If you’ve never tried dictation on Mac, you probably picture something clunky and inaccurate. I thought the same thing before I started. Turns out, voice-to-text on macOS has gotten surprisingly good for everyday writing: emails, notes, even code comments.
This guide covers what a beginner needs to know, from Apple’s built-in dictation to dedicated tools, plus some practical advice to make voice typing feel less weird.
Why bother with dictation?
There are a few reasons people start dictating, and they’re more practical than you’d think.
Your hands get a break. If you type for hours every day, dictation takes the strain off your wrists. For some people, this alone makes it worth trying.
You write faster. Most people speak at roughly 130-150 words per minute versus 40-80 typing. Once you get used to it, dictation cuts drafting time noticeably.
Your ideas come out differently. Speaking forces you to think out loud, which tends to produce more natural-sounding writing. Some writers swear by it for first drafts.
It also opens up Mac usage for people with mobility limitations, and lets you capture thoughts while cooking or walking around.
The catch: your first week will feel awkward. That’s normal. Most people say it takes two to three weeks of daily use before dictation stops feeling forced.
Myths that keep people from trying
“It won’t understand my accent.” Engines like Whisper (trained on 99 languages) and Parakeet handle accents much better than you’d expect. They’re trained on global speech patterns, not just standard American English.
“I’ll have to shout.” No. Normal conversational volume works fine. Shouting actually hurts accuracy because it distorts your speech patterns.
“It only works for transcription.” Dictation works in any app where you type: Slack, Gmail, VS Code, Word, Notion. It’s not limited to transcribing recordings.
“I’ll feel weird talking to my computer.” You will, at first. It passes. Working alone in a quiet room helps during the adjustment.
“I need internet.” Not anymore. Several tools now run entirely on your Mac, with no network connection required. If privacy is a concern, read our speech-to-text privacy guide.
What macOS already includes
Every Mac running Sonoma 14.0 or newer has built-in dictation.
Press the Fn key twice (or Control + Microphone on newer Macs) in any app, and a small microphone window appears. Speak, and text shows up at your cursor. It’s free, requires no setup, and supports 20+ languages.
The downsides: it processes after you finish speaking (not real-time), needs internet for best accuracy, and offers limited customization. But for dictating a few emails per week, it’s enough.
macOS also has Voice Control (System Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control) for full system navigation by voice, but that’s a different beast with a steeper learning curve. This guide focuses on text dictation only.
Going beyond Apple’s built-in option
Apple Dictation works, but you’ll likely hit its limits quickly: the processing delay, the internet dependency, the lack of automatic punctuation.
Dedicated voice-to-text apps solve these problems. They process in real-time (text appears while you speak), work offline, offer higher accuracy through specialized engines, and include extras like translation and proofreading. For a full rundown of what’s available, see our guide to the best offline speech-to-text apps for Mac.
One option is Dictato, a macOS app that runs three different speech recognition engines (Parakeet, Whisper, or Apple’s SpeechAnalyzer) with about 80ms response time. It costs $9.99 for a two-year license with no monthly subscription. Everything processes locally on your Mac, so nothing leaves your device. The app keeps working after the license expires; you only renew for future updates.
Setting yourself up
A few things make a big difference in accuracy.
Microphone: Your Mac’s built-in mic works to start, but it picks up keyboard clicks and room noise. If you plan to dictate regularly, consider a USB mic ($25-60 range: Blue Yeti, Audio-Technica AT2020USB-X, Rode NT-USB) or just use AirPods Pro, which have surprisingly good mics for dictation.
Environment: You don’t need silence, but you do need reasonable quiet. A home office works well. A coffee shop during off-peak hours is manageable. Avoid windy outdoor spots.
Mic settings: In System Settings > Sound > Input, adjust the input volume so the level indicator sits around the middle. Too quiet and it misses words; too loud and it distorts.
Test everything before you dictate something that matters.
Your first week: a 5-day plan
Jumping straight into heavy dictation is overwhelming. Start small.
Days 1-2: Use Apple’s free dictation (Fn key twice) to dictate a single paragraph in TextEdit or Notes. Don’t worry about accuracy. Just get used to speaking at normal volume. Spend 5-10 minutes.
Day 3: Dictate a short email or Slack message. Low stakes, so errors don’t matter.
Day 4: If you’re enjoying it, try a dedicated tool like Dictato. Spend 10 minutes dictating notes or a journal entry.
Day 5: Pick one daily task you’ll always dictate: morning notes, email drafts, whatever. Commit to 10-15 minutes a day for the next week.
By week two, you’ll notice it feels more natural. By week three, you’ll sometimes reach for the mic before the keyboard.
Tips for better accuracy
The biggest improvement comes from changing how you speak, not which tool you use.
Talk normally. Don’t slow down or over-enunciate. These engines are trained on natural speech, and talking too deliberately actually makes them perform worse.
Pause between sentences. Brief silences help the engine detect sentence boundaries. Most tools add periods automatically at natural pauses.
Know when to say punctuation aloud. Apple Dictation needs you to say “period” and “comma” explicitly. More advanced tools handle punctuation on their own, but it’s a useful skill either way.
Cut the filler words. “Um,” “uh,” and “like” get transcribed literally. If you tend to use fillers, practice pausing instead.
Speak clearly even when unsure. Mumbling confuses every engine. Say the word, then edit later if it was wrong.
Mistakes to avoid
Dictating code syntax. Voice-to-text is bad at brackets, slashes, and camelCase. Dictate comments and documentation instead.
Expecting perfection. Even the best engines make mistakes with homophones (“their” vs “there”) and unusual words. Plan on spending 5-10% of your time doing light edits. Still faster than typing from scratch.
Starting in a noisy room. Save the coffee shop for when you’re experienced. Start in a quiet space to avoid frustration.
Dictating when stressed. Stress makes you mumble and rush, which tanks accuracy. Save important dictation for calm moments.
Not reviewing early attempts. Read back your first few dictations. You’ll spot patterns in what the tool gets wrong and naturally adjust your speech to compensate.
When dictation actually beats typing
Dictation wins for emails and casual messages (noticeably faster once you’re comfortable), brainstorming sessions (capture ideas before they fade), repetitive documentation, and long blocks of text without much technical jargon.
It’s slower for code-heavy work (unless dictating comments), complex formatting like tables, highly technical writing with specialized terms, and content packed with proper nouns.
The sweet spot: dictate your first draft, then type your edits.
Tool recommendations
Apple Dictation is free and built-in. Good enough if you dictate once or twice a week and don’t mind the internet requirement.
Dictato ($9.99 for two years) is a dedicated macOS app with three engine options, 80ms latency, 100% local processing, translation to 30 languages, and AI proofreading. It works in any app. Worth it if you dictate multiple times a day. See how it compares to Apple Dictation and Whisper.
Otter.ai is solid for recording and transcribing long meetings, but it’s subscription-based and cloud-dependent.
Google Docs Voice Typing works well inside Google Docs specifically, but not elsewhere.
Before you start
Make sure you have:
- A reasonably quiet workspace
- A microphone (built-in is fine at first)
- Realistic expectations (faster drafts, not zero errors)
- One specific task to practice with
- 5-10 minutes a day for two weeks
Getting started
Dictation feels like learning to type again, except it clicks faster. The first week is rough, but by week three, you’ll use it without thinking about it.
Try Apple’s free dictation right now. Open Notes, press Fn twice, and dictate one paragraph. That’s it. You’ll know within a minute whether this is something you want to explore further.
Want to go further? Dictato runs on your Mac with 80ms response time and complete privacy. $9.99 for two years, no subscription.