What Talkativ is
Talkativ is a voice-to-text app for Mac and Windows that works in any app. Press Ctrl + Space on Windows, ⌥ Option + Space on a Mac, speak naturally, and your words appear where your cursor is, moments after you stop speaking.
It is built to stay out of your way:
- Works everywhere. Any app, any text box, no plug-ins.
- Writes tidily. Punctuation and capital letters come by default. Filler words are cleaned up.
- Gets your words right. Add names, technical terms and jargon to Vocabulary, and Talkativ listens out for them. It is a word list, not voice training.
- Genius Mode. Highlight text, press Ctrl + D on Windows, ⌥ Option + D on a Mac and say how to change it. Part of the Max plan.
- Stays quiet. It waits in the system tray on Windows, or the menu bar on a Mac, until you need it.
It works in 100 languages, and in our own testing it is highly accurate in 56 of them. See the full list of languages.
Why this exists
My mum is a high-energy professional. Sharp, driven, always moving.
Then she suffered a massive stroke.
She had to re-learn how to walk. How to talk. How to balance. The woman who once led boardroom meetings now struggled with a keyboard. I watched her type, one slow, painful letter at a time, and I saw her frustration.
She is still driven. Still determined. But something so fundamental had become so hard, and so time-consuming.
So I built Talkativ for her.
Now she uses it every day. She can write emails, send messages, and express herself freely again, just by speaking. It gave her some of her independence back.
If it could help her, it could help anyone who finds typing difficult.
– Danesh
You can read more about this on the page about typing after a stroke.
Who Talkativ is for
Talkativ is for anyone who finds typing difficult, slow or painful. Some people find speaking easier than typing, and that is the whole idea.
If typing is hard or painful
- Stroke survivors rebuilding their independence – see typing after a stroke
- People living with RSI, carpal tunnel or chronic pain – see typing with RSI
- People with arthritis in their hands
- People with dyslexia, dysgraphia or other learning differences – see speech-to-text for dyslexia
If you want to work faster
- Professionals buried in emails
- Writers and creators who think faster than they type
- Developers who want to dictate documentation and prompts
- Anyone who has ever wished they could just talk instead of type
The best accessibility tools often become everyday tools. Dropped kerbs were made for wheelchair users, and now everyone with a pushchair or a suitcase uses them. Talkativ was built for accessibility, and I hope it is simply better for everyone.
Our philosophy: your voice comes first
Typing is a 150-year-old technology. Your voice is far older. Most people find it natural to speak, and modern AI finally makes voice input accurate enough to be practical.
Four promises guide how Talkativ is built:
- Respect your privacy. Our privacy policy says we never use your data to train AI models. Read it on the privacy page.
- Stay out of your way. Invisible until you need it.
- Price fairly. A free plan with 2,200 words a week, and affordable paid plans. See pricing.
- Put accessibility first. It is where Talkativ started, and it stays foundational.
Meet the founder
Hi, I’m Danesh.
I built Talkativ because someone I love needed it. What started as a personal project to help my mum after her stroke has grown into something I hope will help people around the world.
I believe the best software comes from solving real problems for real people. Market research and focus groups matter, but when you are solving a problem for yourself, or for people you know, you know you are onto something.
My background is in product management. I have spent years building products at scale, from healthcare apps that helped people manage chronic conditions to enterprise tools at Amazon. I have an MBA, an MSc in Infection and Immunity, and a BSc in Biomedical Sciences.
But Talkativ is different. It is personal. I built it entirely solo, teaching myself AI-assisted coding and design along the way, because I saw a real need that was not being met.
If Talkativ has helped you, or if you have ideas on how to make it better, I would love to hear from you. Email [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.
Try Talkativ
Talkativ is free for 2,200 words a week, with no card needed. Download it for Windows or Mac, read about Talkativ for Mac, or go back to the homepage to see it in action. Questions? Read the FAQ.