Native dictation for macOS

Speak naturally.
It's already typed.

Talk and your words land at the cursor in any app. Meetings come back as clean, speaker-labelled transcripts. Everything runs on your Mac. Nothing leaves it.

3-day free trial, no card needed. Apple Silicon, macOS 15 or later.

Everything you say, kept on your Mac

One small, native app for dictation, meetings, and audio. It is built so it never loses a word and never phones home.

Dictate anywhere

Hold a key, talk, and your words appear at the cursor in whatever app you are using. Pick your own shortcut, choose from four ways to trigger it, and your clipboard stays exactly as you left it.

Capture meetings

Cadence records your microphone and the room on separate tracks, works out who said what, and weaves it into one transcript you can actually read.

Transcribe any audio

Drop in a voice memo or an old recording. Cadence leaves your original file where it is and transcribes a copy.

Never loses a word

Your audio is written to disk as you speak, so if something crashes mid sentence it is still there when you reopen the app. That one promise shaped the whole thing.

Private by default

Speech is transcribed on the Apple Neural Engine, on your machine. The only time Cadence touches the network is the first time it downloads its model.

Quietly smart

When you want it, Apple Intelligence writes a one-line summary and tidies up the ums and false starts. It runs entirely on your Mac. Needs macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence turned on — Cadence skips it gracefully if not.

It fits the way you already work

No window to open, no record button to hunt for. Just a key and your voice.

  1. 1

    Hold your key

    Choose any shortcut and press it anywhere, in your editor, your browser, a chat box.

  2. 2

    Speak

    Cadence transcribes as you talk and turns your music down so it can hear you clearly.

  3. 3

    It's typed

    Let go, and the text lands at your cursor. Meetings save themselves as transcripts.

Privacy

Your words never leave your Mac.

Cadence was built local-first from the start, not local as a checkbox added later. Your speech is transcribed on the Apple Neural Engine. Optional AI cleanup and summaries run on Apple Intelligence, also on your Mac. Every recording and transcript stays in a folder you own. There is no account, no analytics, and no cloud — because there is no cloud at all.

  • No sign in, and nothing tracked.
  • Audio and transcripts live only on your Mac.
  • The one network request is the first model download.
  • Your Zoom and Meet calls are left alone. Only background music gets turned down.

Read the full privacy details

Simple pricing, no surprises

Download the app and the 3-day trial starts automatically. No card, no account. Launch pricing in effect now.

Launch price

Monthly

$2/ month $4

Best for people who want to try.

  • Every feature unlocked
  • 1 device license
  • Full updates while subscribed
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe
Launch price

Lifetime

$49once $110

Pay once, use it forever.

  • Every feature unlocked
  • 2 device license
  • Full updates, forever
  • Works offline after activation
Buy Cadence

Prices in USD. Download the app to start your free trial — no card needed.

Questions, answered

Is it really private?

Yes. Your speech is transcribed on your Mac using the Apple Neural Engine. The optional AI cleanup and summaries run on Apple Intelligence, also entirely on your Mac. There is no account and nothing is tracked. The only time Cadence uses the network is the first transcription model download.

What do I need to run it?

An Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 15 or later. The optional AI cleanup and summaries need macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence turned on in System Settings. Cadence tells you exactly what is missing in Settings and works fine without it — dictation, meetings, and file import are all unaffected.

Why are the AI features not showing up?

AI cleanup and summaries run on Apple Intelligence, which needs an Apple Silicon Mac, macOS 26, and Apple Intelligence enabled in System Settings (under General). If any of those are missing, Cadence disables the AI toggle and shows the exact reason in the Settings footer. Every other feature works without it.

Which languages does it understand?

English, German, Dutch and 22 more European languages, with the language detected automatically as you speak.

How does the free trial work?

Download the app and the trial starts the moment you open it — no card, no account, nothing to sign up for. You get every feature for three days. After that, enter a license key to keep going. Your recordings stay on your Mac either way.

Monthly or Lifetime?

They unlock exactly the same app. Monthly is a subscription you can cancel anytime. Lifetime is a single payment with free updates for good.

Can I use it offline?

Yes. Once your key is activated Cadence keeps working without a connection, and only checks in on the license now and then.

How do I get my license key?

It arrives by email right after checkout, and it is always waiting for you in the customer portal. You can also check a key here.

Talk. It's written.

Give Cadence three days in your real workflow. It stays on your Mac the whole time.

Download for macOS