How to Use Speech to Text on Mac Without Cloud Lag

To use speech to text on a Mac, open System Settings, click Keyboard and turn on Dictation, then press the shortcut shown there. For an option that works offline, use Tegaro Dictation: download a speech model once, press the shortcut and speak.

Typing long emails and reports takes a lot of time. Most people speak faster than they type, so speech to text can save real minutes every day.

How to turn on built-in speech to text on Mac

1. Open System Settings and click Keyboard in the sidebar.
2. Scroll to the Dictation section and switch it On.
3. Choose your language. If you want it to work offline, let any language download finish first.
4. Check or change the shortcut in the same section. On many Macs it is pressing the Fn (Globe) key twice.
5. Click in a text field, press the shortcut and start talking.

Why some people prefer offline speech to text

Some dictation tools send your voice to servers on the internet. That can be a problem if you talk about client details, health or legal matters. It can also mean a short wait before the words appear, and it stops working when you have no connection.

An offline tool turns your voice into text on your own Mac instead.

Using Tegaro Dictation

Tegaro Dictation works like this:

• Download once: you download a speech model one time. After that it works offline.
• Your voice stays on your Mac: it is not uploaded.
• Start with a shortcut: press ⌃⌥D, or hold the right ⌥ key while you speak.
• Works in most apps: the text appears where your cursor is, in Safari, Notes, Slack and more.

After the 14-day trial, Dictation stays free up to 2,000 words per week.

Frequently Asked Questions