Apps guide
Voice dictation apps for Mac, Windows and iPhone
Dictation apps let you hold a key, talk, and get clean text wherever your cursor is. That helps when typing is slow or tiring, or simply gets in the way of a thought. The four apps here all do that job, but they differ in ways that matter before you install one. Some transcribe on your own computer and never upload your voice, while others send audio to a cloud speech service. Some charge once and others by the month. One works only in English on recent Macs, others cover Windows, Linux or an iPhone keyboard, and a couple add AI rewriting on top of plain transcription. This guide is for anyone choosing a dictation tool for emails, messages, notes or prompts, and it sticks to the practical differences: price, platforms, where your voice goes, and the limits each app states on its own pages.
At a glance
| Project | Good for |
|---|---|
| Take Dictation | Private, offline dictation on a recent Mac |
| Aureon | Turning spoken brain dumps into tasks and notes on a Mac |
| Glaido | Dictating prompts and messages on Mac, Windows or Linux |
| Sayso: Say It Your Way | Dictating and rewriting replies on iPhone |
Decide where your voice is allowed to go
The biggest split is between on-device and cloud transcription. An app that transcribes on your computer never uploads your voice, which matters if you dictate client notes, medical details or anything covered by a confidentiality agreement. It also tends to be quick and can work offline, but it is limited by your hardware and often by language. Cloud apps send audio to a speech provider, which usually brings more languages and stronger cleanup, at the cost of trusting that provider's retention rules.
Read the privacy page rather than the homepage slogan. Look for whether audio is stored at all, how long transcripts are kept, and which companies process them. A named provider with a stated retention period tells you more than a general promise of privacy.
Choose plain transcription or AI rewriting
Dictation tools range from strict to creative. Rule-based cleanup removes filler words, adds punctuation and capitals, and handles spoken corrections such as saying Tuesday and then correcting it to Wednesday, but it cannot add words you did not say. AI rewriting can turn rambling speech into a tidy email, change the tone or translate, which is handy for replies but less predictable.
If what you dictate has to stay accurate, such as quotes, code comments or notes for someone else, lean toward the stricter kind or read each result before sending it. If you mainly want help phrasing messages, a rewriting tool may save more time.
Check platforms, languages and the real price
Look at the system requirements before you pay. Some apps need a recent Apple silicon Mac on the latest macOS, others run on Windows and Linux, and one lives inside an iPhone keyboard. Language support ranges from a single language to around a hundred.
Pricing models differ just as much: a one-time licence for a household, a monthly plan with a cheaper first month, a free tier with a weekly word allowance, or daily caps on dictations. Estimate how much you dictate in a typical week, compare that with each free tier and trial, and remember that prices and limits change, so confirm them on the app's own site.
The projects
Take Dictation
Good for: Private, offline dictation on a recent Mac
Take Dictation transcribes and tidies speech on your Mac's own chip, and its pages say nothing you say is uploaded. Cleanup follows fixed rules for fillers, punctuation and spoken corrections rather than AI rewriting, and it remembers names you teach it. It costs $39 once for everyone in a household, with a 14-day full trial and a 30-day refund. The limit is clear: it needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 26 or later and works in English only.
Aureon
Good for: Turning spoken brain dumps into tasks and notes on a Mac
Aureon dictates polished text at your cursor and can also turn a spoken list into reminders, calendar events and notes in apps such as Apple Reminders, Things, Notion and Todoist, with a preview before anything is created. Plus costs $1.99 for the first month, then $6.99 a month, and Max is $19.99 a month, after a 7-day trial on macOS 14 or later. Its privacy policy says third-party speech and AI providers process requests, so audio does not stay on the Mac.
Glaido
Good for: Dictating prompts and messages on Mac, Windows or Linux
Glaido works through one hotkey in any app and is aimed at people who prompt tools like Claude Code, Cursor or ChatGPT by voice. It lists around 100 languages, custom dictionaries and different formatting styles per app. The free Basic plan allows 2,000 words a week, and Pro costs $17 per user a month billed yearly for unlimited words. The site promises zero data retention with history kept on your device, but its privacy policy is a general template that doesn't name the speech provider.
Sayso: Say It Your Way
Good for: Dictating and rewriting replies on iPhone
Sayso is an iPhone keyboard with three modes: reply, which drafts a message in a chosen tone or language, inline Q&A, and plain dictation. The free plan needs no signup and includes a handful of replies a day. Pro is $24.99 a month, $119.99 a year or $249 once, with up to 100 voice dictations a day. Audio goes to OpenAI for transcription and is then discarded, and transcripts are kept for up to 30 days. Android is listed as coming soon.
How these projects were chosen
Every pick has a published Project Note on Project Radar. Projects were matched to the task of voice dictation from their own public pages, and each one's site, pricing and privacy page were checked again on 6 November 2026. Prices, limits and supported platforms change, so confirm them on each site before buying. Nobody can pay for a spot in this guide.
Placement on Project Radar is never paid for, and nothing here is sponsored.