Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
Yes, built-in dictation exists on a Mac with an Intel processor too, and it is turned on the same way: Apple menu → “System Settings” → “Keyboard” → “Dictation”. The difference is where speech is recognized: according to our data on Apple dictation, on a Mac with Apple silicon ordinary dictation is processed on the device, while on an Intel Mac the sound goes to Apple servers. Potok (potok.now) works on any Mac, both Intel and M1.
Some people still have a Mac on an Intel processor, and want to know in advance whether voice input will work on it and how it differs from newer models.
How voice input works on a Mac with an Intel processor
The built-in macOS dictation is turned on the same way on any Mac: Apple menu → “System Settings” → “Keyboard” → the “Dictation” section → turn it on, then “Enable”. The difference is where speech is recognized. According to our data on Apple dictation, on a Mac with Apple silicon ordinary dictation is processed on the device itself, while on an Intel Mac the sound goes to Apple servers and is turned into text there. One more detail from Apple's help concerns only Macs with Apple silicon: on them you can type on the keyboard without stopping dictation. What you need in general to start dictation is covered in the article how to dictate text on a MacBook by voice (in Russian).
Where speech is recognized on an Intel Mac and how to check it
On an Intel Mac, according to our data, ordinary dictation sends the sound to Apple servers. You can check how it works on your Mac in System Settings: according to Apple's help, the “Keyboard” section shows whether dictated words are processed on the device and are not sent to Siri servers. This applies to ordinary dictation in messages and notes, but not to queries in the search field. More about working without a network is in the article does dictation on a Mac work without the internet (in Russian).
| Service | Platforms | Free | Price | Payment from Russia | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed | Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly | Russian bank cards, rubles | cloud, servers in Russia; internet required |
| Google voice input (Google Docs voice typing + Gboard) | Web (Google Docs, Chrome/Edge/Safari, current versions), Android (Gboard), iOS (Gboard) | free, built into Google Docs and the Gboard keyboard | — | not disclosed | cloud: in Google Docs, speech recognition is handled by the browser, which manages the speech-to-text service and determines speech processing, after which the text is sent to Google Docs (that is, a cloud service of the browser or Google is used, not local processing). In Gboard some advanced voice typing features for certain locales run on the device and are not sent to Google servers by default, but ordinary Gboard voice input is generally cloud-based |
| Dragon NaturallySpeaking | Windows | not disclosed | $699.99/one-time (Dragon Professional Individual v16, perpetual licence) | not disclosed | device (offline) — local acoustic engine (~8 GB neural network) after installation; internet is only needed to activate the licence |
| A-Golos | macOS, Windows, Android | 20 minutes of audio per month free, no card attached | 490 ₽/mo (Lite, 120 min/mo); 4900 ₽/yr (Lite, yearly); 950 ₽/mo (Pro, 300 min/mo) | rubles directly (through an external payment provider, card data is not stored by the service) | cloud: the policy states that personal data is stored on servers in Russia, but the speech recognition itself is performed by OpenAI (USA); results and audio are not stored on the company's servers |
| SuperWhisper | macOS, Windows, iOS | free: small local models with no usage limits (offline) | $8.49/mo (Pro, monthly); $84.99/yr (Pro, annual (≈$7.08/mo)); $249.99/one-time (Lifetime, one-time, covers Mac+Windows+iOS) | not disclosed | hybrid: small local models offline (free), large cloud models (Scribe, Nova, Gemini, GPT and others) through the Superwhisper proxy on Pro/BYOK — providers see the request from the proxy, not the user's account |
| MacWhisper | macOS | A free version is available ("Free forever", limited functionality), Pro is paid | €64/one-time (Pro, one-time purchase through Gumroad, lifetime updates); $29.99/yr (Pro, App Store version ("Whisper Transcription"), subscription); $99.99/one-time (Pro, App Store version, one-time purchase) | not disclosed | on the device (offline) by default, with local Whisper models; there are optional cloud transcription providers, but not as the main mode |
| Diktuy | Windows, macOS | 30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever | 239 ₽/mo (Profi (monthly equivalent when billed yearly)); 2870 ₽/yr (Profi (year, billed in full)); 479 ₽/mo (Max (monthly equivalent when billed yearly)) | rubles directly (not confirmed) | cloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed) |
| Talkpad | macOS, Windows, Android | 2500 words/week on desktop, 1500 words/week on mobile, free forever; plus a 14-day Pro trial | $6/mo (Pro (billed yearly, $72/yr)); $8/mo (Pro (monthly billing)) | unknown (not confirmed) | cloud (the legal entity is registered in Australia; the website is hosted on Cloudflare; the exact location of the ASR servers is not disclosed in the privacy policy) (not confirmed) |
| WhispeRu | Windows | 7-day free trial (no card) | 290 ₽/mo (monthly license); 1990 ₽/yr (yearly license); 4990 ₽/one-time (lifetime license) | rubles directly (payment via YooKassa) | device (offline) |
| Spokenly | macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS | local models (Whisper/Parakeet) are free forever with no word limit; connecting your own API keys (BYOK) is also free | $9.99/mo (Pro, monthly); $99.99/yr (Pro, yearly (≈$8.33/mo)) | not disclosed | hybrid: locally on the device (Whisper/Parakeet, free) or in the cloud (GPT-4o Transcribe, Deepgram Nova 3, Soniox and others, via BYOK or Pro) |
| Glas (LidFly) | Windows, macOS | 0 ₽ — 2000 words per week free for life, no card and no email sign-up; the first 2 weeks have no word limit | — | rubles directly: payment via SBP; invoices for companies and sole proprietors | cloud (Russia) — the site says “Russian servers, works without a VPN” |
Who this answer does not fit
This analysis is about the dictation built into macOS, not about voice input in general. Potok (potok.now) is a cloud service: recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without an internet connection. Potok works on any Mac, both Intel and Apple silicon, and also on Windows and Linux.
Frequently asked questions
According to Apple's help, in the “Keyboard” section of System Settings you can check whether dictated words are processed on the device and are not sent to Siri servers. This applies to ordinary dictation, messages and notes, but not to queries in the search field.
Voice input and a Mac on Intel. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Voice input and a Mac on Intel you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Voice input and a Mac on Intel. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Voice input and a Mac on Intel you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Voice input and a Mac on Intel. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For Voice input and a Mac on Intel you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Voice input and a Mac on Intel. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Voice input and a Mac on Intel you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Download Potok
Works with a single key in any program. 14 days of full access, then Free with 2500 words per week or Pro at 690 ₽/mo (499 ₽/mo paid yearly). Potok is a cloud service, so it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokYou dictate in the app, and recordings and voice messages are transcribed by @potok_now_bot in Telegram. 60 minutes per month are free; the Potok subscription removes the limit in the bot and in the app.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
Primary sources: support.microsoft.com · support.apple.com