Download Dictera
Free for 14 days, with everything unlocked. No account, no card, nothing to cancel if you decide it isn't for you.
Version 0.9.4 · 20.4 MB · Apple silicon · macOS 26 or later
Is it safe to open?
Yes. Dictera is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so macOS opens it without a warning. Updates are signed too, and delivered in the app.
What you need
macOS 26 or later, on a Mac with Apple silicon. Any such Mac works, with a notch or without one. Dictera doesn't run on Intel Macs.
Disk space
The app itself is small. Models download from inside the app, and each shows its size first: Apple's speech model is downloaded by macOS itself, the others take 632 MB to 1.5 GB each, and the optional built-in AI model 2.6 GB (4.2 GB for the larger one). Before it downloads the built-in AI model, Dictera checks there's room.
Up and running in four steps.
Install it
Open the disk image and drag Dictera to Applications. It lives in your menu bar and your notch - there's no Dock icon and no window to keep open.
Allow two permissions
The welcome walkthrough asks for the microphone, and for Accessibility so Dictera can type into other apps and run its shortcuts. On macOS 27 it also recommends Paste from Other Apps. Everything else is asked for by the feature that needs it.
Open the notch
Point at the top of your screen to open the notch. Once you've allowed Accessibility, ⌥⌘I opens it from any app too.
Try a first dictation
Optional, and quick: put your cursor anywhere you can type, hold the right ⌘ key and speak. Let go, and your words land in the app you're already in. Clicking Dictate in the notch works too.
Before you download
Do I need an account?
No. Dictera has no account system at all - no signup, no email, no password. The trial starts on the device, and a subscription is activated with a license key.
Do I need a Mac with a notch?
No. On a Mac without one, and on an external display, Dictera draws a notch at the top center of the screen - the same size as the built-in one, if your Mac has one. Point at the top of the screen to open it. If you'd rather keep the menu bar in sight, choose the Pill shape in Settings ▸ Notch, which floats just below it.
Which permissions does it ask for?
Two to start: the microphone, and Accessibility so Dictera can type into other apps and run its shortcuts. On macOS 27 it also recommends Paste from Other Apps, so it can put your clipboard back after it pastes. Everything else is optional and asked for by the feature that needs it: System Audio to hear the other side of a call, Screen Recording for screenshots and recordings, your calendar for meetings, notifications for timers, your location for the weather, access to Music, and folders like Downloads when a feature uses them. The Security page lists every one.
Can I turn the notch off?
No - the notch is where Dictera lives, so it's always there. But you decide how much it does. Switch off Hover to Open and it waits for a click instead. Every alert has its own switch in Settings ▸ Notch, and so does each thing it shows while you work: the song that's playing, dictation, the AI Assistant listening, the meeting countdown, volume and brightness. And if you'd rather keep the menu bar in sight, choose the Pill shape.
What happens when the trial ends?
Everything pauses until you subscribe: the notch opens onto a single locked page, and dictation, translation and the AI Assistant stop. Everything you've saved stays on your Mac - your history, statistics, vocabulary, saved sessions and settings - and you can still read and export it. Its two buttons open Settings ▸ License, to subscribe or to enter a license key you already have.
Does it work without an internet connection?
Yes, once the models are downloaded. Speech recognition, the built-in AI and most of the notch run on your Mac. Dictera goes online to download models, check for updates and confirm your license (a license keeps working offline for 14 days), and for the notch features that need the internet: the weather once you give it a location, cover art for songs streamed from Apple Music (switch off "Find Cover Art Online" in Settings ▸ Notch if you'd rather not), synced lyrics if you turn them on, and Recognize Song when you press it. Anything you connect yourself, like a cloud AI provider or the Claude Code CLI, goes online too.
Where does my voice go?
It stays on your Mac. Speech recognition runs on your Mac, and what you dictate or say on a call is never uploaded or saved as a recording. The one time sound is used online is Recognize Song: when you press it, Shazam gets a fingerprint of the sound, not a recording. A screen recording made from the notch includes sound only if you switch on Record the Microphone or Record System Audio, and the file stays on your Mac. Text leaves your Mac only if you deliberately connect your own cloud AI provider or the Claude Code CLI engine - see the Privacy Policy.
Is there a version for Windows, iPhone or iPad?
Not today - Dictera is a native macOS app, built on Apple's on-device speech and audio frameworks, and there is no Windows, iOS or iPadOS version. If you'd like one, tell us which platform and we'll know there's demand.
How do I get updates?
Dictera checks for updates in the background and installs signed, notarized builds. See the changelog for what's in each release.