SaypadWhy I made Saypad
I wanted Wispr Flow's hold-a-key gesture without the cloud or a weekly word cap. What Saypad does, what it doesn't, and why it's free.
Blog
Notes from building Saypad: how it works, how it compares, what changed.
Saypad 0.13: a friendlier first minute
Saypad 0.13 shows the gesture, tracks your progress, explains each permission in one line and lets you say your first sentence right in the setup window.
How accurate is offline dictation on a Mac?
We ran 32 real dictations through four Whisper models on an M4 Pro Mac. How close the small built-in model gets, why the 874 MB model matches the full one, and how fast each one is.
We unpacked 8 Mac dictation app installers
Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, VoiceInk, MacWhisper, Spokenly, Aqua Voice, Willow and Saypad: installer sizes, what takes the space, and which ones can dictate offline right after install.
A free Superwhisper alternative for Mac
Saypad is a free Superwhisper alternative for Mac. Hold fn, talk, and your words show up in whatever app you're in. It works offline, keeps every recording and has no Pro tier.
A MacWhisper alternative built for dictation
MacWhisper is great for transcribing files and meetings. If you mostly dictate into other apps, Saypad is a free offline alternative: hold fn, talk, and the text appears at your cursor.
Saypad vs the dictation built into your Mac
How Saypad compares with the dictation built into macOS on technical words, punctuation and history, and when Apple's dictation is all you need.
The best free dictation apps for Mac in 2026
Free dictation apps for Mac compared: Saypad, Apple Dictation, Superwhisper Free, MacWhisper Free, VoiceInk and Wispr Flow's free tier. Their limits, where your voice goes and who each one suits.