Does Mac have built-in dictation, and is it free?

Yes to both. It's called Dictation, and it's part of macOS, so there's nothing to buy or install. You only have to switch it on.

What's the best dictation app for Mac?

For writing that goes to someone else, AudioPen. It types into any app on your Mac, like Dictation does, but it can rewrite what you said in the style you pick before the words land, so the email reads like you sat down and wrote it. Turn on its offline option and the audio never leaves your Mac. Your Mac's own Dictation is fine for a quick reply. AudioPen is free to start, and the same account gives you voice typing on Windows, iPhone and Android too.

What's the keyboard shortcut for dictation on a Mac?

On a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, F5 is the Dictation key, and Apple's list of Mac keyboard shortcuts gives Fn-D to start or stop dictation. Apple doesn't name one default for every Mac, so check the Shortcut menu in the Dictation settings. You can also pick pressing Fn twice or set your own there.

Why isn't dictation working on my Mac?

Start with Voice Control: while it's on, regular Dictation isn't available, so turn it off. Holding the Microphone key down opens Siri, so press it and let go. Still nothing? Work through Apple's checklist: Dictation turned on, the right language and shortcut, and the right microphone selected. If it starts and then stops partway, it heard 30 seconds of quiet. Press your shortcut and carry on.

Does Mac dictation work offline?

Check your Mac. The text under Dictation in Keyboard settings says whether what you dictate is processed on your Mac. If it isn't, Apple says it's sent to its servers and not stored unless you opted in to Improve Siri & Dictation. AudioPen's Mac app has an offline option you can turn on.

What's the difference between Dictation and Voice Control?

Dictation is for writing. Voice Control, in System Settings > Accessibility, runs your whole Mac by voice, including editing text, and you can teach it your own words. It's a one-time download, and after that it works without an internet connection. You use one or the other, not both at once.

Does AudioPen work on an Intel Mac?

The Mac app needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later). On an Intel Mac, record in the AudioPen web app at app.audiopen.ai instead. You still get your words rewritten in the style you pick, ready to paste wherever you need them.

Guides

How to voice type on a Mac

Your Mac has voice typing built in, and it's called Dictation. How to turn it on, where it stops, and how to get writing you'd send instead of a transcript.

By Louis Pereira, founder of AudioPenUpdated October 17, 2026

The short answer: Your Mac's voice typing is called Dictation. Turn it on in System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation. Then click where you want the words, press the Microphone key or your Dictation shortcut (or choose Edit > Start Dictation), and talk. It types what you say, word for word. For emails and documents that read like writing, use AudioPen's Mac voice typing.

Dictation comes with macOS, and it's better than its reputation. In supported languages it puts in the commas, periods and question marks for you. For a Slack reply or a quick search, it's all you need.

What it gives you is a transcript. Every word lands the way you said it, including the ums, the false starts and the sentence you began twice. That's fine for a note to yourself. It reads badly in an email to someone else.

I'm Louis, and I built AudioPen. Earlier this year I spent a month speaking roughly 95% of what I'd normally type: emails, Slack messages, WhatsApp, prompts for ChatGPT and Claude, instructions to my coding agent. Talking let me give them far more context than I'd ever bother to type out. It stuck because what came back was writing I'd send, not a transcript I'd have to fix.

Turn on and use Dictation on a Mac

1Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar (you may need to scroll down to find it). Go to Dictation, turn it on, and click Enable. If your Mac asks whether to share audio recordings with Apple, Not Now is a fine answer.
2Open the Shortcut menu under Dictation to see which keys start it on your Mac, or choose Customize to set your own, like Option-Z. On a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, the F5 key with the microphone on it starts Dictation too.
3Click where you want the words to go. Press the Microphone key or your shortcut, or choose Edit > Start Dictation.
4Talk when the cursor pulses or you hear a tone. Say “new line” or “new paragraph” to break things up, and say a punctuation mark by name, like “exclamation mark”, when you want one.
5When you're done, press Escape or the same key again.

Where Mac Dictation stops

There's no command for the ums

Apple's list of dictation commands covers punctuation, symbols, formatting and capitals. Nothing on it removes an um or a false start. If Dictation isn't sure of a word, it underlines it in blue, and you click it to pick another. Apple's more advanced dictation, on Macs with M3 or later and at least 12 GB of memory, hears you more precisely and handles capitals, punctuation and formatting as you talk.

Thirty seconds of quiet ends it

Apple says you can dictate for as long as you like, with no time limit. But when Dictation hears nothing for 30 seconds, it stops. If you think in long pauses, you'll be starting it again.

No editing by voice, and no custom words

Apple's Dictation pages list no spoken commands to select, delete or undo, and no way to teach it names or jargon. Voice Control can select and delete text by voice and lets you add your own words, but it's a different tool: while it's on, regular Dictation isn't available.

What to use for each kind of writing

Dictation and AudioPen both type wherever your cursor is. The difference is what lands there.

Writing	Built in	With AudioPen
Quick replies in Slack or Messages	Built in:Dictation does the job. A short reply doesn't need much fixing.	With AudioPen:Hold the hotkey, talk, and let go. Clean text lands at your cursor.
Emails in Mail, Gmail or Outlook	Built in:You get the raw draft. You do the editing before you hit Send.	With AudioPen:Double-tap the hotkey, talk it through, and tap again. It's rewritten in an email style, or one you made from your own writing.
Documents in Pages, Google Docs or Word	Built in:Works, but you get one raw transcript at a time. Docs and Word also have their own voice typing.	With AudioPen:Talk through one section at a time, in a style that suits the document.
Prompts for ChatGPT or Claude	Built in:Works. A long ramble goes in as a long ramble.	With AudioPen:Use a prompt style. Talk through all the context, and a clear request lands in the chat box.
A thought with no home yet	Built in:Open Notes and dictate into a new note.	With AudioPen:Triple-tap the hotkey, and it's saved as a note in your AudioPen library.

Turn talking into writing on your Mac

AudioPen's Mac app puts voice typing on a hotkey. It types into any app with a text field: Mail, Slack, Notion, Google Docs, a search bar. There's no window to switch to and nothing to paste.

The rewrite is the part that matters, because you pick the style it writes in. I keep one for each kind of writing: an email style that sounds like me on a good writing day, a casual one for Slack and WhatsApp, one for prompts to ChatGPT and Claude, and one for talking to coding tools like Cursor and Claude Code. Use the built-in styles, or make your own from a sample of your writing. For documents, there are guides for Google Docs and Word.

Voice typing lands at your cursor and in a typing history, never in your notes library. That's what the triple-tap is for. You choose how it transcribes: turn on the offline option in the Mac app and the audio never leaves your Mac, or use cloud transcription, where the audio isn't saved. The rewrite step runs in the cloud, and nothing from it is stored.

The free plan includes voice typing with a limited number of sessions, and every writing style, including the ones you make. AudioPen Prime makes voice typing unlimited.

Tips for talking instead of typing

Say who it's for and what you need before anything else. “This is a reply to Sam about Friday's deadline” keeps you on track, and it gives a rewrite something to aim at.
Pick your microphone. The Microphone source menu in the Dictation settings sets which one Dictation listens to. In a noisy room, Apple suggests a headset microphone.
On a Mac with Apple silicon, you can type while Dictation is listening. It's handy for a name it keeps getting wrong.
With AudioPen, read a rewrite before you send it. It's your words, reorganized, and you're the one who knows what you meant.