--- title: "Dictation Software for Mac: On-Device, 127 ms, Free" description: "ToolPiper dictation transcribes speech in 127-173 ms on the Apple Neural Engine. Hold the right Option key and speak - no cloud, no account, no subscription. Plus voice commands that run macOS actions." canonical: "https://modelpiper.com/dictation-mac" --- # Dictation Software for Mac: On-Device, 127 ms, Free > ToolPiper dictation transcribes speech in 127-173 ms on the Apple Neural Engine. Hold the right Option key and speak - no cloud, no account, no subscription. Plus voice commands that run macOS actions. [ModelPiper](/) [Web App](/chat)[Features](/features)[Download](/download)[Pricing](/pricing)[Blog](/blog) [Try ToolPiper](/login) Dictation ยท Updated 2026-06-11 # Dictation on Mac, on-device and free. ToolPiper turns speech into text in 127 to 173 milliseconds on the Apple Neural Engine. Hold the right Option key, speak, release - the words land in whatever app you are using. No cloud, no account, no subscription. Your audio never leaves the Mac. [Download free](https://modelpiper.com/download)[Compare the options](/blog/free-dictation-app-mac) 127-173 ms Transcription latency, flat regardless of how long you speak. 0 bytes Audio sent to the cloud. The model runs on your Neural Engine. $0 Dictation is on the free tier. No account, no subscription. ## How it works 1. 1Hold the **right Option** key and speak. A small indicator shows it is listening. 2. 2The Parakeet speech-to-text model runs on the **Neural Engine** - a separate processor from the GPU, so it does not compete with any model you have loaded for chat. 3. 3Release the key. The transcribed text is inserted at your cursor in **whatever app has focus** - editor, browser, terminal, Slack. ## How it compares Feature ToolPiper Wispr Flow superwhisper MacWhisper Apple Dictation Price Free tier Subscription Free + paid Pro Free + one-time Pro Free (built in) Runs on-device Yes (Neural Engine) Cloud Yes Yes Yes Account required No Yes No No Apple ID Push-to-talk hotkey Right Option Yes Yes Hotkey Double-tap Types into any app Yes Yes Yes Paste Yes Voice commands that run system actions Yes (right Command) No No No Limited Part of a full local AI suite (chat, vision, MCP) Yes No No No No superwhisper and MacWhisper also run on-device and do dictation well. The difference is that ToolPiper dictation is free and part of a full local AI suite. ## Beyond dictation: voice commands Dictation writes text. Hold the **right Command** key instead and ToolPiper routes your speech through a local model that parses intent and runs a macOS action - "turn down the brightness," "open Safari to my email," "turn on Do Not Disturb." Around 142 actions across 26 domains, all on-device. No other dictation app does this. ## Frequently asked questions ### How fast is on-device dictation on a Mac? ToolPiper transcribes dictation in 127 to 173 milliseconds on the Apple Neural Engine, and the latency stays flat regardless of how long you speak because the model pads to a fixed encoder window. That is fast enough that text appears as soon as you release the key, with no cloud round-trip. ### Is the dictation private, or does my audio go to the cloud? It is fully on-device. The speech-to-text model (Parakeet) runs on your Mac's Neural Engine, so your audio never leaves the machine and works with no internet connection. There is no account and nothing to upload. ### How much does ToolPiper dictation cost? Dictation is on the free tier. Download the app, hold the right Option key, and speak - no subscription and no account required. ToolPiper Pro is $10/month for the advanced pipeline, agent, and creator features, but dictation itself is free. ### What is the difference between dictation and voice commands? Dictation (hold the right Option key) types what you say into whatever app has focus. Voice commands (hold the right Command key) route your speech through a local model that parses intent and runs a macOS system action - changing brightness, opening an app, toggling Bluetooth, and around 142 other actions. Dictation writes text; voice commands do things. ### Does it work in every app? Yes. Dictation inserts text at the cursor in any app that accepts keyboard input - your editor, browser, Slack, Notes, the terminal. It is system-wide, not limited to one window. ### How does it compare to Wispr Flow, superwhisper, and MacWhisper? superwhisper and MacWhisper also run on-device, and they are good at it. Wispr Flow runs in the cloud and needs an account and a subscription. ToolPiper's difference is that dictation is free and built into a full local AI suite - the same app does chat, vision, OCR, 300+ MCP tools, and voice commands that execute system actions, not just transcription. ## Related reading [ ### Best free dictation app for Mac (2026) Apple Dictation, Whisper, and the on-device option compared. ](/blog/free-dictation-app-mac)[ ### Private voice dictation on Mac No cloud, no data collection, no compromise. ](/blog/private-voice-dictation-mac)[ ### Offline voice typing on Mac Dictate without an internet connection on Apple Silicon. ](/blog/offline-voice-typing-mac)[ ### Voice coding on Mac without the cloud Dictate into Cursor, VS Code, and the terminal. ](/blog/voice-coding-mac-local)[ ### ToolPiper vs Wispr Flow Local voice AI or cloud dictation. Where your audio goes. ](/blog/toolpiper-vs-wispr-flow)[ ### Why voice AI should stay local The privacy and latency case for on-device voice. ](/blog/why-voice-ai-should-stay-local) ## Start dictating in two minutes Download ToolPiper, hold the right Option key, and speak. Free, on-device, no account. [Download ToolPiper](https://modelpiper.com/download)