Echo — voice dictation
directly on your Mac
Built for people who spend a lot of time with text, code, and AI agents. If you keep switching tabs, catching yourself procrastinating, or losing the thought while typing, Echo removes extra steps and helps you stay focused.
The flow is simple: place the cursor, press the hotkey, dictate, and the finished improved text appears exactly where you started.
Privacy-first by design: a native macOS app with no logins, passwords, or account lock-in. Data is not routed through third-party services, logs stay local, and the only external integration is a direct connection to OpenAI through your own API key.
$19
One-time app purchase
BYOK
Bring your own key
~$1/mo
Typical OpenAI cost
Pay-as-you-go
Billed directly by AI provider
Menu bar app with one job
Echo lives in the macOS menu bar and stays close to your workflow. Press the hotkey, speak, get text, and keep moving.
Not another app with dozens of features
A lot of apps turn a simple action into setup work: too many panels, too many options, too much UI to think about before you can start. Echo stays focused, so you can dictate, get the text, and move on.
Why API instead of local models
Why Echo is API-first today
Local transcription sounds simple on paper, but in practice the experience depends heavily on the Mac in front of you. Echo chooses the more predictable route first: keep the app light on the device and let the transcription engine run remotely.
Older Macs are not ideal for heavy speech models
Older Intel Macs are usually not a great fit for Whisper, Parakeet, or similar local models. Even early Apple Silicon and some M2 machines can hit high RAM use, extra heat, and noticeable lag during real-time transcription.
API mode keeps the laptop faster, cooler, and simpler
With API-based transcription, Echo does not run a large model on your Mac. That means less pressure on CPU, GPU, memory, and battery, with a more predictable experience across Intel and Apple Silicon devices.
Offline is a real advantage, but not the best default for everyone
Offline dictation is attractive for privacy and independence from the internet. But for many users, especially on older hardware, local models still create more friction than value, so Echo starts with the mode that feels more reliable in daily work.
Use cases and capabilities
How Echo helps in daily work
This section combines both practical workflows and the core capabilities behind them, so it is clear where Echo speeds up your work and how it does it.
Use case
Vibe coding and fast prototyping
Dictate ideas, prompts, and drafts faster than you can type them.
Use case
Messages, emails, notes, and LLMs without breaking flow
Speak directly into the current window and turn rough thoughts into ready-to-send text without leaving your working context.
Money
~$1/month instead of $15/month
With active day-to-day use, OpenAI transcription typically costs about $1 per month, not another $15 recurring SaaS bill.
Capability
Dictation into any app
Use Command-D in Safari, Mail, Notes, Xcode, Telegram, or any browser to start dictation, press Command-D again to stop, Command-R to reset, and Command-V to insert the text into the active field.
Capability
Native macOS experience
Echo is built as a native Mac app and fits into the existing workflow without a separate web UI, extra tabs, or copy-paste between tools.
Money
No subscription fatigue
Pay once, own Echo forever, and stop worrying about another recurring software bill.
Capability
Bring Your Own Key
Connect your own OpenAI Whisper API key and let Echo send audio directly to OpenAI, with no subscriptions or middleman billing.
Capability
Local-first privacy
The app runs locally on your Mac, logs stay local, and there are no middleman integrations. When transcription is used, Echo sends audio directly to OpenAI with your own API key.
Capability
100+ languages
Accurate transcription in English, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, and dozens of other languages, with language detection and live translation.
Four steps to your first dictation
No accounts, registrations, or email confirmations.
02
Get your API key
Get your API key, then add it to Echo. The key is stored securely in macOS Keychain.
03
Dictate to the clipboard
Press Command-D to start dictation, Command-D again to stop, and Command-R to reset if needed. Echo prepares the result in your clipboard, then you insert it with Command-V.
04
Auto-insert and auto-enter
Coming soon. We plan to support automatic insertion and submit actions, but today the app only prepares text in the clipboard for copy-paste.
One price. Forever.
One-time App Store purchase with all future updates included.
Echo for macOS
Available now in the App Store.
- check_circleLifetime updates
- check_circleOne payment, one license
- check_circleApple Silicon + Intel
- check_circleDirect OpenAI connection
- check_circleGlobal hotkey