SnailText
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Mac

SnailText for Mac.

Voice typing in any text field. Audio never leaves your machine. Notarised by Apple — no security prompts on first launch.

Download for Mac (Apple Silicon)

.dmg installer · ~20 MB

No account needed to start. Free with the compact local models.

Intel Macs aren't supported yet — we only ship and test on Apple Silicon (M1 or later). If you need Intel support, email [email protected] and we'll prioritise it based on demand.

Three steps after install

  1. 1

    Open the .dmg, drag SnailText into Applications, launch it.

  2. 2

    Grant Accessibility permission when prompted — that's how the global hotkey works without focusing the app window.

  3. 3

    Press ⌥ Space in any app and start talking.

System requirements

Operating system
macOS 12 (Monterey) or newer
Architecture
Apple Silicon (M1 or later)
RAM
4 GB minimum
Disk space
~150 MB plus model files

Notarised by Apple — no security warnings on first launch. Intel Macs are not supported.

On a Windows machine? Download for Windows →

What's in the download

One hotkey. Everything else included.

  • Two recognition models, free forever

    The compact Whisper models — Standard (148 MB) and Fast (75 MB) — handle most everyday dictation: code comments, Slack messages, emails, notes. Pro adds three larger Whisper models plus NVIDIA Parakeet TDT v3 for higher accuracy in 25+ European languages.

  • GPU-accelerated by default, CPU fallback always

    Whisper models pick the fastest backend on your machine automatically — Metal on Apple Silicon, Vulkan on Windows GPUs (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel Arc). On a GPU, Whisper Standard transcribes a short phrase in under a second; the larger Pro models stay comfortable too. Without a GPU it falls back to CPU and still works — slower on the bigger models, fine on the compact ones. Parakeet TDT v3 is CPU-only by design and stays fast there because the model is built for it.

  • A global hotkey that works anywhere

    One key combination invokes voice typing in any text field on your machine — browsers, messaging apps, text editors, IDEs, terminal. No per-app integration, no extension to install in each tool. Press, speak, paste.

  • Local-only by default

    Audio is captured into RAM, transcribed by the model on your device, and discarded. Nothing uploads, nothing logs to a server, no API key required. Free is unlimited — no recording cap, no trial timer, no watermark. Pro starts at $7.49 / month and covers up to 3 devices on one subscription.

What happens after the download

Three steps to your first dictation

Open the .dmg, drag SnailText into Applications, launch it. The app is notarised by Apple, so macOS doesn't show a security warning on first launch — you go straight to setup. The recognition pill appears at the bottom of your screen.

On first launch macOS asks for Accessibility permission. SnailText needs it to read the global hotkey when another app is focused — without that permission the hotkey won't work outside our own window. Granting it takes one click in System Settings; nothing else gets read.

Pick a recognition model size in the setup screen. Standard (148 MB) is the recommended free option and covers most everyday dictation; bigger Pro models download in the background while you start using the app. Then press Option+Space anywhere on your Mac and start talking.

Mac questions

Common questions before you install

Does SnailText work on my Mac if I have an Intel processor?
Not yet. The current build is Apple Silicon only — M1, M2, M3, M4 chips. Intel Macs aren't supported because Whisper inference on Intel is slow enough that the experience isn't representative. If you'd like an Intel build, email [email protected] and we'll prioritise based on demand. Apple Silicon coverage is the same on both MacBook Air and Pro.
Where does SnailText install, and can I uninstall it cleanly?
The app installs into /Applications/SnailText.app like any standard Mac app. Recognition models download to ~/Library/Application Support/com.snailtext.app/models/, which is the standard location. Uninstall is dragging the .app to Trash plus deleting that Application Support folder if you want to remove the downloaded models too. No background services, no kernel extensions, no system-level installer.
Why does SnailText need Accessibility permission?
macOS only delivers global keyboard events to apps with Accessibility permission granted. Without it, the Option+Space hotkey works only when SnailText itself has focus, which defeats the purpose of voice typing in any app. Accessibility permission lets the hotkey trigger from any window — your browser, IDE, Slack, anywhere. We don't read keystrokes, we don't log what you press, we just listen for the one combination that activates recording.

Want more depth? Read Dictation for Mac — voice typing in any app, no cloud for benchmarks, Apple Silicon performance, and how third-party local dictation compares to Apple's built-in.