How to voice type on a Mac,
three ways.

1. Built-in Dictation

Open System Settings, click Keyboard, go to Dictation and turn it on. Pick a shortcut from the Shortcut menu, or press the Microphone key if your keyboard has one. Under Languages, click Edit to add the languages you speak, and under Microphone source choose your microphone instead of Automatic if Dictation picks the wrong one.

To dictate, put the cursor in a text field, press the shortcut and speak. Press it again, or Escape, to stop. Dictation also ends by itself after 30 seconds without speech. Auto-punctuation works in supported languages.

2. Voice Control

Voice Control, in System Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control, lets you run the whole Mac by voice: open apps, click buttons, and dictate and edit text with commands like "select previous word". Turn it on and wait for its language files to download. Then speak into a text field to type; say "go to sleep" to pause listening and "wake up" to resume.

It is built for people who cannot easily use a keyboard or mouse. While it is on, standard Dictation is unavailable, so turn it off again if you only want method 1.

3. A third-party dictation app

A third-party app is worth it when you write paragraphs rather than sentences, mix languages, or want a record of what you said. Options include Superwhisper, VoiceInk, Wispr Flow and TypeAloud, which we make; the roundup compares them.

Setup is similar for all of them: install the app, grant microphone permission and macOS Accessibility permission (which lets an app type into other apps), then either download a speech model or sign in, depending on whether the app is local or cloud. After that you press or hold the app's shortcut and speak.

Which to use

Replying to a message or searching: built-in Dictation. Controlling the Mac without your hands: Voice Control. Writing documents, prompts or notes by voice: a dictation app. If built-in Dictation misbehaves, see Mac dictation not working.