I'm Steve. I make EmberType.

Founder, EmberVista — for those who think faster than they type

EmberType is a one-person product. There's no growth team, no subscription-revenue spreadsheet, and no investor asking why the app doesn't collect data. There's me, a Mac, and a dictation app I use every single day — including to write most of what you'll read on this blog.

I built EmberType because the dictation market on the Mac split into two bad options: Apple's built-in dictation, which hasn't meaningfully improved in years, and a wave of subscription cloud apps that send your voice — your half-formed thoughts, your work, your private notes — to someone else's servers for $10–15 a month, forever. I wanted the third option: Whisper-grade accuracy that runs entirely on the Mac, paid for once.

What EmberType believes

• Local isn't a fallback. It's the point. Transcription happens on your Apple Silicon chip using OpenAI's open-source Whisper models. Turn your Wi-Fi off — EmberType doesn't notice.
• Software you buy should be yours. $39 once, three Macs, done. No subscription, no account, no email required to try it.
• Tools should wait, not intrude. EmberType transcribes what you say. It doesn't summarize you, autocomplete you, or "enhance" you unless you ask it to.
• Open where it counts. EmberType's source code is public on GitHub (GPL v3). You don't have to take my word for what it does with your audio — you can read it.

About this blog

Every article here is written from the builder's chair. When I compare EmberType to Wispr Flow, MacWhisper, or Dragon, it's because I've run them on my own machines — and when a competitor does something better than we do, the article says so. I'd rather you trust the blog than click every link in it.

If you spot something out of date or just want to talk Mac dictation, email me at contact@embertype.com. I read everything.