Pepys Dictate and Unspoken
An Unspoken alternative for Mac: $9.99, paid once
Unspoken, per its terms, processes speech entirely on your device, with subscription and lifetime plans. Pepys Dictate is a low one-time price that also runs on macOS 13.
Is Pepys Dictate a good Unspoken alternative?
Choose Unspoken if you want dictation that its terms and privacy policy describe as fully offline, with context modes and snippets. Choose Pepys Dictate if your Mac runs macOS 13, or you want a low one-time price of $9.99 plus a free plan instead of a trial only.
Unspoken is a Mac dictation app that, per its terms and privacy policy, processes speech entirely on your device and works offline. It has a 7-day trial, then Personal at a monthly or yearly price, or a Lifetime licence, with the prices on its homepage. It needs macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later.
Pepys Dictate is also a Mac app where recognition and formatting run on the Mac. It needs Apple silicon and macOS 13 or later. Pro is $9.99 once for up to 3 Macs, after a free plan of 2,000 words a week. Dictate also works offline, so the differences below are price, macOS version and features.
Pepys Dictate and Unspoken, side by side
Unspoken facts come from its own pages, read on October 5, 2026. Where something is not publicly stated, the cell is a dash.
| Feature | Pepys Dictate | Unspoken |
|---|---|---|
| Price to start | Free plan: 2,000 words a week, then one free dictation a day until Monday. Every install starts with a 7-day trial of everything. | No standing free plan. A 7-day trial with full access and no credit card. |
| Paid plans | Pro: $9.99 once, plus tax where applicable, unlimited words, up to 3 Macs. | Prices on its homepage: Personal $8/month or $80/year. Lifetime $190 once, with 1 year of updates and then an optional yearly update fee. Enterprise is custom. Its terms list the same figures in euros. |
| Subscription or one-time | One-time. Not a subscription. | Both: a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time Lifetime licence. |
| Where speech recognition runs | On the Mac. No cloud transcription, and by default audio and text are not uploaded, unless you turn on the optional AI-provider setting. | On-device only, per its terms. No audio is sent to its servers. |
| Works offline | Yes. It goes online only to download its models once, activate a licence key and check for updates. | Yes. Its privacy policy says speech recognition works completely offline. |
| Platforms | Mac only. No Windows, iPhone, iPad or Android. | Mac only on the pages we read. |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 13 or later. | macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later. |
| Intel Macs | Not supported. Apple silicon only. | Pages conflict: its homepage says Apple silicon, its download page lists an Intel build. |
| Languages | 25 (English and 24 other European languages). Smart formatting in English, German, French and Spanish. | Claims 100+ languages with auto-detection. No list is given. |
| Text cleanup | Spoken corrections, lists, numbers and filler removal, done by our own small formatting model on the Mac. | AI Cleanup adds punctuation, capitalization and formatting, and Smart Modes tune output for email, code and chat. |
| Customization | Personal dictionary (10 words free, unlimited on Pro), per-app styles, polished mode and tones, searchable history. | Personal dictionary, text snippets by shortcut, Smart Modes, a configurable shortcut (Cmd+Shift+V by default) and a Whisper Mode for quiet speech. |
| Team features | No team, admin, SSO or compliance features. | Enterprise tier with volume licensing, centralized license management, invoice payment and priority support. |
Where Pepys Dictate is different
One paid price
Dictate has a single paid price: $9.99 once, for up to 3 Macs. Unspoken sells a monthly plan, a yearly plan and a Lifetime licence, so you choose between them. Its homepage shows the current prices.
Older macOS
Unspoken lists Sonoma as its minimum. Dictate runs on Ventura (macOS 13) and later, which covers Macs still on Ventura.
A free plan, not only a trial
After the 7-day trial, Dictate keeps working on its free plan: 2,000 words a week, plus 500 more if you share your stats card. Unspoken has a trial and no standing free plan.
Spoken corrections
Dictate understands corrections as you speak: “Friday, no wait, Monday” becomes “Monday”. Unspoken's pages list punctuation, capitalization and formatting, plus Smart Modes for email, code and chat.
Where Unspoken is the better choice
On-device processing, per its terms
Unspoken's terms say speech processing takes place entirely on your device, and its privacy policy says recognition works completely offline and no AI models are trained on your data. Its homepage also lists optional local history stored with AES-256 encryption. Dictate also works offline, going online only to download models, activate a licence key and check for updates.
Context modes, snippets and Whisper Mode
Smart Modes for email, code and chat, text snippets by shortcut and a Whisper Mode for quiet speech are all listed on Unspoken's homepage. Dictate has per-app styles and tones.
Languages and an Intel build
Unspoken claims 100+ languages with auto-detection, and its download page lists an Intel Mac build, though its homepage says Apple silicon. Dictate covers 25 languages and needs Apple silicon.
Lifetime licence and team licensing
Unspoken sells a one-time Lifetime licence alongside its monthly and yearly plans. Its Enterprise tier offers volume licensing, centralized license management and invoice payment. Dictate has no team features.
Choose Pepys Dictate if
- Your Mac runs Ventura (macOS 13), below Unspoken's stated Sonoma minimum.
- You'd rather pay $9.99 once than choose between monthly, yearly and Lifetime plans.
- A free plan of 2,000 words a week appeals more to you than a 7-day trial alone.
- Spoken corrections like “Friday, no wait, Monday” and “delete that” are part of how you dictate.
Choose Unspoken if
- Your priority is dictation that its terms describe as running entirely on the device, with offline use.
- Switching between email, code and chat is your day, and you want Smart Modes and snippets.
- Languages beyond Dictate's 25 matter, and you'll test the 100+ claim during the 7-day trial.
- Volume licensing, centralized license management or invoice payment for a team is on your list.
Common questions about Unspoken and Pepys Dictate
Is Pepys Dictate a good Unspoken alternative?
Choose Unspoken if you want dictation that its terms and privacy policy describe as fully offline, with context modes and snippets. Choose Pepys Dictate if your Mac runs macOS 13, or you want a low one-time price of $9.99 plus a free plan instead of a trial only.
Is Unspoken free?
Not on a standing basis. Per its terms, Unspoken gives a 7-day trial with full access and no credit card. After that you buy Personal or Lifetime, at the prices on its homepage. Pepys Dictate has a free plan of 2,000 words a week plus a separate 7-day trial of its paid features.
Does Unspoken have a lifetime licence?
Yes. The prices on its homepage include a Lifetime option at $190 once, with 1 year of updates and then an optional yearly update fee. It also sells Personal at $8 a month or $80 a year, and its terms list the same figures in euros. Pepys Dictate Pro is $9.99 once, plus tax where applicable.
Is Unspoken really offline?
Per its terms, speech processing takes place entirely on your device, and its privacy policy says speech recognition works completely offline with no audio sent to the vendor. Pepys Dictate also transcribes on the Mac, and it goes online only to download models, activate a licence key and check for updates.
Which Macs does Unspoken support?
It needs macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later, and the pages we read name only Mac. Its homepage says Apple silicon, while its download page lists an Intel build. Pepys Dictate needs Apple silicon and macOS 13 or later.
Does Unspoken support more languages than Pepys Dictate?
Unspoken claims 100+ languages with auto-detection but gives no list on the pages we read. Pepys Dictate covers 25 languages, English and 24 other European languages, with smart formatting in English, German, French and Spanish.
Where these facts came from
- Unspoken homepage and pricing (read October 5, 2026)
- Unspoken terms (read October 5, 2026)
- Unspoken privacy policy (read October 5, 2026)
- Unspoken download page (read October 5, 2026)
Products change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
Compare more dictation apps
Try Pepys Dictate on your Mac
Free for 2,000 words a week, or $9.99 once, plus tax where applicable, for unlimited use on up to 3 Macs. Speech recognition and formatting run on your Mac.
Apple silicon, macOS 13 or later. More about Pepys Dictate