Spokenly Review: The Free Dictation App for Mac and iPhone

Can a dictation app with no word cap, no account and no bill really be free? With Spokenly, the answer is yes, as long as you let it run on your own device.

Spokenly is an AI dictation app for Mac, iPhone, Windows and Linux. You press a key or tap a mic, talk, and the text lands where your cursor is. Dictation with local models costs $0 with no limit. You pay only if you want Spokenly's cloud models: $12 a month billed yearly, or $15 month to month.

That's the short answer. This Spokenly review covers the rest: what each device gets, what the free plan includes, what a first year costs each way you can pay, and where Spokenly's own pages disagree.

Every fact comes from Spokenly's website and its App Store listing, read on November 11, 2026 (so "as of November 2026" applies throughout). We didn't run a hands-on test, and we don't score accuracy.

One disclosure: ParrotNotes publishes this blog, and ParrotNotes is our app. It isn't a dictation keyboard, so it doesn't compete with Spokenly for typing by voice. It does a different job, recording a long conversation and turning it into a summary. If that's what you came for, try ParrotNotes free.

Spokenly review in short

Spokenly fits you if you type a lot on a Mac, want unlimited dictation without paying, and care that your voice can stay on your device. It also fits if you already hold an OpenAI, Deepgram or Groq API key and would rather pay that provider directly.

Look elsewhere if you're on Android (there's no app yet), if you want polished text with zero setup on every device, or if what you need captured is a conversation with another person.

What is Spokenly?

Spokenly describes itself as dictation for "macOS, Windows, Linux, and iPhone," with a Chrome extension as well. It turns speech into text in "100+ languages with automatic detection" and types the result into whatever app you're using: mail, chat, a browser, a code editor.

What sets it apart is that you choose where the speech is processed. There are three ways to run it:

1. Local models. Open speech models (Whisper and Parakeet) run on your own device. Free, unlimited, and no account.
2. Your own API keys. You plug in a key from a provider such as OpenAI, Deepgram or Groq. Spokenly charges $0, and the provider bills you for what you use.
3. Spokenly Pro. Spokenly runs the cloud models for you. Its pricing page names GPT-4o Transcribe, Deepgram Nova 3 and Soniox, plus AI cleanup of your text, with no keys to manage.

Beyond typing by voice, the site lists file transcription on Mac, Windows, Linux and iPhone, meeting recording on Mac "without a bot," and voice input for coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Cursor.

Take Dana, a freelance copywriter with an M2 MacBook Air (a composite, not a real person). She drafts about 3,000 words a day and doesn't want another subscription.

On Spokenly's own description, the local models cover her whole day for $0. She'd only pay if she wanted cloud accuracy or AI cleanup without setting up keys.

Spokenly on Mac, iPhone and Windows: what each device gets

The apps aren't identical. Here's what Spokenly's pages said on November 11, 2026.

Sources: Mac, iPhone, Windows and download pages.

Spokenly for Mac

The Mac app lives in the menu bar. You hold Right Command (the default, and you can change it), speak, and the text appears at the cursor. It runs on macOS 13.3 or later.

Apple Silicon gets the most. On Intel Macs, the Mac page says Parakeet V3 and Whisper still run locally, but some other local models need Apple Silicon, and it suggests cloud transcription there because local models are heavier on Intel chips.

One trap: download it from spokenly.app, not the Mac App Store. Spokenly's docs say the Mac App Store version "can't paste text automatically," because App Store rules block the Accessibility access that pasting needs. Its changelog adds that this version "is no longer updated but stays available as a frozen build."

For Apple's built-in option and other Mac apps, see our guide to voice to text on a Mac.

Spokenly for iPhone

On iPhone, the Spokenly app installs a custom keyboard. You add it under Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards, then tap its mic key in any app with a text field.

The free part is the local Parakeet model, with unlimited dictation. The iPhone page says you can leave Allow Full Access off and it still works offline. Full Access is only needed for cloud models, since iOS requires it for any keyboard that goes online.

Two limits come from Spokenly's docs. Whisper models larger than 700 MB "may not work on iPhone," and Background Dictation needs iOS 17 or later.

The App Store listing showed 4.4 out of 5 from 70 ratings on November 11, 2026. That's a small sample, so read the recent reviews before you rely on it. Our roundup of the dictation app for iPhone covers the other keyboard options.

Is there a Spokenly for Windows?

Yes. Some reviews still say no, but Spokenly's Windows page lists the app as generally available: version 1.4.1, "Updated November 2026," for Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit). It installs from the Microsoft Store, with a direct installer if the Store is blocked.

The page lists local Whisper and Parakeet models, cloud models, a global hotkey and file transcription. It's also frank about maturity: "The Mac and iOS versions are the most mature, but the Windows build covers the core dictation and transcription flows."

So Windows works for core dictation, but don't assume every Mac feature is there. Meeting recording, for one, is only described for the Mac. If Windows is your main machine, compare it with the options in our guide to voice to text software for Windows.

Android is the gap. Spokenly's own comparison page says "No Android app," and its docs say one is in development without a firm date.

Is Spokenly free? What the free plan covers

Yes, and the free plan is unusually open. The pricing page calls it "$0 forever," and the home page says: "Local: unlimited on-device transcription for $0, with no account or subscription required."

Three things to know before you count on "free":

• You download a model first. Offline dictation needs a local model on the device, and Spokenly says "available models and performance depend on platform and hardware."
• The cloud trial is small and vague. You get a one-time trial of Spokenly's cloud models. The site says it "is not a set number of minutes, and it does not reset."
• Your own keys aren't free at the provider. Spokenly charges nothing, but OpenAI, Deepgram or Groq will bill your account.

Local+ is easy to misread. It's a one-time $29 purchase that adds sync, two recording styles and priority support. It doesn't add cloud models or hosted AI cleanup.

Spokenly pricing: what a first year costs

Spokenly sells Pro two ways, on its website and inside the Apple apps, and the numbers aren't the same. Here's the first-year cost for each route, in US dollars, from prices read on November 11, 2026.

The App Store listing shows two prices for each in-app plan and doesn't say which one a new buyer gets. Check the price shown in the app before you pay, and don't assume the cheaper one.

From the pricing page:

• 14-day refund on Pro bought on the website. App Store refunds go through Apple.
• 50% off Pro for verified students and teachers, on request.

Where Spokenly's own pages disagree

We found four mismatches on November 11, 2026. None is serious, but each one changes what you'd expect.

The safe reading: budget $144 for a year of Pro on the website, and treat anything cheaper in the App Store as a bonus you confirm at checkout.

Spokenly privacy: three modes, three answers

Spokenly's privacy policy (last updated November 2, 2026) gives a different answer for each way of running it.

Local models. "Your audio recordings and transcriptions never leave your device." A Local Only Mode blocks network calls. One exception: if you use a mode with AI instructions, the text may go to an AI service for processing.

Your own API keys. Audio goes straight from your device to the provider you chose. It doesn't pass through Spokenly's servers, and that provider's terms apply.

Spokenly Pro cloud. Audio goes to Spokenly's backend, which forwards it to a transcription provider. The policy says: "We make no permanent copy of your recordings on our servers."

One thing the policy doesn't say is that your data will never be used to train AI models. It says Spokenly prefers providers that don't train on customer data "where available," and it lists 15 possible providers. If that matters for your work, stay on local models.

The App Store privacy label lists only usage data, not linked to you, for analytics. The seller named on the listing is an individual developer, not a company, which some teams will weigh as a continuity risk.

Spokenly vs Wispr Flow

This is the comparison people search for most. Both rows come from each vendor's own pages on November 11, 2026.

The paid prices are nearly the same, so the choice isn't about money. Spokenly's own comparison page is honest about where Wispr Flow wins: Android, "built-in AI text rewriting without extra setup," team features and "polished onboarding."

Pick Spokenly for free or offline dictation. Pick Wispr Flow for Android or a no-setup experience; our Wispr Flow review has its details.

The Spokenly fit check: 7 questions

Count your yes answers.

1. Is your main typing device a Mac, ideally with Apple Silicon?
2. Do you want unlimited dictation without a subscription?
3. Does your work need audio to stay on your device?
4. Are you fine downloading a model and picking settings yourself?
5. Do you already have, or are you happy to create, an API key with a speech provider?
6. Is your phone an iPhone, not an Android phone?
7. Are your spoken words meant for a text box, not a conversation with someone else?

6 or 7 yes: Spokenly is built for you. Start with the free local models and add Pro only if you miss cloud accuracy.

4 or 5 yes: try it free alongside one alternative below for a week.

3 or fewer, or "no" to question 7: a different tool will serve you better.

Want to feel dictation before installing anything? Our free online dictation tool runs in your browser.

Spokenly alternatives

Marco is a regional sales rep with a Windows laptop and an Android phone (another composite). Spokenly covers his laptop today, but not his phone. For him, Windows voice typing plus an Android option is the simpler setup until a Spokenly Android app ships.

When you need a note, not a keyboard: ParrotNotes

Spokenly and ParrotNotes do two different jobs, and it's worth keeping them apart.

Spokenly types what you say into a text box, live. ParrotNotes doesn't do that. It isn't a system-wide keyboard, and it won't type into your email for you.

ParrotNotes records a conversation, often a long one with other people in the room, and gives you a finished note afterwards. You open it on your iPhone or Android phone, tap record, and put the phone on the table.

Recording continues with the screen locked, and no bot joins anything. When you stop, you get a transcript, an AI summary and action items. Here's how AI meeting notes without a bot work.

What ParrotNotes costs (parrotnotes.app/pricing, checked November 11, 2026):

• Free: 100 minutes of recording a month (up to 30 minutes per recording), an AI summary on every recording, and 5 AI-powered recordings a month with action items and key points.
• Pro: $19.99 a month, or $14.99 a month billed annually. 3,000 minutes a month, recordings up to 3 hours, every AI feature, and transcription in 99+ languages.

One honest difference: ParrotNotes records offline but needs a connection to transcribe. Spokenly's local models transcribe offline.

Priya sells HVAC service contracts (our third composite). Her Tuesday walk-through with a facilities manager ran 40 minutes, with four units, two quotes and a start date discussed out loud.

A dictation keyboard wouldn't have captured any of it. A recording with a summary would. If your day looks like hers, download ParrotNotes free and record your next meeting.

Spokenly review verdict

Spokenly makes a rare offer: unlimited dictation on Mac, iPhone and Windows for $0, with no account, as long as local models are good enough for you. Pro, at $144 a year on the website, buys convenience and cloud models, not the right to use the app.

Its limits are plain too. There's no Android app. The Windows build is younger than the Mac one. The Mac App Store version is frozen.

Prices differ between the website and the App Store, and the privacy policy stops short of a no-training promise for cloud use.

So start free, on the version from spokenly.app, and pay only once you know what's missing. And if the thing you need written down is a conversation, not a sentence, try ParrotNotes free on your next one.