VoiceInk guides: every page on this site about VoiceInk, by topic

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This is an index of the 35 pages on this site about VoiceInk, grouped by what you are trying to do: get started, change a setting, fix a problem, understand the price, or compare it with something else. It is not VoiceInk's official documentation, which is at tryvoiceink.com/docs.

I built YapToText, a different dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about VoiceInk with that in mind. Every fact on these pages comes from VoiceInk's own site, with the date it was read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 9 sections
  1. Start here
  2. Features and settings
  3. Fix a problem
  4. Price, plans and billing
  5. Privacy, data and accounts
  6. Compared with other apps
  7. How these pages are made
  8. The short version
  9. Questions

Start here

  • How to Use VoiceInk on Mac. How to use VoiceInk: install it, pick a model, set the recording shortcut, and dictate. Then Modes, the Dictionary, History and file transcription.
  • Install VoiceInk on Mac. VoiceInk needs macOS 15 or later. How to download and install it, the three permissions, the 7-day trial, choosing a shortcut, and building it from source.

Features and settings

  • Best VoiceInk Model. Which VoiceInk model to pick: Parakeet V3 is its starting point on Apple silicon, Whisper for other languages, Nemotron for text as you speak.
  • VoiceInk Cloud Providers and API Keys. Connect a cloud provider to VoiceInk: which ones transcribe, which only enhance, where the API key is stored, and why your license does not cover fees.
  • VoiceInk Context Awareness. VoiceInk Context Awareness sends your selection, clipboard and OCR screen text to the AI with a dictation. What each needs, and where the text goes.
  • VoiceInk Custom Commands. VoiceInk's Custom Command output hands your final text to a shell command: append to a note, search, run a script. How it runs, its limits and debugging.
  • VoiceInk Custom Prompts. Write a VoiceInk custom prompt: the five input tags, when to keep Use System Template on, and short examples for chat, email and rewriting selected text.
  • VoiceInk Dictionary Auto Learn. VoiceInk's Auto Learn watches the corrections you make and adds names and terms to its Dictionary. What it sends to your AI provider, and how to review.
  • VoiceInk Dictionary. VoiceInk's Dictionary has two tools: Vocabulary helps it recognize a name, and Word Replacements force a fix. Plus Auto Learn, filler words and import.
  • VoiceInk History. Where VoiceInk keeps your transcripts, how to search, play back and export them, Quick History, and the auto-delete settings, from VoiceInk's own docs.
  • VoiceInk Keyboard Shortcuts. Every VoiceInk shortcut in its docs: the recording key and its four modes, a second key, paste and retry last, Option 1 to 0 for Modes, Auto Send.
  • VoiceInk Local Models. Every local model in VoiceInk, from its docs: Parakeet, Nemotron, Whisper, Cohere Transcribe, Apple Speech, importing a Whisper file, Ollama for cleanup.
  • VoiceInk Microphone Settings. VoiceInk recording from the wrong microphone? Pin one with Selected Microphone, rank several with Priority Order, and mute or pause other audio.
  • VoiceInk Modes and Triggers. VoiceInk Modes change the model, language, AI prompt and output by app, website, spoken trigger word or shortcut. How to set them up, from its own docs.
  • VoiceInk on iPhone. VoiceInk has an iPhone and iPad app with a keyboard and Quick Dictation from the Action Button or Back Tap. A Mac license does not unlock it.
  • VoiceInk Real-Time Transcription. VoiceInk shows live text only with models that stream: Parakeet, Nemotron and several cloud ones. Local Whisper does not. How to turn it on per Mode.
  • VoiceInk Refine and AI Enhancement. VoiceInk Refine cleans up dictation locally on an Apple silicon Mac with 16 GB, no API key. What it changes, what it cannot do, and the other options.
  • VoiceInk. How VoiceInk transcribes audio and video files: the formats, the queue, which Mode settings apply and which do not, and where the text ends up.

Fix a problem

  • VoiceInk Changing Language or Model. VoiceInk switches model or language by itself when a Mode matches the app, website, shortcut or a spoken trigger word. How to find and fix the Mode.
  • VoiceInk Not Working. VoiceInk records but types nothing, pastes old text, or runs slow. The fixes its own docs give for each, in order, and a free fallback for your Mac.
  • VoiceInk Repeating Text or Making Up Words. VoiceInk repeats phrases or types words you never said? Its docs give five fixes: Voice Activity Detection, another model, filler words, retry, the mic.
  • VoiceInk Slow. VoiceInk taking too long? Find the slow stage in Dashboard insights, then switch to Parakeet, prewarm the model, or skip AI enhancement on short ones.

Price, plans and billing

  • VoiceInk License Key. Activate a VoiceInk license, start the 7-day trial, recover a lost key through the Polar portal, and free a device slot. Mac licenses skip iPhone.
  • VoiceInk Pricing. VoiceInk pricing, checked October 5, 2026: a 7-day trial, then $25, $39, $49 or $159 once, what is free under the GPL, and a free on-device alternative.

Privacy, data and accounts

  • VoiceInk Backup and Restore. Back up VoiceInk before a new Mac: Settings, Backup exports a JSON file with Modes, prompts and the Dictionary. What it leaves out, and how import behaves.
  • VoiceInk Privacy. VoiceInk transcribes on your Mac with a local model, but AI enhancement, Auto Learn and cloud models send text or audio out. The three settings to check.

Compared with other apps

  • Free VoiceInk Alternative for Mac. YapToText is a free VoiceInk alternative for Mac: GPL open source too, but free on the App Store with its models inside. Plus VoiceInk vs superwhisper.
  • superwhisper vs Wispr Flow vs VoiceInk. superwhisper, Wispr Flow and VoiceInk in one table: free and paid plans, where speech is processed, offline use and platforms.
  • VoiceInk vs FluidVoice. VoiceInk against FluidVoice: what each is built for, free and paid plans, where speech is processed, offline use and platforms, in one table.
  • VoiceInk vs Handy. VoiceInk against Handy: what each is built for, free and paid plans, where speech is processed, offline use and platforms, in one table.
  • VoiceInk vs MacWhisper. VoiceInk is built for live dictation, MacWhisper for transcribing files and meetings. Prices, privacy and features from their own pages, October 9, 2026.
  • VoiceInk vs Spokenly. VoiceInk against Spokenly: what each is built for, free and paid plans, where speech is processed, offline use and platforms, in one table.
  • VoiceInk vs superwhisper. VoiceInk vs superwhisper on a Mac: one-time license or free plan and Pro, local models, open source, checked October 2026, plus a free on-device option.
  • VoiceInk vs Typeless. VoiceInk against Typeless: what each is built for, free and paid plans, where speech is processed, offline use and platforms, in one table.
  • VoiceInk vs Wispr Flow. VoiceInk vs Wispr Flow on Mac: pay once and stay local, or subscribe to a cloud service with a capped free plan, checked October 2026, plus a free option.

How these pages are made

Each page takes its facts from VoiceInk's own pages, names the article it came from, and gives the date I read it. When VoiceInk changes something, the page can be wrong until I catch it, so the date matters. The official source is VoiceInk's own documentation, and that is the place to check anything that affects money or data.

I built YapToText, a free dictation app for Apple silicon Macs, which makes me a rival, and each page says so. The comparison page sets the apps side by side.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

The short version

  • New to it. Start with How to Use VoiceInk on Mac.
  • Something broke. Look under Fix a problem.
  • Deciding. Look under Compared with other apps.
  • Official answers. VoiceInk's own documentation.

If a page here no longer matches VoiceInk, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Where is the official VoiceInk documentation?

At tryvoiceink.com/docs. This page is an independent index of guides written from it.

Is this site affiliated with VoiceInk?

No. I built YapToText, a different dictation app, and write about VoiceInk from its own published pages.

Which VoiceInk guide should I read first?

How to Use VoiceInk on Mac, then the page that matches your question under Features and settings or Fix a problem.