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.
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.
- Runs on your Mac
- Never loses a recording
- No account needed
- 25 European languages
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.
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-device using a model bundled with the app. Unlimited use, no internet needed after the first launch.
Quietly smart
When you want it, Apple Intelligence writes a one-line summary and tidies up the ums and false starts. Runs on your Mac. Needs macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence on. Cadence works fine without it.
It fits the way you already work
No window to open, no record button to hunt for. Just a key and your voice.
- 1
Hold your key
Choose any shortcut and press it anywhere, in your editor, your browser, a chat box.
- 2
Speak
Cadence transcribes as you talk and turns your music down so it can hear you clearly.
- 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. Transcription runs on a model bundled with the app. Unlimited use, all on your Mac. Optional AI cleanup and summaries run on Apple Intelligence, also on your Mac. Every recording and transcript stays in a folder you own. No account, no analytics, no cloud.
- 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.
Simple pricing, no surprises
Download the app and the 3-day trial starts automatically. No card, no account. Launch pricing in effect now.
Monthly
$2/ month
$4
Best for people who want to try.
- Unlimited transcription
- Every feature unlocked
- 1 device license
- Full updates while subscribed
- Cancel anytime
Lifetime
$49once
$110
Pay once, use it forever.
- Unlimited transcription
- Every feature unlocked
- 2 device license
- Full updates, forever
- Works offline after activation
Prices in USD. Download the app to start your free trial. No card needed.
Questions, answered
Is it really private?
Yes. Transcription runs on Parakeet TDT v3, an on-device model bundled with Cadence. Unlimited use, nothing sent anywhere. Optional AI cleanup and summaries run on Apple Intelligence, also on-device. No account, nothing tracked. One network request ever: the initial 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. Dictation, meetings, and file imports all work without it.
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 activate my license key?
Your key arrives by email right after checkout. Open Cadence, go to Settings, select the License tab, paste your key and click Activate. It validates on-device and works offline after that. You can find your key any time in the customer portal. Need help? See the activation guide.
Talk. It's written.
Give Cadence three days in your real workflow. It stays on your Mac the whole time.
Download for macOS