Dikto vs Apple Dictation
Apple Dictation is free and already on your Mac. Dikto goes further: speak French, get a polished English email. Your text is cleaned up by AI as you dictate, and text actions proofread, summarize, translate or apply your own instructions to a selection, in any app. Here are the facts, with sources.
Features and pricing
| Criterion | Dikto | Apple Dictation (macOS) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan: first 7 days 60 min + 30 AI actions/day, then 15 min + 10 AI actions/week. Pro €9/month or €89/year (excl. tax) | Free, built into macOS |
| Voice processing | Cloud: Mistral AI by default (stays in Europe), optional OpenAI; backend on Scaleway | On device on a Mac with Apple silicon for supported languages (including English and French); otherwise requests are sent to Apple |
| Speak one language, write in another | Yes: speak French, get a polished English email, in one step | No: Dictation writes in the dictation language you choose |
| Text cleanup | AI cleanup as you dictate: filler words removed, grammar and punctuation fixed | Auto-punctuation in supported languages. In English, on a Mac with M3 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory: more advanced dictation (capitalization, punctuation, formatting) |
| Rewriting and text actions | Text actions on selected text in any app: proofread, summarize, translate, rephrase, custom actions | Not part of Dictation itself. Apple Intelligence Writing Tools (Mac with M1 or later, supported languages) rewrite, proofread and summarize selected text; no translation while you dictate |
| macOS | macOS 13 (Ventura) or later | Built into macOS; Apple Intelligence: Mac with M1 or later |
Apple facts as published by Apple, checked on 21 October 2026. Sources: dikto.ai · Dictate on Mac (Apple) · Dictation on Apple silicon (Apple, macOS 14) · Writing Tools (Apple) · Apple Intelligence requirements (Apple) · macOS feature availability (Apple) · More advanced dictation: Apple Newsroom, June 2026
Who should pick which?
Pick Apple Dictation if…
- you want a free tool that is already installed;
- you dictate short texts in one language and edit them yourself;
- you want on-device processing (Mac with Apple silicon, supported languages);
- your Mac supports Apple Intelligence and its Writing Tools are enough to polish your text.
Pick Dikto if…
- you speak French and want a polished English email, right in your app;
- you want text cleaned up by AI as you dictate, in 30+ languages;
- you want to proofread, summarize, translate or apply your own instructions to a selection, in any app;
- you want to start on a permanent free plan (macOS 13 or later).
Key difference: on a Mac with Apple silicon, Apple Dictation runs on device for supported languages, while Dikto processes speech in the cloud. Default: Mistral AI, stays in Europe. Dikto is built in France, on Mistral AI (EU) with a backend on Scaleway. Optional: OpenAI, selected in the app’s “AI provider” setting after a consent prompt (contract with OpenAI Ireland Ltd); audio and text are then sent to OpenAI and may be processed outside the EU, including in the US. Some processing or sub-processors may sit outside the EU. Dikto does not intentionally store raw audio or full transcripts. Privacy policy