A native menu bar dictation app for macOS. CursorTalk runs fully on-device, supports multilingual dictation, and inserts text where your cursor already is.
Hey Product Hunt,
I built CursorTalk because Apple Dictation never felt good enough for real work, and most alternatives turned voice input into another monthly subscription.
CursorTalk is a native menu bar dictation app for macOS that runs fully on-device, stays private, and lets you start dictation from anywhere with one shortcut. When you stop speaking, it inserts the text directly into the app you’re already using.
What makes CursorTalk different:
• fully optimized on-device experience
• works across Mac apps
• multilingual dictation
• simple lifetime pricing instead of another subscription
It started as a tool for myself, then became something I kept using every day for AI chats, writing, coding, and quick notes.
If you tried CursorTalk today, what would you use it for most?
AI chats, writing, coding, notes, or something else?
Love seeing another native menu bar app done right. I also build a menu bar utility for Mac, so I know how tricky it is to get the UX right in that tiny popover space — you nailed the simplicity here.
Two things that really stand out to me: fully on-device processing (privacy matters, especially for dictation), and lifetime pricing instead of yet another subscription. As someone who chose the same pricing model for my own app, I genuinely respect that decision. It's harder to sustain as a solo dev, but users remember it.
Quick question @axxshen_dev — how are you handling the Accessibility permission prompt? That's always the awkward part of menu bar apps that need system-level access. Curious if you found a smooth way to onboard users through that.
On-device dictation that actually works across apps is super underrated. Love the “talk once, type anywhere” approach.
Feels like a real productivity unlock.
How accurate is it in noisy environments?
this is actually nice tbh. dictation sounds simple, but once it gets slow, awkward, or subscription-heavy, people stop using it fast. the fact that this works locally and drops text right where the cursor already is makes it feel way more practical.
curious, did people start using it more for proper writing work or those quick random thoughts during the day?
This feels genuinely useful, especially for people who already spend most of their day jumping between apps and just want dictation to work without friction. The on-device part also makes it much more appealing, because privacy and speed both matter a lot for something you use constantly.
Curious, what kind of use case are people sticking with the most after trying it, writing, AI chats, or quick everyday notes?
axxshen