Free dictation for macOS
A free dictation app for Mac that gives back finished writing
Dictro's free plan is not a trial and not a stripped-down demo. You get 10,000 words a week, the complete on-device pipeline, and dictation in any Mac app—without a credit card, and without your voice leaving your device.
Apple Silicon · macOS 15+ · Free plan · On-device mode
Read the fine print
Not every “free” dictation app is free
“Free” hides a lot of different things. Some apps are a seven-day trial that stops working. Some are free but upload your audio to pay for the service with your data. Some are free only until you dictate anything longer than a sentence. It is worth knowing which kind you are installing before it becomes part of your day.
Free plan
Keeps working indefinitely within clear limits. Dictro's 10,000 words a week is this kind of free.
Free trial
Full features for a short window, then a paywall. Useful to evaluate, not to rely on.
“Free” for your data
No fee, but your audio is processed in the cloud. Convenient, but not private.
No asterisks
What you actually get on the free plan
The free plan is the real product, not a preview. The only limit is the weekly word count.
- 10,000 dictated words every week, reset weekly.
- The full on-device pipeline: local speech recognition and language cleanup.
- System-wide dictation into Mail, Slack, Notion, browsers, terminals, and code editors.
- Custom vocabulary for names and specialist terms.
- No credit card, and no audio or transcript sent to Dictro in on-device mode.
Two free options compared
Free Dictro and macOS built-in dictation
Your Mac already includes free dictation, so the honest question is not price—it is what each one hands back and where your voice is processed.
| Capability | Dictro (free) | Built-in macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, 10,000 words/week | Free, no word limit |
| What you get back | Cleaned, punctuated prose | Mostly literal transcript |
| Removes filler and false starts | Yes, local refinement | No |
| Where audio is processed | On-device by default | May use Apple's servers |
| Custom words for names and jargon | Yes | System vocabulary only |
Built-in dictation is unlimited and fine for quick literal capture. Dictro spends its free words turning a messy first take into finished writing, privately. See the full Mac dictation app overview.
Honest about the limit
When the free plan is enough
Ten thousand words a week is a lot of dictation—for email, messages, notes, and everyday writing, most people never reach it. If you write long-form for a living and start hitting the cap, or you want the optional cloud Fast Mode for extra speed, Pro removes the weekly limit and adds premium fast formatting. Everything else, including the privacy model, is identical.
The free plan is on-device by default. To understand exactly what that protects, read about private dictation on Mac.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask about Dictro
Is there a genuinely free dictation app for Mac?
Yes. Dictro has a permanent free plan—10,000 dictated words per week with the full on-device pipeline, working in any Mac app. It is not a time-limited trial, and no credit card is required to start.
What is included in the Dictro free plan?
The free plan includes up to 10,000 words per week, the complete on-device speech and refinement pipeline, system-wide dictation into any app, and custom vocabulary. Everything runs locally on Apple Silicon by default.
Do I need a credit card to use the free version?
No. You can download Dictro, sign in, and start dictating on the free plan without entering payment details.
Is Apple's built-in Mac dictation free?
Yes, macOS includes free built-in dictation with no word limit. The difference is what you get back: built-in dictation returns a mostly literal transcript and may use Apple's servers depending on your settings, while Dictro cleans up filler and structure and runs on-device by default.
When would I need the paid plan?
Most people stay comfortably inside 10,000 words a week. If you dictate long-form all day and hit the cap, or you want the optional cloud Fast Mode for speed, Pro removes the weekly limit and adds premium fast formatting.