Can Apple Notes convert voice to text?

Yes, in two ways. Dictation types your words into a note as you speak, on a Mac or an iPhone. Record Audio saves a recording in the note and transcribes it, on a Mac with M1 or later or an iPhone 12 or later, in supported languages; you then add the transcript to the note. On Windows, use Notes on iCloud.com with Windows voice typing.

How do I turn on voice to text in Notes on a Mac?

Turn on Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard, then click Enable. In Notes, click where the text should go, choose Edit → Start Dictation or press your Dictation shortcut, and speak. Press Escape to stop. To keep the audio too, click the Attachment button in the note’s toolbar, choose Record Audio and click Record; on macOS Sequoia, click the Record Audio button in the toolbar instead. Transcribing a recording needs a Mac with M1 or later.

How do I use voice to text in Notes on iPhone?

To type by voice, turn on Enable Dictation in Settings → General → Keyboard, then tap the Dictate button on the keyboard in a note. To keep the audio too, open a note, tap the Attachments button, tap Record Audio, then tap Record. Swipe down from the top of the screen to take notes while it records. Transcription needs an iPhone 12 or later with its language set to one Apple supports, and recording summaries need an iPhone with Apple Intelligence: iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max or any iPhone 16 or later.

Which languages does Apple Notes transcription support?

Apple lists ten device languages for audio transcription in Notes on Mac and iPhone: English (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UK or US), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified or Traditional Chinese. It isn’t available in every region. If the Transcription button is missing, Apple says the device either doesn’t meet the minimum requirements or didn’t detect a supported language.

Can I use Apple Notes voice to text on Windows?

Yes, in a browser. iCloud for Windows doesn’t include Notes, so open icloud.com/notes in Edge 130 or later, Chrome 130 or later in desktop mode, or Firefox 128 or later and sign in. Click in a note and press Windows key + H to use Windows voice typing, which needs an internet connection. You can’t record audio on iCloud.com, and it shows only notes stored in iCloud. VoiceSnap Pro also types into iCloud.com notes on Windows.

Can I turn voice notes into text after recording?

On a Mac with M1 or later, double-click a recording made in Notes, then click Transcription on macOS 27 or Transcribe Audio on macOS Sequoia; on macOS Tahoe the transcript opens straight away. Choose More → Add Transcript to Note on macOS 27, or More → Copy Transcript on Tahoe or Sequoia and paste it into the note. Apple’s Notes guide doesn’t describe transcribing an audio file recorded somewhere else. Voice Memos on a Mac transcribes its own recordings that contain speech, older ones included, where the feature is available, and you can copy that text into a note. VoiceSnap Pro doesn’t transcribe audio files.

Is Apple Notes voice to text free, and does it work offline?

Dictation and Record Audio are free: Dictation is built into macOS and iOS, and Record Audio into Notes. iPhone dictation runs on the device without an internet connection in many languages. On a Mac, the text below Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard tells you whether your speech is processed on the Mac. Apple’s Notes guide doesn’t say whether audio transcription needs a connection. Windows voice typing and VoiceSnap Pro both need the internet.

Notes · Dictation workflow

Apple Notes voice to text Say it into a note now. Make it a checklist later.

Apple Notes has two built-in ways to turn speech into text. Dictation types your words into the note as you speak. Record Audio keeps a recording in the note, and on a Mac with M1 or later or an iPhone 12 or later it also makes a transcript you can put in the note. iCloud for Windows doesn’t include Notes, so on a PC you use Notes on iCloud.com in a browser. This page covers both, the Windows route, and why the Transcription button can be missing. VoiceSnap Pro is a third way: hold one key while you talk, let go, and the punctuated text drops into the note, in Notes on your Mac or on iCloud.com.

Download free See the workflow

Mac and Windows · Internet required · Free allowance, no card

Set up on Mac or Windows.

Apple Notes · New note

An example to try

Follow-ups after a client call

You say

“follow ups from the call with dana send the revised timeline by monday book a stand at the the trade show and ask finance to confirm the budget by friday”

After release and transcription

Follow-ups from the call with Dana. Send the revised timeline by Monday. Book a stand at the trade show and ask finance to confirm the budget by Friday.

Illustrative transcript. Recognition and punctuation can vary; review your own result.

Already on your computer

How to use voice to text in Apple Notes

Choose by what you want to keep. Dictation types straight into the note body while you talk and leaves no recording. Record Audio saves the recording inside the note, with a transcript inside the recording that you then add to the note yourself; the transcript needs a Mac with M1 or later and a supported device language. On a Windows PC, Apple Notes means icloud.com/notes in a browser, and it shows only notes stored in iCloud.

Mac: Dictation into a note

Once: open System Settings, click Keyboard, switch Dictation on and click Enable. The Shortcut menu in the same section shows the key that starts it.
In Notes, press Command + N for a new note, or select a note in the list and press Return to start typing in it.
Choose Edit → Start Dictation, press the Microphone key or use your shortcut. Speak when the cursor pulses or you hear a tone.
Talk normally: commas, periods and question marks are added in supported languages. Say “new line” after each item that needs its own line. The breaks show up once you stop.
Click a word underlined in blue to swap in one of the alternatives Dictation offers.
Press Escape or your shortcut when you finish.

Mac with M1 or later: Record Audio, then add the transcript

Open the note, click the Attachment button in the toolbar, then click Record Audio. On macOS Sequoia, click the Record Audio button in the toolbar instead.
Click Record. Use Pause and Resume if you need a break.
Click Pause, then Done. The recording stays in the note.
To see the transcript, double-click the recording, then click Transcription on macOS 27 or Transcribe Audio on macOS Sequoia. On macOS Tahoe, the transcript opens with the recording.
On macOS 27, choose More → Add Transcript to Note, or Copy Transcript to put it on the clipboard. On macOS Tahoe or Sequoia, choose More → Copy Transcript, click in the note body and press Command + V.

Windows: Notes on iCloud.com with Windows key + H

Go to icloud.com/notes in Edge 130 or later, Chrome 130 or later (desktop mode) or Firefox 128 or later, and sign in.
Click the Create a note button, or open a note, then click in its text.
With the cursor in the note, press Windows key + H. Voice typing needs an internet connection and a working microphone.
When “Listening...” appears, speak. Say “new line” between items. To have punctuation added for you, open the gear icon and turn on Automatic punctuation.
Say “stop listening” or click the microphone button. The note syncs to Notes on your Apple devices.

Where the built-in option stops

Mac Dictation switches itself off after 30 seconds of silence, so stopping to check a calendar means starting it again.
Standard Dictation is unavailable while Voice Control is on, and Dictation isn’t offered in every language or region.
Record Audio transcription needs a Mac with M1 or later or an iPhone 12 or later, with the device set to one of the ten languages Apple lists (see the questions below), and it isn’t available in every region.
A transcript lives inside its recording until you add it to the note, and deleting the recording deletes the transcript. Apple describes viewing, searching and copying transcripts, not editing them.
Apple’s Notes guides cover transcribing recordings you make in Notes and, on iPhone, calls recorded in Phone or FaceTime. They do not describe transcribing an audio file from somewhere else.
Notes on iCloud.com can’t record audio or add attachments; Apple says to add those in Notes on an iPhone, iPad or Mac. It shows only iCloud notes, and Windows voice typing there needs an internet connection.

The built-in option compared with VoiceSnap Pro in Apple Notes
Feature	Built-in dictation and Record Audio	VoiceSnap Pro
Setup	Free and already there. Turn on Dictation once in Keyboard settings; Record Audio is part of Notes.	A desktop app for an Apple silicon Mac or a Windows PC that you sign in to; Notes and iCloud.com need no add-on. A free allowance, no card, then a Pro subscription.
On Windows	No Notes app. Use icloud.com/notes in a browser with Windows key + H; recording audio isn’t possible there.	Hold Right Alt, speak and let go: the text lands in icloud.com/notes in Edge, Chrome or Firefox, just as it does in Notes on a Mac.
Start and stop	Edit → Start Dictation or your shortcut, then Escape. Thirty seconds without speech also ends it.	Hold Right Option on a Mac or Right Alt on Windows while you speak, and let go to finish. Going quiet while you hold the key doesn’t end the dictation.
What you get	Dictation types into the note live. Record Audio keeps the recording with a live transcript; click a word to replay from that point.	Text only, in one piece after you let go and it is transcribed. Nothing is recorded into the note, and it can’t transcribe a recording or audio file you already have.
Line breaks and commands	On a Mac, say “new line”, “new paragraph”, “caps on” or a punctuation name. Windows voice typing on iCloud.com takes “new line”, “delete that” and “undo that”.	Punctuation is automatic, but there are no spoken commands. Press Return yourself between lines and checklist items.
Fillers and names	Apple’s Dictation guide doesn’t mention removing fillers. Mac Dictation underlines words it is unsure of in blue, with alternatives to pick. On Copilot+ PCs, Windows Fluid dictation corrects fillers and grammar in English.	Clean up dictation, on by default, removes fillers, repeats and slips you correct out loud from dictations of up to about five minutes. It never adds or rewords. Personal vocabulary gives it your names and terms as spelling hints, on every device.
Internet	iPhone dictation works offline in many languages. On a Mac, Keyboard settings say whether Dictation runs on the Mac. Windows voice typing needs a connection.	Needs an internet connection every time. It does not work offline.

From cursor to draft

How to dictate in Apple Notes with VoiceSnap Pro

First install VoiceSnap Pro, sign in and complete the microphone and system-permission prompts. Then keep the app running while you write.

Read the getting-started guide

Start a note, or reopen one
On a Mac, press Command + N in Notes, or select a note in the list and press Return to start typing in it. On Windows, open icloud.com/notes in your browser and click in the note’s text. If you want the note on your iPhone and on iCloud.com too, keep it in an iCloud folder, not On My Mac or another account.
Talk while you hold the key
Hold Right Option on a Mac or Right Alt on Windows, or the key you chose, and say the idea in full sentences. Nothing ends until you let go, even if you stop to think. Then the punctuated text lands in one piece. Clean up dictation, on by default under Settings → AI, removes fillers and slips you correct out loud from dictations of up to about five minutes, and never adds or rewords a word. A longer one stays as transcribed.
Add the title line and the checklist
VoiceSnap Pro inserts no line breaks, so press Return (Enter on Windows) after the first sentence: Notes makes the first line the title. Put each to-do on its own line, select them, then press Shift + Command + L on a Mac or click the Make a checklist button in the Notes toolbar on iCloud.com. Notes saves as you go.

Three useful ways to write in Apple Notes

A list made on your PC, ready on your iPhone

Open the note on icloud.com/notes, hold Right Alt, say one item and let go, then press Enter before the next. Select the lines and click the Make a checklist button in the Notes toolbar. The list shows up in Notes on your iPhone, ready to tick off in the shop or on the train.

A Quick Note over the app you’re in

On a Mac, hold Fn or Globe and press Q, and a Quick Note opens over your current window. Hold the VoiceSnap Pro key, say the thought, let go, then get back to work. Notes files it in the Quick Notes folder, and reopens your last Quick Note next time unless you deselect “Always resume to last Quick Note” in Notes settings.

A draft to finish in Markdown

Dictate the draft one section at a time, pressing Return so each section name sits on its own line, then press Shift + Command + H on each name to make it a heading. On macOS 27, select the draft, choose Edit → Copy as Markdown and paste it into a README or another app that reads Markdown.

The human part

Make the draft yours.

It lands as one paragraph, because VoiceSnap Pro adds no line breaks. Press Return after “Dana.” so that line becomes the note’s title, put each task on its own line, then select the tasks and press Shift + Command + L. Clean up dictation dropped the repeated “the”; check both dates.

Keep private details out of a Quick Note: Apple says a Quick Note can’t be locked. Type passwords by hand rather than dictating them.
Search the notes list for a name you just dictated. If the note doesn’t come up, the name was probably misheard, and a misheard name is easy to miss when you reread.
Text in the search field or the wrong note? Undo it there with Command + Z (Ctrl + Z on Windows), click into the right note and use Paste last dictation, Control + Option + V (Ctrl + Alt + V).
When a name keeps coming out wrong, add it to personal vocabulary once as a spelling hint. The list syncs to your other devices.

When dictation in Apple Notes doesn’t work

There’s no Transcription button in Notes: Check your macOS version first: on macOS Sequoia the button is called Transcribe Audio, and on macOS Tahoe double-clicking the recording opens its transcript without one. Otherwise, Apple says the button is missing when the device doesn’t meet the minimum requirements or didn’t detect a supported language. You need a Mac with M1 or later or an iPhone 12 or later, set to one of the ten languages Apple lists, such as English (US or UK), Spanish or Japanese, in a region where it is offered. If Record Audio itself is missing, check which account the note is in: Apple says some Notes features aren’t available in accounts from other providers, so try a note in iCloud. On an older Mac, use Dictation instead.
The transcript stays in the recording, not in the note: Double-click the recording and open its transcript: click Transcription on macOS 27 or Transcribe Audio on macOS Sequoia; macOS Tahoe shows it straight away. On macOS 27, choose More → Add Transcript to Note. On Tahoe or Sequoia, choose More → Copy Transcript, click in the note body and press Command + V. Do this before you tidy up: deleting the recording also deletes its transcript.
Mac Dictation won’t start in Notes, or stops mid-note: Click inside the note body first, so the insertion point blinks there rather than in the notes list or the search field. If Edit → Start Dictation still does nothing, open System Settings → Keyboard, make sure Dictation is on and note the shortcut it lists. While Voice Control is on, you dictate through it and standard Dictation isn’t available, so turn Voice Control off. Choose your mic in the Microphone source menu in that Dictation section, raise the input level under System Settings → Sound → Input, and check your internet connection, which Dictation may need. If it stops by itself, it may have heard no speech for 30 seconds: start it again where the cursor is. A spoken “new line” shows up only when you stop, so it isn’t lost.
You need text from a recording you already made: For a recording made in Notes on a supported Mac, the transcript is already there: double-click the recording to open it, then use the More menu to add or copy it. Apple’s Notes guide doesn’t cover audio files from elsewhere. If the recording is in Voice Memos on your Mac, click it, then click the Transcription button: Voice Memos transcribes recordings with speech, older ones included, where the feature is available. Select the text, Control-click it, choose Copy and paste it into a note. VoiceSnap Pro can’t help here, because it does not transcribe audio files.
Voice typing doesn’t work in iCloud.com Notes on Windows: Use a browser Apple supports for iCloud.com: Edge 130 or later, Chrome 130 or later in desktop mode, or Firefox 128 or later. Click inside the note’s text, not the search field, check that you are online, then press Windows key + H. On Windows 10 the same keys open the older dictation toolbar; say “stop dictation” to end it. If a note is missing, it may be stored On My Mac or in another account, which iCloud.com doesn’t show.
VoiceSnap Pro text doesn’t appear in the note: Click in the note body so the insertion point blinks there, not in the notes list or the search field, and keep Notes or the iCloud.com tab in front until the text arrives. If the note is locked, unlock it first. Check that you are online. On a Mac, VoiceSnap Pro needs Microphone, Accessibility and Input Monitoring under System Settings → Privacy & Security; quit and reopen it after you turn on the last two. On Windows, check Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone, including access for desktop apps. If the words show up in VoiceSnap Pro’s History pop-up, nothing is lost: click back into the note and use Paste last dictation.

Choose what fits

Which way to get your voice into Notes

For a short note typed as you talk, Mac Dictation is enough, and it takes “new line” for lists. Use Record Audio when the recording itself matters, such as a lecture or a long brainstorm you want to replay: Notes keeps the audio and a transcript, and Apple Intelligence can summarize it, though not in every language or region, and usage limits may apply. On an iPhone, tap the Dictate button on the keyboard, or record audio in a note, which an iPhone 12 or later also transcribes. On Windows, open icloud.com/notes and press Windows key + H.

Where VoiceSnap Pro fits

VoiceSnap Pro fits when you keep notes on a Mac and a Windows PC and want one held shortcut that works in Notes, on iCloud.com and in your other apps. Going quiet doesn’t switch it off, Clean up dictation drops fillers and slips you correct out loud from dictations of up to about five minutes without adding or rewording anything, and personal vocabulary helps it spell the names in your notes. It needs an internet connection, adds no line breaks, takes no spoken commands and cannot transcribe a recording you already have. It has voice notes of its own, but those live in VoiceSnap Pro, not in Apple Notes. It starts with a free allowance, no card.

Official guidance checked October 19, 2026.

Questions about dictating in Apple Notes

: Yes, in two ways. Dictation types your words into a note as you speak, on a Mac or an iPhone. Record Audio saves a recording in the note and transcribes it, on a Mac with M1 or later or an iPhone 12 or later, in supported languages; you then add the transcript to the note. On Windows, use Notes on iCloud.com with Windows voice typing.
: Turn on Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard, then click Enable. In Notes, click where the text should go, choose Edit → Start Dictation or press your Dictation shortcut, and speak. Press Escape to stop. To keep the audio too, click the Attachment button in the note’s toolbar, choose Record Audio and click Record; on macOS Sequoia, click the Record Audio button in the toolbar instead. Transcribing a recording needs a Mac with M1 or later.
: To type by voice, turn on Enable Dictation in Settings → General → Keyboard, then tap the Dictate button on the keyboard in a note. To keep the audio too, open a note, tap the Attachments button, tap Record Audio, then tap Record. Swipe down from the top of the screen to take notes while it records. Transcription needs an iPhone 12 or later with its language set to one Apple supports, and recording summaries need an iPhone with Apple Intelligence: iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max or any iPhone 16 or later.
: Apple lists ten device languages for audio transcription in Notes on Mac and iPhone: English (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UK or US), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified or Traditional Chinese. It isn’t available in every region. If the Transcription button is missing, Apple says the device either doesn’t meet the minimum requirements or didn’t detect a supported language.
: Yes, in a browser. iCloud for Windows doesn’t include Notes, so open icloud.com/notes in Edge 130 or later, Chrome 130 or later in desktop mode, or Firefox 128 or later and sign in. Click in a note and press Windows key + H to use Windows voice typing, which needs an internet connection. You can’t record audio on iCloud.com, and it shows only notes stored in iCloud. VoiceSnap Pro also types into iCloud.com notes on Windows.
: On a Mac with M1 or later, double-click a recording made in Notes, then click Transcription on macOS 27 or Transcribe Audio on macOS Sequoia; on macOS Tahoe the transcript opens straight away. Choose More → Add Transcript to Note on macOS 27, or More → Copy Transcript on Tahoe or Sequoia and paste it into the note. Apple’s Notes guide doesn’t describe transcribing an audio file recorded somewhere else. Voice Memos on a Mac transcribes its own recordings that contain speech, older ones included, where the feature is available, and you can copy that text into a note. VoiceSnap Pro doesn’t transcribe audio files.
: Dictation and Record Audio are free: Dictation is built into macOS and iOS, and Record Audio into Notes. iPhone dictation runs on the device without an internet connection in many languages. On a Mac, the text below Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard tells you whether your speech is processed on the Mac. Apple’s Notes guide doesn’t say whether audio transcription needs a connection. Windows voice typing and VoiceSnap Pro both need the internet.