SayLocal – Private, offline dictation for Mac & Windows

Hold.

Fn on the Mac, the right Ctrl key on Windows – or any key you choose. In every app.

Speak.

Just as you normally would, even quietly. The SayLocal mark shows that it’s listening.

Let go.

Your text appears at the cursor – with punctuation, without the “ums” and “ers”.

Corrected once. Right from then on.

If SayLocal misspells a name, simply type over it. SayLocal briefly shows “Learned ✓” – and spells it correctly from then on. If it has remembered something wrong, click “Edit”.

16 of 21words SayLocal initially got wrong were spelled correctly after a single correction.

18 of 21when you also record the word with “Speak”.

Measured on 16 Oct 2026: 31 difficult names and technical terms in German, English and French, 21 of which SayLocal initially spelled wrong. Counted as correct when, after the correction, the word was right both in the same sentence and in a new one.

Your words. Your pronunciation.

Everything SayLocal has learned is in your Learned words – as many words as you like. You see every word, edit or delete it, and add new ones before you need them for the first time.

Speak

Say a short sentence with the word three times, just as you would when dictating. SayLocal adapts to your pronunciation – even for names that are spoken differently from how they are written.

Learned words

Cholmondeleyinstead of “Chumley”SpeakEdit

Worcester Boschinstead of “Wooster Bosch”SpeakEdit

Loughboroughinstead of “Luffbrow”SpeakEdit

Bicesterinstead of “Bister”SpeakEdit

Leominsteradded by youSpeakEdit

New wordAdd

Speak “Menzies”

Done – SayLocal now knows your pronunciation.

Understands the context.

When you reply to an email or write in a document, SayLocal knows the names it’s about – and spells them correctly. Even the difficult ones. Without anything leaving your computer.

Gets the hard words right, too.

Names of people, companies and places, the terms of your trade: SayLocal writes them the way they are spelled – without you having to enter anything first.

5.8%Speech recognition aloneWord errors

0%With SayLocalWord errors

Measured on 16 Oct 2026: 14 German test sentences with 104 words, including names, places and technical terms. MacBook Pro with M3 Pro, SayLocal freshly installed, compared with the same speech recognition without SayLocal. With other voices, microphones and texts, results will differ.

Cloud quality. Without the cloud.

As accurate as the big cloud services – except that your voice never leaves your computer.

Our own comparison, October 2026: difficult sentences with names, places and technical terms. SayLocal 8% word errors, a leading cloud dictation service 10%.

Made for every day.

Understood, even quietly.

Whispering in an open-plan office, speaking softly in the evening: SayLocal still understands you. And where nothing is said, no text appears.

The right microphone. Automatically.

SayLocal automatically picks the best available microphone – AirPods, headset, USB microphone or the built-in one. Or you choose one yourself.

Mac and Windows. One license.

Your license covers two of your own devices – Mac, Windows or a mix of both.

Always up to date.

New versions install themselves while you’re not dictating – and only if they verifiably come from us.

The indicator sits where you want it.

While you dictate, the SayLocal mark shows what’s happening. Drag it with your mouse to wherever it’s out of the way – SayLocal remembers the spot.

Try it: drag the indicator.

See how much time you save.

SayLocal keeps count: time saved, words and dictations. Counted only on your computer.

What it learns, on both devices.

If you like, your devices sync the words they have learned – end-to-end encrypted. Only you hold the key: we can never read your words.

Optional and can be switched off at any time. Only the words are transferred – never recordings or texts.

What you say stays with you.

Your voice becomes text right on your computer – then the recording is gone. What isn’t sent, nobody can read along.

Your voice recordingslocal only

Your textslocal only

Learned wordslocal only

Optional: an encrypted copy of your words for your second deviceonly if you agree

One-time download after installationDownload

Brief license check, 1–2× a dayServer in the EU

Only on less powerful computers: cloud recognition via Cloudflareonly if you agree

Anonymous usage figures (no audio, no text)only if you agree

For your license, SayLocal checks in with us briefly once or twice a day. Only your license key travels over the line – never sound, never text.

For everyone who writes a lot.

At the office and at home. One license covers you on up to two of your own devices.

At work
Emails, reports, notes and tickets – also where confidentiality is a must: law firm, medical practice, consulting, HR. What is not sent does not need protecting.

At home
Messages, long emails, ideas, texts for your club or studies. Speak instead of type – without a single word leaving your computer.

28 languages.

28 languages that SayLocal understands especially reliably. It starts in your system's language – you can switch on a second one.

ArabicCatalanChineseCroatianCzechDutchEnglishFinnishFrenchGermanGreekIndonesianItalianJapaneseKoreanMalayNorwegian BokmålPolishPortugueseRomanianRussianSlovakSpanishSwedishThaiTurkishUkrainianVietnamese

Born in the daily work of an IT company.

“I wanted to dictate without customer names ending up on someone else’s servers. So we built SayLocal – and we use it every day.”

Nico ContopidisFounder · Conto IT, Itzehoe

At Conto IT we write tickets, quotes and emails to customers every day. Dictation saves a lot of time – but many well-known dictation apps process every recording on third-party servers in the cloud. For conversations with customer names, projects and figures, that was out of the question for us.

So we built our own tool and have used it daily ever since. Now SayLocal is available to everyone.

Try free for 3 days.

Full feature set, no payment details. You enter your email address and receive the download and a trial key. The 3 days only start with the first launch.

Try it free – Mac & Windows

Version 1.0 · Mac: macOS 14 or newer · Windows 10 (22H2) or 11, 64-bit · on first launch the app downloads about 550 MB once

One key, both systems: your license works on up to two devices of your own – Mac, Windows or a mix.

Enjoying SayLocal? The app gives you a personal link to recommend it.

System requirements

SayLocal works on your device – so it needs some processing power. While you dictate, it uses about 800 MB of memory and frees it again after 20 minutes of pause.

macOS

System	macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Processor	Apple silicon (M1 or later) recommended. Intel Macs: noticeably slower locally, or with optional cloud recognition
Memory	8 GB (the app uses about 800 MB)
Storage	about 1 GB free
Internet	once for the first download, afterwards only for the brief license check (up to 7 days offline possible)
Permissions	Microphone. On first launch, SayLocal asks for permission to type in other apps.

Windows

System	Windows 10 (22H2) or Windows 11, 64-bit
Processor	x64 processor with AVX2 (Intel from 2013, AMD from 2015)
Graphics	recommended: graphics card with Vulkan support – much faster
Memory	8 GB
Storage	about 1 GB free

With a graphics card, your text appears after about 0.2 seconds. Without a suitable graphics card it takes a few seconds – SayLocal then offers cloud recognition if you like.

Frequently asked questions

Are my recordings stored or sent?

No. Your recording is turned into text right on your computer and then deleted. The only thing stored is the words SayLocal has learned from you – on your computer.

Do I need an internet connection?

Not for dictating. After installation, SayLocal downloads about 550 MB once. After that it checks in briefly once or twice a day to see whether your license is valid and whether there's a new version. Without internet, SayLocal keeps working for up to 7 days.

How does SayLocal fit with the GDPR?

Speech recognition runs on your computer: recordings and texts are not transmitted to us or to third parties, so no data processing agreement is needed for it. Only your license key travels over the network (server in the EU) – plus, only if you agree, anonymous usage figures, the encrypted word sync and, on less powerful computers, cloud recognition. Whether SayLocal meets your requirements is for you or your data protection officer to assess; all details are in the privacy policy.

Which apps does SayLocal work in?

In any app where you can type: email, Slack, Word, your browser, ticket systems and more. Hold the key, speak, let go – the text appears at the cursor. For longer texts, tap the space bar while holding the key and keep dictating hands-free.

Does SayLocal run on Mac and Windows?

Yes. Mac: macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel. Windows: Windows 10 (22H2) or 11, 64-bit. On the Mac, speech recognition runs on the Apple silicon GPU (Metal); on Windows on the graphics card via Vulkan, otherwise on the processor. One license covers two of your own devices – including a mix of Mac and Windows.

Which languages does SayLocal understand?

28 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese. SayLocal starts in your system language; you can switch on a second one.

Can SayLocal handle names and technical terms?

Yes. Correct a word once and SayLocal spells it right from then on. When you reply to an email, SayLocal reads the names from that window – in working memory only, nothing is stored or sent. You can also record difficult words with your voice or add them to your word list in advance.

How is SayLocal different from the dictation built into macOS or Windows?

SayLocal is made for people who write a lot at work: one key in every app, the same workflow on Mac and Windows, a word list that learns from your corrections and can sync end-to-end encrypted between Mac and PC, names taken from the email you are replying to, and filler words like “um” removed. Speech recognition runs on your computer. The quickest way to find out what suits you better is the free 3-day trial.

How much does SayLocal cost?

€6.99 a month, €59 a year (equals €4.92 a month) or a one-time €79 for Lifetime – launch price until 30 Nov 2026, €129 after that. Prices include VAT. Try it free for 3 days first, no credit card needed. Team and business pricing on request.

Does SayLocal also run on older or less powerful computers?

Yes. On Intel Macs and on Windows PCs without a suitable graphics card, SayLocal is much slower on the computer itself. So there you can optionally switch on cloud recognition: your recording is then sent encrypted to Cloudflare, turned into text and not stored. This only happens with your explicit tick and can be switched off at any time. On Macs with an Apple chip and PCs with a graphics card there is no such option – everything stays with you.

Why does SayLocal need my email address?

For your license key, the download link and managing your devices. During the trial we send you at most four short emails with tips – unsubscribe with one click.

Can I cancel the subscription?

Yes, at any time to the end of the paid term – at getsaylocal.com/konto under “Manage subscription”. Until then SayLocal works as normal.

On how many devices may I use SayLocal?

One license covers you on up to two of your own devices, for example an office computer and a laptop. It is personal and not transferable. You can release a device yourself at any time at getsaylocal.com/konto.

Can I mix two languages?

You can switch on a second language. SayLocal then decides for each recording which of the two you are speaking. A single language is most reliable – please do not switch within one recording.

Can I use SayLocal in a company?

Yes. Each person needs their own license. You receive an invoice with tax shown. Since nothing is transmitted for speech recognition, no data processing agreement is needed for it.

How do I get updates?

Entirely on its own. SayLocal installs new versions while you're not dictating – and only if they demonstrably come from us. If you'd rather not, switch it off in the settings.

Who sells SayLocal?

SayLocal is developed by Conto IT in Itzehoe. Stripe handles sales, tax and invoicing as the merchant – that is why the receipt comes from Stripe.

Speak freely. Stay private.