Why not just use the Mac's built-in dictation?

Apple's dictation is fine for a quick sentence. Chirp is built for real work: it keeps up when you talk for minutes at a time, punctuates as you speak, and types straight into whatever app your cursor is in. And built-in dictation can't tell you who said what in a meeting, which is half of why Chirp exists.

Is my audio really private?

Yes. Everything runs on your Mac, and nothing you say is ever uploaded. Once installed, Chirp works fully offline. You can turn wifi off and watch it keep working. An optional encrypted sync add-on may come later, but nothing changes unless you opt in.

Is it a subscription?

No. You pay $39 once and it's yours: solo dictation, Meeting Mode, the speaker library, history, and all future updates included. There's no account to create, either.

Does a bot have to join my meetings?

No bots, no calendar integrations, nothing joins your call. Chirp records locally on your Mac while you meet in Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, FaceTime, or anything else. When the meeting ends you get a transcript with every speaker labeled, and Chirp recognizes the same voices next time.

What languages does Chirp support?

Solo dictation is English-only for now. The model is built exclusively for English, and that focus is where the speed and accuracy come from. Meeting Mode supports 100 languages. More solo languages may come later.

Which Macs does it run on?

Apple Silicon Macs (M1 or later) on macOS 15 or newer. Intel Macs aren't supported, because Chirp's speed comes from Apple Silicon acceleration. The 8 GB base models run both modes comfortably.

What if I don't like it?

Try it free for 7 days, no card, no account. If you buy and change your mind, there's a 30-day money-back guarantee. Email hello@chirpvoice.com and you'll get your refund, no questions asked.

What is the best free dictation app for Mac?

The one already installed: macOS Dictation. It is genuinely fine for short bursts like messages and quick notes. Its limits show with longer passages, and depending on your Mac and language some processing can happen on Apple servers.

What is the best dictation app for heavy daily use on a Mac?

For dictation as a working style, the strongest options are the local apps: Chirp ($39 once, also transcribes meetings with speaker labels), SuperWhisper (highly configurable), and VoiceInk (minimal local dictation). Chirp is the only one of the three built around meetings as well as dictation.

Which Mac dictation apps work fully offline?

Chirp, MacWhisper, VoiceInk, and SuperWhisper (with local models selected) all transcribe on-device. macOS Dictation is partly on-device depending on language and hardware. Wispr Flow processes audio in the cloud and needs a connection.

Which dictation app also transcribes meetings with speaker names?

Of the apps compared, Chirp is the one built around both jobs: hotkey dictation into any app, and meeting transcription that labels each speaker and remembers voices across meetings. Bot-based services like Otter and Fireflies also transcribe meetings, but they join the call and process audio on their servers.

The Best Dictation App for Mac, by Use Case

Six real options compared honestly — including the free one built into macOS, and where each one actually wins.

Full disclosure before anything else: this is Chirp's website, and Chirp is one of the apps below. So instead of a suspiciously convenient top-ten, here's the version I'd give a friend: six real options, sorted by what you're actually trying to do, with the trade-offs stated plainly. One of them is free and already on your Mac.

If you dictate occasionally

macOS Dictation is the free one that's already installed, and it's genuinely fine for short bursts: a text message, a quick search, a sentence or two. Turning it on takes a minute in System Settings. We wrote a full setup guide in How to Dictate on a Mac.

Its limits show up with length: longer passages drift, corrections get fiddly, and depending on your Mac and language, some of what you say can be processed on Apple's servers. We looked at exactly what stays local in Is Apple Dictation Private? If dictation is a once-a-day thing for you, stop here and use it.

If you dictate all day and sit in meetings

Chirp is the one I built, so weigh my bias accordingly. It's for people who talk into their Mac as a working style: hotkey dictation that types into any app at your cursor, plus full meeting transcription that names each speaker and remembers their voices across meetings. Everything runs locally on Apple Silicon, nothing is uploaded, and $39 once covers every feature with no subscription.

What it doesn't do: files you already have, AI summaries, Windows, or iPhone. It's a Mac app for live work. The 7-day trial is the full app, so you can judge it against everything else here without spending anything.

Solo62 words · 0:31 audio

Hey Maya, quick update before the call. I went through the contract this morning and the only section that still worries me is the renewal clause, so I marked it up and sent it back to legal.

Can you push our sync to Thursday? I want their answer in hand before we talk pricing. Thanks.

A dictation in Chirp's history: paragraphed, searchable, with the audio attached.

If you love tuning your setup

SuperWhisper runs locally too, and it hands you the controls: model choices, custom modes, prompt tweaks. Tinkerers genuinely enjoy it. The trade-offs are the pricing ladder, $8.49 a month or $249 lifetime, and that meetings aren't really its job. The full comparison is in Chirp vs SuperWhisper.

If your work is transcribing files

For interviews, podcasts, lectures, and video files you already have, MacWhisper is the workbench: drag a file in, get a transcript out, batch folders, export subtitles. It's local like Chirp, with a free tier and a one-time €59 Pro, just built around files instead of live work. The honest side-by-side is in Chirp vs MacWhisper.

If you need Windows and iPhone too

Wispr Flow's dictation is polished and it travels across platforms, which Mac-only apps can't offer. The trade-off is the architecture: your audio is processed in the cloud, on a subscription from $12 a month. If that exchange is fine for you, it's a good product. The comparison is in Chirp vs Wispr Flow.

If you want minimal local dictation

VoiceInk is a straightforward local dictation app at a one-time $39.99, and that's a compliment: it does the typing-by-voice job without ceremony. It doesn't do meeting transcription or speaker identification, which is the main reason you'd pick Chirp over it at the same price.

How to choose in 30 seconds

Occasional sentence here and there: the built-in macOS Dictation, free.
Talking as a working style, plus meetings with who-said-what: Chirp.
You enjoy configuring models and modes: SuperWhisper.
A backlog of recordings to transcribe: MacWhisper.
Same tool on your phone and PC, cloud is fine: Wispr Flow.
Just local dictation, pay once, nothing else: VoiceInk, or Chirp if meetings might ever matter.

Prices are as of June 2026 and worth re-checking on each app's site. If you want every app in one table, it's on the compare page.