Clarify for Mac
Apple Dictation or Clarify: when the built-in is enough, and when it isn't.
Every Mac already has Dictation, free. It's good, and for many people it's all they need. Here is what it does well, where it stops, and what Clarify adds.
Download Clarify for Mac
Free forever, now in beta. Apple silicon Macs, macOS 14 or later. English.
What Apple Dictation does well
- It's already there. Press the Microphone key, use the Dictation keyboard shortcut, or choose Edit > Start Dictation.
- Punctuation. In supported languages it adds commas, periods and question marks as you speak.
- No length limit. Dictate as long as you like; it stops after 30 seconds without speech.
- Keep typing. On Apple silicon you can use the keyboard while you dictate.
- Formatting by voice. Spoken commands for punctuation, formatting, capitalization and emoji.
- Many languages. Clarify is English only for now.
Keyboard settings show whether your speech is processed on your Mac or sent to Apple's servers.
What Clarify adds
- Cleanup, not just transcription. The ums fall away, punctuation arrives, and numbers are written the way you'd type them. If cleanup would drop something you said, that sentence is pasted as you said it.
- Your vocabulary. Teach it names and terms in Settings. Apple's Dictation pages don't describe a custom vocabulary; its Voice Control has one.
- One-step corrections. Fix the last dictation without retyping it.
- Hold to talk. Hold Right ⌘ and Right ⌥, speak, let go. It listens only while you hold the key, and one clean paste lands at your cursor.
- The same key acts. "Switch to Terminal.", "Run End of day.", "Ask Claude …", "Press Return." See voice control on Mac.
- On your Mac, always. Recognition and cleanup run on your Mac with the models inside the app, and there's no account.
Side by side
| Clarify | Apple Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Dictation free forever; Pro extras will be a one-time purchase (not on sale yet), never a subscription | Free, built into macOS |
| Starting it | Hold a key while you speak | Microphone key, a shortcut or the Edit menu |
| Cleanup | Fillers removed, punctuation, numbers as typed | Automatic punctuation in supported languages |
| Your own words | Custom vocabulary | Not described for Dictation; Voice Control has a vocabulary |
| Fixing mistakes | Correct the last dictation in one step | Edit the text yourself |
| Acting on your Mac | Switch apps, run Shortcuts, ask Claude or ChatGPT | Use Voice Control |
| Where it runs | On your Mac | Keyboard settings show whether it's on your Mac |
| Languages and Macs | English; Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later | Many languages, built into macOS |
Which should you use?
- Stay with Apple Dictation if you dictate now and then, in a language other than English, or on an Intel Mac.
- Try Clarify if you dictate every day and spend time cleaning up what you said, if names and terms keep coming out wrong, or if you'd like the same key to switch apps and run Shortcuts.