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FeaturesCaptions, dictation, meetings, translation, notes, sharing, and accessibility tools. How it worksFrom sound to words, on your Mac. Translated CaptionsTranslated captions for meetings, videos, and calls. PricingFree, Pro, Team Packs, and education pricing. TeamsTeam Packs for global calls and shared activations.

Use Cases

Use CasesPrivate captions, dictation, translation, and transcripts for real work. Zoom Captions on MacCaption Zoom without host settings or meeting bots. Hearing AccessibilityPrivate captions for Mac audio, calls, and lectures. Legal TranscriptionLocal-first captions and transcripts for legal work. Research InterviewsFollow interviews and keep local transcripts.

Resources

GuideSet up captions, translation, audio modes, and exports. Compatible AppsSee which Mac apps and audio sources NotchLive can caption. BlogGuides for live captions, translation, and private transcription. Best Live Caption AppsCompare private and cloud caption tools. Release NotesSee what changed recently. AboutLearn who makes NotchLive and why it exists.
HOW NOTCHLIVE WORKS

From sound to words.

Calls, videos, and your own voice become text you can follow. Speech recognition runs on your Mac. You decide what to save.

Sound → words, on your Mac
Sample · live captions

Let's ship the update on Friday.

A playful illustration of the journey, with an invented sample. The console represents how the app works.

Explore the journey

Select a stage to highlight its part in the console, or follow a sample sentence as it becomes text. You choose what to listen to and what to keep.

THE EVERYDAY VERSION

Four steps. One familiar Mac.

Here is what happens between hearing a sentence and having the words in front of you.

  1. Start with the sound you want to follow.

    NotchLive listens to audio that macOS makes available. Choose app audio for the other side of a call or a video, the microphone for your own speech, or both for a conversation. It works across apps without a meeting bot joining your call.

    Allow the macOS permissions for the audio sources you choose. Protected media or unusual audio routing can prevent capture.

    Explore compatible apps

  2. Your Mac does the listening and the thinking.

    During setup, you download a speech model: the part that recognizes spoken words. After that, your Mac runs speech recognition locally. You can choose a smaller model for speed or a larger one for more demanding audio.

    Clear speech helps. Background noise, overlapping voices, and accents can affect the words you get, so review anything you need to rely on.

    Read the setup guide

  3. The words appear while the conversation continues.

    Follow captions in the desktop workspace, at the top of your screen, or in Focus view. Timeline lets you look back through the current conversation. Captions update as speech is recognized, so the latest words may be refined.

    Pro adds translation through Apple Translation on macOS 15 or later, with supported languages and downloaded language packs.

    Learn about translation

  4. Save a record when the conversation matters.

    With Pro, record a session to create a saved local transcript, or import an audio or video file to transcribe later. Search the words, review speakers, translate, and export. Keeping the session audio is a separate choice you can turn on.

    An unrecorded live Timeline is temporary for the current run. Start a recorded session when you want a transcript to return to later.

    Explore transcripts and exports

BEYOND LIVE CAPTIONS

Put the words to work.

With Pro, the same local speech recognition helps you write, remember, and review.

Talk instead of type.

Dictation turns your voice into text in supported text fields. Useful for messages, drafts, and the thought you want to get down quickly.

Explore dictation

Catch an idea while it is fresh.

Voice Notes let you speak an idea and save it for later. Keep the recording and the words together in your local workspace.

Explore Voice Notes

Return to the useful parts.

Search a saved transcript and review what was said. On supported Macs with Apple Intelligence enabled, Meeting Intelligence can help find key points and actions.

Explore Meeting Intelligence

PRIVATE BY DESIGN

The speech stays close.

Your Mac processes the speech. Saved transcripts and notes live locally. You choose when to export or share them with another app or AI tool.

Downloads, updates, license checks, and optional diagnostics can use network services. App diagnostics exclude your audio, captions, transcripts, translations, and notes.

Read the privacy policy

A few things you might wonder.

Does a bot join my meeting?

No. NotchLive listens to audio available on your Mac. You do not need a meeting bot, a browser extension, or host caption controls. Your chosen audio sources still need the relevant macOS permissions.

Can I use it without the internet?

Speech recognition runs on your Mac once the speech model is downloaded. Translation also needs its supported language packs installed. Downloads, updates, license checks, payments, and optional diagnostics can use the internet.

Does my Mac need a notch?

No. The caption bar appears at the top center of your screen on Macs without a notch too. You can also use the desktop workspace or Focus view.

What can I try for free?

Live captions are free, including app audio, microphone audio, and the available speech models. Pro adds translation, saved sessions, file transcription, dictation, Voice Notes, and more. See the pricing page for the current plan details.

Compare Free and Pro

READY WHEN YOU ARE

Try it with your next conversation.

Download NotchLive, prepare a speech model, and choose your audio. Live captions are free.

Download NotchLiveFollow the setup guide