Hushbird

Hushbird is a macOS app that combines speech-to-text dictation, text-to-speech reading, and translation between languages in a single application.

A hotkey starts dictation, and the transcribed text is inserted wherever the cursor is, in any app. A cleanup pass removes filler words and fixes punctuation. Selecting text and pressing the reader key speaks it aloud. Pressing the translate key dictates in one language and types another, or reads a highlighted passage aloud in the language of your choice.

Transcription, speech synthesis and translation all run locally on Apple Silicon. No audio or text is sent to a server, no account is required, and the app works offline once set up. It detects the machine's specification and picks an appropriate model automatically.

Dictation recognises 25 European languages and works out which one is being spoken. The reader covers about forty languages: Hushbird's own voices handle English, Spanish, French, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese across 21 voices, and anything else uses a voice macOS already has. Translation covers twenty languages in either direction and requires macOS 26.

Other features include a personal dictionary for names and terminology, writing modes that adapt to the app being dictated into, and a dictation history. A free iPhone companion app captures speech away from the desk and hands it to the Mac over the local network.

Licensing is a one-time purchase covering two Macs, with a seven-day trial and no credit card required. It is $39.99 until 1 September 2026 and $79.99 after that. Apple Silicon is required; Intel Macs are not supported.