Live captions and translation for Mac.
Turn speech from calls, videos and your microphone into on-screen text. Translate supported speech with Pro. Speech recognition runs on your Mac.
Upgrade to Pro — $24.99
One app. Five ways to use speech.
Follow it live, understand another language, or keep the words for later.
Read speech from calls, videos and your microphone. Live captions turn system audio and microphone speech into readable text. Adjust caption size, show speaker labels, and choose the desktop workspace, notch, Focus, or Timeline.
Setup guide
Read supported speech in another language. Translate live captions, saved transcripts, and Dictation in supported languages. Keep original text beside translations and use downloaded language packs offline on macOS 15+.
Setup guide
Turn audio and video into saved transcripts. Import audio or video files, or record a live session. Search the transcript, replay saved audio, add translations, and export text as TXT, Markdown, or JSON.
Setup guide
Speak to type in supported, non-secure Mac text fields. Use a keyboard shortcut to dictate into supported standard, non-secure Mac text fields. Add names to your Personal Dictionary, translate your Dictation, and recover previous text from local history. Requires microphone and Accessibility permissions.
Setup guide
Record an idea and continue the same note later. Record voice notes with both text and audio saved locally. Continue a saved note with another recording, replay its clips, and export the text or combined audio.
Setup guide
Caption the audio you already use.
Choose app audio, your microphone, or both. ScreenCaptureKit captures audio that macOS makes available; no meeting bot, host controls or browser extension is needed. These are examples, not native integrations or a whitelist.
Meetings and work
Calls and communities
- FaceTime
- Discord
- WhatsApp
- Telegram
Browsers and video
Audio and local media
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- Apple Music
- QuickTime Player
- VLC
Protected media, unusual audio routing, missing permissions or audio unavailable to macOS can prevent capture. A listed app does not guarantee every stream, device or configuration. Caption spoken tracks in media apps; music alone is not useful to caption.
Learn more
Why people use NotchLive
Private captions for accessibility, meetings, and language.
Make speech from your Mac easier to follow with readable captions.
Glance at recent captions to catch the words you missed.
Follow supported speech in your preferred language with Pro translation.
Read captions of Mac audio when your surroundings are noisy.
Follow calls and meetings without adding a bot.
Read along with spoken videos, lectures and podcasts.
Features
Get started in three steps.
Install NotchLive
Download the app and move it to Applications. Works on Macs with or without a notch.
Prepare your Mac
Follow setup for audio permissions and download a speech model. Prepare language packs if you want translation.
Choose your task
Select captions, translation, Dictation or Notes, or import a recording into the workspace.
Speech stays local
Captions, transcripts and recordings are processed on your Mac. No meeting bot joins your calls.
Guide · Privacy
Simple, honest pricing
Free captions. Pro for the rest. One payment, no subscription.
After purchasing, paste your license key into Settings → License → Activate.
Pricing · View Team Packs · Education Pricing
Frequently asked questions
Does it work with Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams?
Choose app audio, your microphone, or both. ScreenCaptureKit captures audio that macOS makes available; no meeting bot, host controls or browser extension is needed. These are examples, not native integrations or a whitelist. Protected media, unusual audio routing, missing permissions or audio unavailable to macOS can prevent capture. A listed app does not guarantee every stream, device or configuration. Caption spoken tracks in media apps; music alone is not useful to caption.
Does it need an internet connection?
Speech recognition and speaker attribution run on your Mac. Downloads, updates, license checks and payments use network services. Optional anonymous app diagnostics and website analytics are separate from speech processing; diagnostics exclude audio, captions, transcripts, translations and notes. Read the privacy policy for details.
What languages does it support?
Whisper AI transcribes speech in 90+ languages with automatic detection. For best results with non-English audio, use the Medium or larger model. Translation to 20 languages is available via Apple Translation (requires macOS 15+).
Does it work on Macs without a notch?
Works great! The caption bar appears at the top center of your screen on any Mac.
Does it require Apple Silicon?
Apple Silicon is recommended for best performance with on-device AI, but Intel Macs are also supported.
How is NotchLive different from Apple Live Captions?
NotchLive can display captions in the MacBook notch or in a floating Focus or Timeline window. Timeline lets you scroll, search, copy, and export the current live transcript while captions continue arriving. NotchLive also adds translated speech, session recording, and saved transcript export. Both use on-device AI for privacy.
What is free, and what does Pro add?
Live captions are free for system and microphone audio, with caption browsing and search. You can choose any Whisper model, use keyboard shortcuts and show automatic speaker labels on Apple silicon.
Pro is a one-time purchase with no subscription. It adds live translation, recording transcription, Dictation, Voice Notes, saved sessions, transcript export, participant review and meeting tools. Meeting Intelligence requires a supported Mac with Apple Intelligence enabled.
PricingCan I transcribe audio and video files?
Import audio or video files, or record a live session. Search the transcript, replay saved audio, add translations, and export text as TXT, Markdown, or JSON.
How does Dictation work in other Mac apps?
Use a keyboard shortcut to dictate into supported standard, non-secure Mac text fields. Add names to your Personal Dictionary, translate your Dictation, and recover previous text from local history. Requires microphone and Accessibility permissions.
Can I continue a saved voice note?
Record voice notes with both text and audio saved locally. Continue a saved note with another recording, replay its clips, and export the text or combined audio.
What do I need before getting started?
macOS 14+ · Translation: macOS 15+ · Speaker labels: Apple silicon Follow setup for audio permissions and download a speech model. Prepare language packs if you want translation.
How do I activate my Pro license?
After purchasing, paste your license key into Settings → License → Activate.
Changelog
Recent NotchLive updates.
-
More ways to work with your sessions.
NotchLive 1.12 can save audio with recordings, import audio or video, keep transcript translations in language tabs, and start work from a new Home screen.
-
Live and saved speech, together.
NotchLive 1.11.0 makes the app window the main workspace for captions, sessions, meetings, notes, dictations, and Settings. The notch widget remains available as a compact caption view.
-
Speak. Translate. Type anywhere.
Dictate into focused Mac text fields with configurable shortcuts, translated dictation, a Personal Dictionary, local recovery, and a compact floating bar.
-
Speaker-aware meetings
On-device speaker labels, participant review, Meeting Analytics, cleaner exports, and optional local AI connections.
View all release notes
macOS 14+ · Translation: macOS 15+ · Speaker labels: Apple silicon
NotchLive