---
title: "Best AI dictation apps for Mac in 2026: rewriting, privacy and price"
description: "AI dictation apps turn speech into polished text: emails, notes, prompts. We compare 8 for Mac on how much they rewrite you, where the AI runs, and what they cost, with prices checked October 2026."
url: "https://speechbee.app/compare/best-ai-dictation-app-mac"
---

# The best AI dictation apps for Mac

Plain dictation types what you said. AI dictation goes a step further and tidies it: drops the ums, fixes false starts, and can turn a spoken ramble into an email or a clean prompt. The apps below all do some of that. They differ in where the AI runs, how far it rewrites you, and what it costs.

By the SpeechBee team. Prices checked on 15 October 2026.

> ### The short answer
>
> - **Best if the AI should run on your Mac:** [SpeechBee](#1-speechbee). Local transcription, plus writing modes such as Email and Prompt for AI that run with Apple Intelligence. $79 a year or $99 once.
> - **Best cloud polish:** [Wispr Flow](#2-wispr-flow) or [Typeless](#3-typeless), both $144 a year on yearly billing.
> - **Best for building your own AI modes:** [superwhisper](#4-superwhisper).
> - **Best for prompts and code:** [Aqua Voice](#6-aqua-voice).
>
> SpeechBee is our own app. Facts about the others come from their own websites, linked at the bottom.

## How to choose an AI dictation app

Three questions sort most of these apps.

**Where does the AI run?** Most AI dictation apps send your audio, and sometimes text from your screen, to their servers. A few transcribe on the Mac and run the rewriting there too. If you dictate client work, health details or anything confidential, this is the first filter.

**How much should it change?** Some apps rewrite every sentence into what they think you meant. Others clean up fillers and leave your wording alone unless you pick a mode. Heavy rewriting saves time on rough drafts and costs time on anything that has to be exact.

**What does it cost over a year?** Monthly prices hide the difference. Most cloud apps land at $144 a year on yearly billing and more on monthly. A one-time license changes the maths after the first year.

## AI dictation apps for Mac at a glance

| App | Price | Where the AI runs | Rewriting | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpeechBee | $9/mo, $79/yr, or $99 once | On your Mac, or your own AI provider when you ask | Optional writing modes; keeps your words by default | Mac, iPhone, iPad |
| Wispr Flow | $15/mo, or $144/yr | Wispr's servers | Cleans and adapts tone as you speak | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| Typeless | $30/mo, or $144/yr | Typeless's servers | Rewrites into polished prose, tone per app | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android |
| superwhisper | $8.49/mo, $84.99/yr, or $249.99 once | Local or cloud models, your choice | Custom modes you write | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| Willow | $15/mo, or $144/yr | Willow's servers, or on device in offline mode | Scribe AI writing, style memory on Pro | Mac, Windows, iPhone |
| Aqua Voice | $10/mo, or $96/yr | Aqua's servers | Refines as you speak, reads your screen | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| Monologue | $15/mo, or $144/yr | Not stated on its pricing page; offline transcription is listed | AI dictation, plus recorded notes | Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Glaido | Pro $17/mo billed yearly | Glaido's servers | AI auto-edits plus Agent mode | Mac, Windows |

**One year, in US dollars**

- Glaido Pro, yearly: $204
- Wispr Flow Pro, yearly: $144
- Typeless Pro, yearly: $144
- Monologue Pro, yearly: $144
- Aqua Voice Pro, yearly: $96
- superwhisper Pro, yearly: $84.99
- SpeechBee Yearly: $79

## 1. SpeechBee

SpeechBee is our app, and it is the one on this list where both the transcription and the AI can stay on your Mac. Hold a key, talk, let go, and the text appears at the cursor in any app. Filler words are removed in 61 languages before the text lands.

The AI part is optional and you choose how much of it you want:

- **Writing modes.** Email, Message, Notes, Prompt for AI, Formal and Casual are built in, and you can write up to 20 of your own with your own instruction. Each app can have its own mode, so Mail gets Email, Slack gets Message, and ChatGPT gets Prompt for AI.
- **Where it runs.** On macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence, modes run automatically on your Mac. You can also connect your own OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini key; then your text goes to that provider only when you ask SpeechBee to clean the last dictation.
- **Translation.** Pick a language under Translate To, speak in yours, and the text lands in the other, using Apple's on-device translation on macOS 26. 20 languages.
- **Off by default.** Until you turn AI cleanup on, SpeechBee keeps your words as you said them.

It also reads text aloud: select text, press your reading key, and a natural local voice reads it, which is a quick way to check what the AI wrote. It needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later; writing modes and translation need macOS 26. $9 a month, $79 a year, or $99 once, after 7 days free.

> **Pick SpeechBee if** you want AI help with your dictation without sending your voice to anyone.
>
> **Skip it if** you want heavy rewriting on a Mac without Apple Intelligence, or you need Windows.

## 2. Wispr Flow

Wispr Flow is the best-known AI dictation app. It removes fillers and false starts, adapts tone to the app you are in, and has team features: shared dictionary, SSO, and a HIPAA agreement. Pro is $15 a month or $144 a year; the free plan gives 2,000 words a week on desktop. Audio is transcribed on Wispr's servers.

> **Pick Wispr Flow if** you want polished cloud dictation on Mac and Windows, with team admin.

## 3. Typeless

Typeless rewrites hardest. It keeps only your final version when you change your mind mid-sentence, turns spoken lists into formatted ones, learns your style, translates as you speak, and lets you edit highlighted text by voice. Pro is $12 a month billed yearly or $30 month to month; the free plan has 8,000 words a week. Processing is in the cloud. See [Typeless alternatives](https://speechbee.app/compare/typeless-alternatives).

> **Pick Typeless if** you want your rough speech turned into finished prose, and Linux or Android matter.

## 4. superwhisper

superwhisper hands you the controls: write modes, pick the voice model and language model for each, and assign them to apps. Local Whisper models are free and unlimited; Pro is $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once.

> **Pick superwhisper if** you enjoy tuning and want local and cloud AI side by side.

## 5. Willow

Willow is cloud AI dictation with a free plan that has no word cap on its smaller model, plus 20 uses a week of Scribe, its AI writing feature. Pro is $15 a month or $12 a month billed yearly. Willow also lists an offline mode.

> **Pick Willow if** you want to use AI dictation for free without a weekly word limit.

## 6. Aqua Voice

Aqua is tuned for prompts and code. It reads what is on screen to get names and syntax right and refines your words as you speak. Pro is $8 a month on yearly billing or $10 monthly, with 70% off for students. Transcripts may be stored to improve the product unless you turn on Privacy Mode.

> **Pick Aqua Voice if** you mostly dictate into ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor or a terminal.

## 7. Monologue

Monologue, from Every, is AI dictation for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with recorded notes and meeting notes. Pro is $15 a month or $144 a year, and it is included with an Every subscription. The trial covers 1,000 words and 10 notes. See [Monologue vs SpeechBee](https://speechbee.app/compare/monologue-vs-speechbee).

> **Pick Monologue if** you already subscribe to Every.

## 8. Glaido

Glaido adds an Agent mode that acts on what you say, alongside AI auto-edits. Basic is free for 2,000 words a week; Pro is $17 a month billed yearly. See [Glaido vs SpeechBee](https://speechbee.app/compare/glaido-vs-speechbee).

> **Pick Glaido if** you want a voice agent, not just a writing tool.

## Also worth knowing: Apple's built-in tools

Apple Dictation is free on every Mac but does no AI cleanup. Apple Intelligence's Writing Tools can proofread or rewrite text after you have written it, in any app. Together they make a free, if slower, version of AI dictation. Our guide to [Writing Tools vs dictation cleanup](https://speechbee.app/compare/apple-intelligence-writing-tools-vs-dictation) explains how to combine them.

## How we put this list together

We read each app's own pricing, product and privacy pages in October 2026, linked below. We did not test accuracy or speed, so there is no "most accurate" claim here. SpeechBee is first because it is ours and because it is the option that keeps the AI on your Mac.

[Compare any apps in the interactive tool](https://speechbee.app/compare/tool)

## Questions

### What is AI dictation?

Dictation that does more than transcribe. An AI step removes fillers and false starts and can reshape what you said into an email, notes, a message or a prompt.

### Which AI dictation app works offline?

SpeechBee transcribes on your Mac, and its writing modes run on the Mac with Apple Intelligence on macOS 26, so both work offline. superwhisper's local models work offline too. Willow lists an offline mode and Monologue lists offline transcription. Wispr Flow, Typeless, Aqua Voice and Glaido need a connection.

### What is the best free AI dictation app?

Willow's free plan has unlimited dictation on its smaller model. Typeless gives 8,000 words a week, Wispr Flow and Glaido 2,000. SpeechBee has a 7-day free trial with every feature.

### Can AI dictation write prompts for ChatGPT?

Yes. SpeechBee has a Prompt for AI mode that puts the goal first, then your context and constraints. Aqua Voice is built around prompts and code. See also [talking to ChatGPT on a Mac](https://speechbee.app/guides/voice-to-chatgpt-mac).

### Is AI dictation private?

It depends on where the AI runs. In most of these apps it runs on the vendor's servers. In SpeechBee, transcription happens on your device and writing modes can run on your Mac.

## Keep comparing

- [AI dictation on a Mac: emails, notes and prompts](https://speechbee.app/guides/ai-dictation-mac)
- [The best dictation apps for Mac](https://speechbee.app/compare/best-dictation-app-mac)
- [Typeless alternatives](https://speechbee.app/compare/typeless-alternatives)
- [The best Wispr Flow alternatives](https://speechbee.app/compare/wispr-flow-alternatives)
- [Translate while you dictate on a Mac](https://speechbee.app/guides/translate-while-dictating-mac)

## More on dictation

- [Every dictation guide and comparison](https://speechbee.app/guides/voice-typing-mac)
- [Wispr Flow pricing](https://speechbee.app/compare/wispr-flow-pricing)
- [Wispr Flow review](https://speechbee.app/compare/wispr-flow-review)
- [Wispr Flow vs SpeechBee](https://speechbee.app/compare/wispr-flow-vs-speechbee)
- [Wispr Flow vs superwhisper](https://speechbee.app/compare/wispr-flow-vs-superwhisper)
- [How to dictate on a Mac](https://speechbee.app/guides/how-to-dictate-on-mac)
- [Every read-aloud guide and comparison](https://speechbee.app/guides/read-text-aloud)

## Sources

Checked on 15 October 2026.

- [Wispr Flow pricing](https://wisprflow.ai/pricing)
- [Typeless pricing](https://www.typeless.com/pricing) and [Typeless privacy policy](https://www.typeless.com/privacy)
- [superwhisper](https://superwhisper.com/)
- [Willow pricing](https://willowvoice.com/pricing)
- [Aqua Voice pricing](https://withaqua.com/pricing) and [Aqua Voice privacy](https://withaqua.com/info/privacy)
- [Monologue pricing](https://www.monologue.to/pricing)
- [Glaido pricing](https://glaido.com/pricing)
- [Apple: Use Dictation on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-dictation-mh40584/mac)
- SpeechBee facts from our [homepage](https://speechbee.app/) and [privacy policy](https://speechbee.app/privacy)