A native menu bar dictation app for macOS. CursorTalk runs fully on-device, supports multilingual dictation, and inserts text where your cursor already is.
Hey Product Hunt,
I built CursorTalk because Apple Dictation never felt good enough for real work, and most alternatives turned voice input into another monthly subscription.
CursorTalk is a native menu bar dictation app for macOS that runs fully on-device, stays private, and lets you start dictation from anywhere with one shortcut. When you stop speaking, it inserts the text directly into the app you’re already using.
What makes CursorTalk different:
• fully optimized on-device experience
• works across Mac apps
• multilingual dictation
• simple lifetime pricing instead of another subscription
It started as a tool for myself, then became something I kept using every day for AI chats, writing, coding, and quick notes.
If you tried CursorTalk today, what would you use it for most?
AI chats, writing, coding, notes, or something else?
Hey!@nuseir_yassin1 CursorTalk is focused purely on voice dictation, text expansion isn't part of it yet. I think you'd need a separate tool for that atm!
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On-device dictation that actually works across apps is super underrated. Love the “talk once, type anywhere” approach.
@faisal_saeed001 Thanks for asking. In noisy environments, accuracy is still strong for normal office/home background noise, and macOS Voice Isolation helps a lot when the mic is active. In very loud settings, accuracy can drop a bit, but it remains usable for short-to-medium dictation. We’re continuing to tune this it stays reliable with some post-processing.
Love seeing another native menu bar app done right. I also build a menu bar utility for Mac, so I know how tricky it is to get the UX right in that tiny popover space — you nailed the simplicity here.
Two things that really stand out to me: fully on-device processing (privacy matters, especially for dictation), and lifetime pricing instead of yet another subscription. As someone who chose the same pricing model for my own app, I genuinely respect that decision. It's harder to sustain as a solo dev, but users remember it.
Quick question @axxshen_dev — how are you handling the Accessibility permission prompt? That's always the awkward part of menu bar apps that need system-level access. Curious if you found a smooth way to onboard users through that.
@lzhgus Really appreciate this, thank you. Accessibility is definitely the trickiest part of onboarding in this category because it’s such a sensitive permission. We try to make it as clear as possible why it’s needed and exactly how it’s used at runtime. If access isn’t granted, we trigger the macOS Accessibility prompt and immediately deep-link users directly to Privacy & Security > Accessibility so they can enable it without digging through settings. Reducing friction here is a priority.
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Solid little tool, especially for the price. Would love text expansion features down the line and maybe some style cleanup like Wispr flow does, but for straight up accurate local dictation it does exactly what it says.
Replies
CursorTalk
Nas.io
Does it also have text expanding feature?
CursorTalk
Hey!@nuseir_yassin1 CursorTalk is focused purely on voice dictation, text expansion isn't part of it yet. I think you'd need a separate tool for that atm!
On-device dictation that actually works across apps is super underrated. Love the “talk once, type anywhere” approach.
Feels like a real productivity unlock.
How accurate is it in noisy environments?
CursorTalk
@faisal_saeed001 Thanks for asking. In noisy environments, accuracy is still strong for normal office/home background noise, and macOS Voice Isolation helps a lot when the mic is active. In very loud settings, accuracy can drop a bit, but it remains usable for short-to-medium dictation. We’re continuing to tune this it stays reliable with some post-processing.
Capso
Love seeing another native menu bar app done right. I also build a menu bar utility for Mac, so I know how tricky it is to get the UX right in that tiny popover space — you nailed the simplicity here.
Two things that really stand out to me: fully on-device processing (privacy matters, especially for dictation), and lifetime pricing instead of yet another subscription. As someone who chose the same pricing model for my own app, I genuinely respect that decision. It's harder to sustain as a solo dev, but users remember it.
Quick question @axxshen_dev — how are you handling the Accessibility permission prompt? That's always the awkward part of menu bar apps that need system-level access. Curious if you found a smooth way to onboard users through that.
CursorTalk
@lzhgus Really appreciate this, thank you. Accessibility is definitely the trickiest part of onboarding in this category because it’s such a sensitive permission. We try to make it as clear as possible why it’s needed and exactly how it’s used at runtime. If access isn’t granted, we trigger the macOS Accessibility prompt and immediately deep-link users directly to Privacy & Security > Accessibility so they can enable it without digging through settings. Reducing friction here is a priority.
Solid little tool, especially for the price. Would love text expansion features down the line and maybe some style cleanup like Wispr flow does, but for straight up accurate local dictation it does exactly what it says.