Dictate in Apple Notes on a Mac.
Typed notes or a recording with a transcript.

Can you dictate in Apple Notes on a Mac?

Yes. macOS Dictation types into a note in Apple Notes the same way it types into any text field on the Mac. You turn it on once in System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation, and from then on any note you click into can take your voice. It is free and built into macOS.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar, go to Dictation and turn it on. Click Enable if asked.
2. Open Notes and click where you want the words to go.
3. Press the Microphone key if your keyboard has one, use the Dictation keyboard shortcut, or choose Edit > Start Dictation.
4. Wait until the cursor pulses or you hear the tone, then speak.
5. Press Escape, the Microphone key or the shortcut to stop.

Apple's guide says there is no length limit, but Dictation stops by itself after 30 seconds without speech, so a long pause to think can end it. In supported languages it adds commas, full stops and question marks as you go, and you can switch that off with Auto-punctuation in the same settings. Words it is unsure of are underlined in blue; click one to pick an alternative. For the rest of Mac dictation, see speech to text on a Mac.

Apple Notes voice recording and transcription on Mac

Apple Notes on a Mac can also record audio into a note and show a transcript as you talk. The recording stays in the note, so you can play it back later, which Dictation cannot do. Apple says transcription needs a Mac with M1 or later and a supported language, and is not available in all regions.

1. Open a note, click the Attachment button in the toolbar, then choose Record Audio.
2. Click the Record button. Click Pause to stop for a moment and Resume to carry on.
3. Click the Transcription button to see the live transcript.
4. When you have finished, click Pause, then click Done.

Transcription works when your Mac's language is English (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UK or US), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, or Simplified or Traditional Chinese.

To use the words afterwards, double-click the recording, click the More button and choose Add Transcript to Note or Copy Transcript. Find in Transcript, in the same menu, searches it. Deleting the recording deletes its transcript too, so add the transcript to the note first if you want to keep the text. The Summary button gives an Apple Intelligence summary of the recording, which Apple says is not available in all languages or regions.

Dictation or recording: which to use in Notes?

A Notes recording keeps the audio in the note and Dictation keeps only text, so use Record Audio when you may want to replay it. Use Dictation when you want typed text in the note and nothing else: a shopping list, a quick idea on the way out of a meeting, a draft you will edit. Record Audio suits a meeting or a lecture, with the transcript as the way to search it.

The difference shows up later. A dictated note is plain text that you can edit, search and sync like anything you typed. A recording is an attachment in the note, and its transcript only becomes note text when you add it. Neither is built to tidy what you said: Dictation types your words as you say them, false starts included, and a recording keeps every pause.

Apple Notes dictation commands

When you dictate into Apple Notes on a Mac, you can say punctuation and formatting by name. Apple's command list includes "new line" (like pressing Return once) and "new paragraph" (twice), plus marks such as "comma", "full stop", "question mark", "colon" and "exclamation mark". Apple says line breaks appear when you finish dictating.

A few from Apple's list that suit notes:

• "new line" and "new paragraph" to split a note into lines or blocks.
• "numeral" to type the next phrase as a number, and "roman numeral" for I, II, III.
• "caps on" and "caps off" for a phrase in Title Case, and "all caps" for the next word in capitals.
• "dash", "hyphen", "ellipsis", "open parenthesis" and "close parenthesis".
• "pound sterling sign", "euro sign", "percent sign" and "at sign" for prices and addresses.
• An emoji's name with "emoji" after it, such as "heart emoji", in some languages.

Apple's list has no command for starting a checklist or a bulleted list, so set the format in Notes before you talk. More on what Dictation punctuates for you in Mac dictation punctuation.

Notes recording, macOS Dictation or Speaky Box?

We make Speaky Box. If you dictate the odd note, macOS Dictation is free: tidy the note afterwards. If you want the meeting itself on record, Notes' own recording is the right tool, because it keeps the audio. Speaky Box is for people who take most of their notes by voice and want them readable without a second pass. Sources, read 21 October 2026: Apple's Record and transcribe audio in Notes on Mac, Dictate messages and documents on Mac, Commands for dictating text on Mac, If Dictation on Mac doesn't work as expected and Control access to the microphone on Mac. The full comparison with Mac dictation.

Apple Notes voice to text: Dictation vs Speaky Box

macOS Dictation types every word you say into Notes, including the ones you take back. This is a note said straight after a one-to-one:

ok notes from the one-to-one with jas, um, she's happy with the new rota, wants to try it for a month, oh and she asked about the training budget, i said i'd check with finance, no, i'll check with tom first, and we're meeting again on the third

Speaky Box's Smart key sees that Notes is the app in front and shapes it as a note. This is what it types:

One-to-one with Jas
- Happy with the new rota; trying it for a month
- Asked about the training budget: I'll check with Tom first
- Next meeting: the 3rd

The um has gone, finance has gone because you changed your mind, and Jas has a capital. macOS Dictation would type the sentence as you said it, which is fine if you plan to tidy it later. The same key writes a full email in Mail (see dictating email on a Mac), keeps a reply short in Slack, and suits longer write-ups that start as notes in Google Docs.

Apple Notes dictation not working on Mac?

If Dictation types nothing into Apple Notes on your Mac, first check that Dictation is turned on in System Settings > Keyboard and that you are pressing the right shortcut. Then check the microphone: Apple says an external one must be connected and selected, with its input volume raised in System Settings > Sound > Input.

• Wrong microphone. In Keyboard > Dictation, use the pop-up menu next to Microphone source. Automatic picks the device your Mac thinks you are most likely to use.
• Microphone blocked. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone and make sure access is on for the app that needs the microphone, such as Speaky Box.
• Wrong language. Choose the correct language and region; click Edit next to Languages in Dictation settings to add one.
• No connection. Apple says you may need an internet connection. The text below Dictation in Keyboard settings tells you whether yours does.
• Voice Control is on. Apple says standard Dictation is not available while Voice Control is on; you dictate through Voice Control instead.
• It stopped mid-note. Dictation ends after 30 seconds without speech. Start it again and carry on.

If Dictation is making a lot of mistakes, Apple suggests keeping the microphone uncovered, speaking at a moderate volume and avoiding background noise; a headset microphone can help in a noisy or echoey room. If the Transcription button does not appear while you record in Notes, Apple says your Mac either does not meet the requirements, which include M1 or later, or does not detect a supported language.

Tips for dictating into Notes

Start the checklist, then talk

There is no spoken command for a checklist, so start a checklist in Notes first, then dictate one item at a time and press Return for the next item. The same works for a shopping list: milk, bread, the parcel for next door, each on its own line.

Record the meeting, dictate the actions

You can use both in one note. Record the meeting with Record Audio so you have it, then put three or four typed actions at the top by dictation, where you will see them without opening the transcript.

Put names in the Words list

Clients, colleagues, street names and product names are the words dictation gets wrong in notes. Add them to Speaky Box's Words list once and they are spelt your way in Notes, and in Notion, Obsidian and Bear too.

Dictate on the Mac, read it on your iPhone

Speaky Box is Mac only, with no iPhone app. Notes you dictate on the Mac sync to your iPhone through iCloud as usual, so the list you made at your desk is there in the shop.