Compare · Dictation
SwitchDesk vs Apple Dictation on Mac: what’s different
Last checked
Pick Apple Dictation if you want
dictation that’s
Pick SwitchDesk if
you dictate in English and want
TL;DR
- Apple Dictation is free, covers dozens of languages and regions, and runs on device for many languages on Apple silicon Macs.
- SwitchDesk drops the “um”, keeps only what you said after “never mind”, types “two point four point one” as 2.4.1, and runs commands like “add a todo”.
- SwitchDesk is English only and needs a connection; Apple’s engine takes over offline if Siri & Dictation is on and an offline language is installed. Keep Apple Dictation on its own shortcut for other languages.
Press Play: hold Globe, say it, let go.
You said: “hi joe um quick one before we start could you like bring the the support team's headcount numbers”. It typed: “Hi Joe, quick one before we start: could you bring the support team's headcount numbers?”. Fixes: Filler, Repeat.
Annotations added for this page.
Side by side
Dictation on a Mac, row by row
What each one understands, where it runs, what it cleans up, and what happens to the Globe key.
| SwitchDesk | Apple Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Price12 | $12/mo billed yearly (Essential), with meeting notes, screen video and a to-do list included | Free, built into macOS |
| Languages3 | English | Dozens of languages and regions |
| On device and offline23 | Needs a connection. With Siri & Dictation on and an offline dictation language installed, Apple’s engine takes over. | On device on Apple silicon for many languages, after a speech-model download |
| Cleanup2 | AI Polish drops fillers, repeats and take-backs, and formats numbers, versions and file names | Adds commas, periods and question marks as you speak |
| Commands2 | “add a todo …”, “start a timer for 5 minutes”, “scratch that”, “new line” | Punctuation and formatting by name, such as “new line” and “new paragraph”, and emoji by name |
| History2 | “Recent Dictations” in the menu bar. A click copies one again. | Text goes straight into the app you’re typing in |
| The Globe key2 | Hold Globe to talk; double-tap for hands-free. Set “Press 🌐 Key To” to “Do Nothing”, and onboarding shows you how. | The Dictation key, or the shortcut you choose in Keyboard settings |
Each footnote links to its source under the FAQ, checked Oct 5, 2026. See the sources →
AI Polish
AI Polish keeps your words and drops the “um”.
Press Play on each line: “never mind” keeps only what follows it, and “release underscore notes dot md” comes out as release_notes.md. If a cleanup doesn’t read as a tidy copy of what you said, SwitchDesk pastes your words as they were.
Or press Play on one line.
You said: “I want to work on the calendar application never mind I want to work on the chess application tonight”. It typed: “I want to work on the chess application tonight.”. Fixes: SELF-CORRECTION.
You said: “we shipped version two point four point one and the file is called release underscore notes dot md”. It typed: “We shipped version 2.4.1, and the file is called release_notes.md.”. Fixes: TECHNICAL.
Labels and highlights are annotations added for this page.
Voice commands
Say “add a todo”, and it lands in your list.
Start with a command and SwitchDesk does it instead of typing it. “add a todo prep pricing slides for thursday” files a to-do under Fernhill, and “start a timer for 5 minutes” puts a timer pill on screen. Say “cancel timer” to stop it.
Pick a command to say
SwitchDesk to-do window, Beige theme: Fernhill: Send Joe the pilot timeline by Thursday; Post the support-lead job listing; Prep pricing slides for Thursday.
Voice to-dos never get a due date, so “thursday” stays in the title.
Recent Dictations
Copy a recent dictation again from the menu bar
Clicked away from the text box? Open SwitchDesk in the menu bar: “Recent Dictations” keeps your latest ones, and a click copies one again. Try a row here: it really copies.
Same subscription
Also in SwitchDesk: meeting notes, screen videos and your to-do list
Shown in the Apricot theme
A compact meeting notepad in the Black scheme with a nested list: “1. Pilot: 12 seats, support team”, a bullet “Starts next month” under it, then “2. Send revised proposal (Thu)”.
Meeting Notes
Nothing joins the call: your mic and the call’s audio are two tracks on your Mac. When the Lumora kickoff ends, you get the notes and suggested to-dos.
Explore Meeting Notes →Share card for “Lumora pilot walkthrough”: Ready to share · transcript ready. Create Video
Pick Screen, Window or Area, talk with your camera on, and the link is on your clipboard at Stop.
Explore Create Video →UrgentBlocked SwitchDesk to-do window, Apricot theme: Today's Todo: Prep pricing slides for Thursday; Book Theo's dentist appointment; List the new glaze mugs.
To-Do List
The to-dos you say and the ones your calls suggest land in one list, filed under the right category.
Explore the To-Do List →
Honest answer
Where Apple Dictation is better
If you dictate in more than one language, or only now and then, Apple Dictation may be all you need.
- It’s free. It’s already on your Mac, with nothing to install.
- On device. On Apple silicon, many languages run on the Mac itself, with no connection.
- Languages. Dozens of languages and regions.
- No account. Nothing to sign in to.
- Type while you talk. On Apple silicon you can keep using the keyboard during dictation.
From Apple’s own support guide and feature-availability page, checked Oct 5, 2026.
Price and switching
Price, as listed
What each costs
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Apple Dictation Built into macOS | $0Included with your Mac. No account needed. |
| SwitchDesk Essential | $12/moBilled yearly; $15 billed monthly. |
| SwitchDesk Pro | $18/moBilled yearly; $23 billed monthly. |
14-day free trial
Last checked · Apple Support: Dictation on Mac
Switching
Setting it up next to Apple Dictation
Install SwitchDesk.
macOS 14.6 or later. It asks for the microphone and Accessibility so it can type where your cursor is.
Free up the Globe key.
In System Settings → Keyboard, set “Press 🌐 Key To” to “Do Nothing”. Onboarding walks you through it.
Keep Siri & Dictation on.
With an offline dictation language installed, Apple’s engine can take over when you’re offline.
Keep Apple Dictation for other languages.
It still runs from its own shortcut in System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation.
Add the names you say often.
In
Settings → Dictation, add Fernhill and Lumora to “Commonly used words”, and fix repeat misspellings in “Replacements”.
Voice Dictation questions
More in Help →Does SwitchDesk work offline?
Which languages does it understand?
Can I still use Apple Dictation?
Will AI Polish change what I said?
Settings → Dictation.What leaves my Mac?
How much does it cost?
Sources · last checked
- SwitchDesk plans (this site)
- Apple Support: Dictate messages and documents on Mac — on-device processing, punctuation, commands, shortcut · accessed Oct 5, 2026
- Apple: macOS feature availability (Dictation) — Dictation and on-device Dictation languages · accessed Oct 5, 2026
- SwitchDesk: the app’s own labels and onboarding steps, checked in its source on Oct 5, 2026