Finding the right app to convert audio to text depends heavily on what kind of audio you're working with. Are you capturing live speech as you speak, or transcribing a recording you already have? Are you on a Mac, iPhone, or Windows? Do you need a simple tool, or software that can handle hours of multi-speaker audio at scale?

This guide breaks down the best options across each category so you can find the right fit without wading through dozens of mediocre options.

Two Very Different Use Cases

Before reviewing any specific app, it helps to be precise about what you actually need. The term "audio to text" covers two fundamentally different workflows:

Live audio conversion (dictation)

You speak in real time, and the app immediately converts your voice to text in whatever app you're using — email, Google Docs, Notion, Slack, your code editor. This is dictation, and it replaces or supplements keyboard typing.

File-based audio conversion (transcription)

You have a recorded audio or video file and want it converted to a text document. This is transcription, and it's a different workflow — you upload a file and receive a transcript.

Most people asking for an "app to convert audio to text" want one of these, but not both. Knowing which one you need narrows the field significantly.

Best Apps for Live Audio Dictation

Steno (Mac + iPhone)

Steno is a native macOS menu bar app built specifically for fast, accurate real-time dictation. Hold the hotkey, speak, release — text appears at your cursor in any application. It works across your entire Mac: web browsers, native apps, code editors, terminals, email clients.

What sets Steno apart from built-in OS dictation is accuracy and speed. Transcription typically completes in under a second after you release the hotkey, and accuracy is noticeably higher than Apple's built-in tools — especially for domain-specific vocabulary, proper nouns, and accented speech.

Apple Dictation (Mac)

macOS includes built-in dictation accessible via System Settings. It's free, works offline in enhanced mode, and integrates system-wide. Accuracy is decent but falls short of dedicated apps, especially for longer passages or technical language.

Dragon Professional (Mac/Windows)

Dragon is the long-standing professional dictation tool with high accuracy and extensive customization. It's expensive ($300–$600) and oriented toward professional use cases like legal or medical documentation.

Best Apps for File-Based Transcription

Otter.ai

Otter is popular for meeting transcription. You can import audio/video files or connect it to Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet to auto-transcribe calls. The free plan provides 300 minutes per month. The interface is clean, and it handles speaker identification reasonably well.

Descript

Descript is both a transcription tool and a full audio/video editor. If you're podcasting or creating video content, Descript lets you edit media by editing the transcript — delete a sentence from the transcript and the corresponding audio is removed. Powerful, but heavier than needed if you just want a text file.

Rev

Rev offers both automated transcription (fast and cheap) and human transcription (slow and more accurate). For recordings where accuracy is critical — legal depositions, medical notes, journalism — the human option at $1.50 per audio minute is worth considering.

MacWhisper

MacWhisper is a Mac app that runs speech recognition locally on your machine using on-device models. No internet required, no subscription, and strong privacy since audio never leaves your computer. Processing speed depends on your hardware — fast on Apple Silicon Macs, slower on older Intel machines.

Key Features to Compare

When evaluating any software to convert audio to text, focus on these factors:

Platform Considerations

If you're primarily on Mac, native apps generally outperform web-based solutions. A native app like Steno integrates at the OS level, responds to system hotkeys, and works in every application without requiring a browser tab to be open.

For iPhone, the built-in keyboard dictation is surprisingly capable for quick input. For longer recordings, apps like Otter's iOS client or recording apps with built-in transcription work well.

On Windows, the built-in Windows Speech Recognition and the newer Voice Access feature handle basic dictation. For power users, Dragon Professional remains the standard, though its Mac version has a spotty reputation compared to its Windows counterpart.

The Hybrid Approach

Many professionals use two tools: a live dictation app for everyday writing, and a file-based transcription service for meeting recordings. This combination covers the full audio-to-text workflow without requiring a single tool to be perfect at everything.

For more on how live dictation compares to post-processing transcription in real workflows, see our guide on transcribing voice recordings and the deeper look at AI transcription services.

Our Recommendation

For most Mac users looking to convert their own speech to text as quickly and accurately as possible, a dedicated live dictation app is the right answer. It eliminates the recording step, delivers text in real time, and works everywhere on your system.

For converting recordings you already have, Otter.ai (free tier) or MacWhisper (one-time purchase, local processing) are the clearest starting points depending on your privacy requirements.