Pines Voice vs Apple Dictation
Every Mac already has dictation. Press the Microphone key, speak, and macOS types it. For plenty of people that is enough, and it costs nothing. Pines Voice is for when you want to pick the speech model, teach it your own words, and keep a record of what you said.
Facts about other apps checked on their own sites on 25 September 2026.
The facts side by side
| Pines Voice | Apple Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, with a Pines Rocks account. | Free, built into macOS. |
| Start it | Hold the right Option key while you speak. | The Microphone key, a keyboard shortcut, or Edit > Start Dictation. |
| Speech model | Parakeet, three Whisper models, or a cloud model on your own key. | Apple’s own. |
| On the device | Yes, by default. | System Settings, Keyboard shows whether yours stays on the device. |
| Types into | Any macOS app with a text cursor. | Anywhere you can type. |
| Your words | A dictionary of replacements for names and jargon. | Spoken punctuation, emoji and “new line”. |
What Apple Dictation does well
- Already there
- Nothing to install, nothing to pay, and it works the moment you turn it on.
- Voice commands
- Say “exclamation mark”, “new paragraph” or “heart emoji” and it does the thing.
- Type while it listens
- On Apple silicon you can type and dictate in the same stretch without stopping.
What Pines Voice adds
- Your choice of model
- Parakeet by default, three Whisper models on the Mac’s GPU, or OpenAI, Groq or OpenRouter on your own key.
- Your words
- A dictionary spells names, products and jargon your way every time.
- Hold to talk
- Hold the right Option key, speak, let go. Tap it once to keep listening, press Esc to throw a take away.
- A log
- Every dictation with the app it landed in, its word count and its cost, kept on your Mac.
- The formatter
- An optional model on your Mac that removes fillers and false starts from English dictation.
Try Apple Dictation first. It is already on your Mac. Pines Voice is for the day you want a different model, your own spellings, or a record of what you said.
Questions people ask
Is Pines Voice better than Apple Dictation?
It is different. Apple Dictation is built in. Pines Voice lets you choose the speech model, including Parakeet, Whisper or a cloud model on your own key, adds a dictionary for your own words, and keeps a log on your Mac. Both are free. Pines Voice needs a Pines Rocks account.
Can I use both?
Yes. Apple Dictation starts from the Microphone key or its shortcut. Pines Voice listens while you hold the right Option key. They do not share a key.
Does Pines Voice work offline like Apple Dictation?
Yes. The local engine runs on your Mac with no network. Apple shows in System Settings, under Keyboard, whether your own dictation stays on the device.
Which Macs does Pines Voice run on?
Macs with Apple silicon, on macOS 12 or newer.