Starting point
What are you replacing
Three starting points cover almost everyone: a discontinued Dragon workflow, the built-in macOS option, or the accessibility tool reached for by mistake.
Discontinued
Dragon for Mac
Nuance discontinued Dragon Professional Individual for Mac on 22 October 2018 and shipped no updates after. The replacement guide, sorted by job.
Built in
Apple Dictation
Free, already installed, processed on device for general text, and no length limit. Try it before paying anything.
Accessibility
Voice Control
Apple states standard Dictation is unavailable while Voice Control is on. They are alternatives, not companions.
On-device
Local dictation apps
Audio stays on the Mac, so there is no upload round trip and privacy is a property of the design rather than a policy page. Superwhisper and VoiceInk both have free tiers. Voice Type does not.
Local
SuperWhisper
Free tier that does not expire. Pro is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 for life. Also on Windows and iOS.
Local
MacWhisper
One-time lifetime licence. Transcribes files, and the direct-download build also dictates into any text field.
Local
Voice Ink
Free on the Mac App Store. Needs macOS 14 and Apple silicon. Local models plus bring-your-own cloud keys.
Cloud
Cloud dictation and transcription services
These win on shared transcripts, meeting capture, and rewrite automation. Most meter by transcription minute, which is a sign they were built for meetings rather than typing.
Cloud
Wispr Flow
Free up to 2,000 dictated words a week on desktop. Pro is $15 a month. Audio is processed on its servers.
Cloud
Otter.ai
Meeting transcription metered by minute: 300 free a month, $16.99 a month on Pro. Not a live typing tool.
Cloud
Notta
Cloud transcription metered by minute: 120 free a month, $13.61 a month on Pro. Aimed at meetings.
Cloud
Speechify
Text to speech first. Voice typing sits behind Premium at $29 a month, which is a lot to pay for dictation.
Shortlist
The buyer's guide, ranked
One page that ranks the options and shows the tradeoffs behind the ranking, including the cases where a free competitor is the better buy.