Dictato: Local Voice-to-Text Software for Mac with On-Device Processing
By
Alessandro Lamparelli
Worth a glance, not a chew.
Summary
Dictato is a local voice-to-text application for Mac that converts speech to text entirely on-device without requiring cloud services, internet connection, or user accounts. It works across various applications using hotkeys, offers three speech recognition engines with different language support, includes optional proofreading and translation features, and is available through a 7-day free trial followed by a $9.99 two-year license for macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon devices.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledNo cloud, no account, no internet needed. Your audio stays on your computer.
Press a hotkey, talk, release. Text appears where your cursor is — Gmail, Slack, VS Code, whatever app you're in.
Three engines to choose from: Parakeet, Whisper, Apple Supports 25-99 languages depending on which you pick.
Optional proofreading and translation, all on-device.
$9.99 for a two-year license. Requires macOS 14+ and Apple Silicon.
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