Your Mac can already type what you say, in any app, for free. It is switched off by default and buried three levels down in System Settings, which is why most people never find it. The steps below follow Apple's dictation guide; after them come the voice commands and what to do when built-in dictation is not enough.

Turn on dictation on your Mac

Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
Click Keyboard in the sidebar.
Scroll down to Dictation and turn it on. macOS explains what gets sent to Apple; accept to continue.
Click Languages and add every language you speak. Each one downloads the first time you add it.
Open the Shortcut menu and pick the key that starts dictation.

That is the whole setup. There is no separate app to launch and nothing to configure per application.

The Mac dictation shortcut

On recent versions of macOS the default is press Control twice. The Shortcut menu also offers pressing the Globe (fn) key twice, either Command key twice, or a custom combination of your own. Older releases defaulted to the Globe key, which is why guides disagree.

Click into any text field first, then press the shortcut. A microphone indicator appears and everything you say is typed at the cursor. Press the shortcut again, press Escape, or simply click elsewhere to stop.

Speaking punctuation and formatting

macOS dictation types what it hears, so punctuation has to be spoken. These all work:

“period”, “comma”, “question mark”, “exclamation point”
“colon”, “semicolon”, “dash”, “ellipsis”
“new line” and “new paragraph”
“open quote” and “close quote”
“cap” to capitalise the next word, “all caps” for the whole word
“smiley face”, “frowny face” and “winky face” for emoticons

Recent macOS versions add some punctuation on their own, but the behaviour varies by language, so speaking it is still the reliable route.

Does Mac dictation work offline?

On Apple silicon Macs, most languages run entirely on device once the language pack has downloaded, so dictation keeps working on a plane and nothing leaves your machine. Some languages, and Intel Macs generally, still send audio to Apple for processing and need a connection. The Languages list marks which are available offline.

Where built-in dictation runs out

Apple's dictation is good at one job: turning clear speech into literal text. On Apple silicon you can even keep typing on the keyboard while it listens. The friction shows up once you use it for real work.

You speak the punctuation.

Saying “comma” and “new paragraph” out loud works, but it splits your attention between what you mean and how it should look. Automatic punctuation helps and varies by language.

It transcribes, it does not write.

Every “um”, false start and repeated word lands in the document. You still have to edit what you said into something you would send.

Accents and names are hit and miss.

There is no way to teach it a colleague's name, a product name or the jargon your team uses. It guesses the same wrong spelling every time.

No translation.

You can add several languages in Dictation settings, but what you say is typed in the language you said it in. There is no way to speak one language and have another typed.

Another way to dictate on Mac

Ahsk replaces the built-in shortcut with one key and Whisper large-v3, run in the cloud. Hold fn and talk for as long as you hold it; let go and the text is typed into the field. Tap fn instead and it keeps listening hands-free until you tap again. It needs an internet connection, which built-in dictation on Apple silicon does not.

Because a second model formats the result, what lands is punctuated, with filler words removed, rather than a literal transcript. You can add names and jargon to a personal dictionary, pick the language you speak rather than the one your Mac is set to, and hold fn + shift to speak one language and have another typed, in 50+ languages. It works in the same places built-in dictation does, which is to say everywhere: Mail, Slack, Safari, Word, Xcode, the Terminal.

Try it on your own Mac

Your first 10,000 dictated words are free, no card required. Works on macOS, Windows and iPhone.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the keyboard shortcut for dictation on Mac?

Pressing Control twice on recent macOS versions. Change it in System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation › Shortcut, where you can also choose the Globe (fn) key, either Command key, or a custom combination.

Why is dictation greyed out on my Mac?

Usually a managed device. If your Mac is enrolled with a school or employer, dictation can be disabled by policy and the toggle will not respond. It can also be greyed out while a language pack is still downloading.

Is there a time limit on Mac dictation?

Not any more. Apple's guide says you can dictate text of any length without a timeout. Dictation does stop automatically after 30 seconds of silence.

Can I dictate in two languages?

Yes. Add each language in System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation › Languages, and switch while dictating by clicking the language shown next to the cursor. What you say is typed in the language you spoke. To speak one language and have another typed, you need an app that translates as you dictate.

Dictation is on but nothing happens. What now?

Almost always the microphone rather than dictation itself. We wrote a separate walkthrough: Mac dictation not working.

How to Use Dictation on Mac