How to dictate on Mac with your own local LLM (Ollama / LM Studio)

If you already run a local model on your Mac, you can use it to clean up your voice input — no cloud account, no API key, nothing leaving your machine.

Here's how that works with Sona.

Why a local LLM for dictation

Raw speech-to-text is rarely ready to send. You get filler words, run-on sentences, and spoken phrasing. A language model can tidy that up in one pass. Running that model locally means the cleanup happens on your hardware — fast, free per use, and private.

How Sona finds your local model

Start your local runtime as usual, then let Sona detect it. There are no connection forms to wrestle with.

  • Run a model in Ollama, LM Studio, or llama.cpp on localhost.
  • Sona auto-detects the running endpoint over the OpenAI-compatible API.
  • Pick the mode you want (clean up, translate, summarize) and start talking.

Speak, and it lands in the app you're in

Press the hotkey, speak, press again. Sona transcribes on-device, sends the text to your local model for the mode you chose, and types the result into whatever app is focused. Your editor, your chat client, your email — wherever the cursor is.

No key required — and cloud is optional

With a local model there's no API key and no account. If you'd rather use a cloud model for a particular task, you can bring your own key (OpenAI, Claude, Groq, and other OpenAI-compatible endpoints) — but it's your choice, not a requirement.

Pricing and platform

Sona is ¥990/month with a 7-day free trial, or a one-time ¥26,400 (~$176) launch license (regularly ¥52,800). macOS, Apple Silicon recommended, Japanese-native and English UI.

FAQ

Which local runtimes work?

Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp — anything exposing an OpenAI-compatible endpoint on localhost.

Does the audio stay on my Mac?

Yes. Transcription is on-device, and with a local model the cleanup is too — fully offline.

Is there a free trial?

Yes — a 7-day free trial.

Sona runs on macOS (Apple Silicon recommended). The 7-day free trial is the quickest way to know if it fits.

Download Sona / start the free trial