Overview
Steno is a native macOS menu bar app that converts speech to text with sub-second latency. Hold a hotkey (default: Left Control), speak naturally, and release to have text instantly inserted at your cursor in any application. It features voice commands for punctuation and editing, automatic punctuation, app-aware smart rewriting that adjusts tone based on context, text snippets for frequently used phrases, and dictation history with searchable transcriptions. Steno supports 10+ languages with mid-sentence mixing, runs as a lightweight Swift app under 2 MB, and uses under 30 MB of memory at runtime.
Minimum macOS: 12.0 (Monterey)
Architecture: Apple Silicon, Intel
Key Features
- Hold-to-speak hotkey activation in any application
- Sub-second transcription (200-500ms typical)
- Voice commands for punctuation and text editing
- App-aware smart rewriting adjusts tone by context
- Automatic punctuation without voice commands
- Text snippets for frequently used phrases
- Dictation history with searchable transcriptions
- 10+ language support with mid-sentence mixing
- WPM and usage tracking
- Native Swift menu bar app under 2 MB
Tags
Steno Alternatives
Voibe
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Mach
Native dictation for Mac - press Fn, speak naturally, paste polished text anywhere
Aqua Voice
Lightning-fast AI dictation that works in every app