it by how it sounds, not by exact spelling. Word packs already know hundreds of product and developer names.
Which one
Built-in is fine, until you dictate daily.
Apple Dictation is the better pick if
- You dictate now and then, a sentence or two
- You need a language other than English
- You don't want to pay for anything
TypeVoice is the better pick if
- You dictate every day and want clean text without fixing it
- You use names, products or jargon the built-in one gets wrong
- You think out loud and pause a lot
- You want it to work the same in every app, terminal included
Trying it
Try it next to Apple Dictation in a minute.
Download
The whole app, free for 7 days. No card, no account.
Pick your key
Hold 🌐, Right ⌘, ⌥Space or any chord, or tap to toggle. Use a different key from Apple Dictation and keep both for a week.
Keep both
Apple Dictation stays on its key. TypeVoice gets its own.
Talk more. Fix less.
Free for 7 days · $79 once · Runs entirely on your Mac
Facts are from Apple's macOS User Guide and feature availability pages as of October 2026. Apple, Mac and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc. Something out of date? Write to support.
Questions
Questions people ask.
Is Apple Dictation on the Mac private?
On Apple silicon, for languages with on-device support, it runs on your Mac. On Intel Macs or other languages, Apple's guide says your speech is sent to Apple. TypeVoice always runs on your Mac and never sends audio or text anywhere.
Why pay for dictation when the Mac has it built in?
If you dictate a sentence now and then, the built-in one is fine. TypeVoice is for daily use: it removes fillers and false starts, learns your names through the Dictionary, doesn't stop when you pause, and lets you hold a key to talk.
Does Apple Dictation remove 'um' and 'uh'?
Apple's guide documents auto-punctuation and spoken commands, not filler removal or rewriting. TypeVoice removes fillers, stutters and restarts on your Mac.
Can I keep using Apple Dictation too?
Yes. TypeVoice uses its own shortcut, so the built-in Dictation key keeps working.