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14 days free on the Monthly plan. Cancel before the trial ends and you are not charged. The trial starts at checkout on parlohub.com.
Learn moreParlo
On-device dictation, meeting notes and voice commands for Mac
Beginner
What is Parlo?
Parlo is a Mac app that combines local dictation, meeting notes without a bot, and alpha voice commands in one menu bar utility. Speech recognition runs on-device on Apple Silicon, meeting notes can be written by Parlo Cloud or a local model, and pricing is $8 per month or $80 lifetime for early buyers.
Parlo is a macOS utility that bundles three voice features into a single menu bar app: system-wide dictation, bot-free meeting notes, and voice commands that operate the Mac. Speech recognition runs locally on Apple Silicon hardware, and the company states that audio never leaves the machine. The app requires macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, and Intel Macs are not supported. Dictation is the core loop. You hold the fn key (or any shortcut you assign) in any application, speak, and release; text lands at the cursor with fillers, false starts and spoken self-corrections cleaned up. Parlo also adapts output to surrounding text, continuing a sentence in lowercase, capitalizing a new one, and spacing back-to-back dictations. Meeting notes work differently: Parlo notices a call through a calendar invite or sustained microphone activity, offers to record, captures mic and system audio locally, and writes a transcript plus structured notes to a folder on the Mac. No bot joins the call. Voice commands, labeled Alpha, cover opening apps, setting reminders, file operations, quick lookups, and reading-only search across Spotlight files, Apple Notes, Apple Mail and the calendar. On privacy, there is a real distinction worth understanding. Dictation, voice commands and audio capture stay on-device and work offline after a one-time model download of a couple of gigabytes. Meeting notes are a choice made at setup: Parlo Cloud (the default, included with the plan) sends transcript text, a title, times and speaker names to a relay that stores nothing and returns notes, while the on-device model writes notes locally without a connection. Users can switch at any time, or supply their own OpenAI, Anthropic or compatible key. The obvious comparison is Wispr Flow, which transcribes in the cloud, and Superwhisper, which covers dictation and meetings with a local mode. Parlo's argument is the combination plus local speech recognition, at $8 per month or an $80 one-time founder tier. The main constraints are the Mac-only, Apple Silicon-only footprint, English-language documentation, and a voice command layer still in alpha.
How do you use Parlo?
1Start the free trial
Choose the Monthly plan on the site, which is free for 14 days. Cancelling before the trial ends means no charge. The Founder First 100 tier is a one-time purchase if you prefer no recurring billing.2Download, install and grant permissions
Drag Parlo into Applications and open it. Setup walks through microphone, keyboard and accessibility permissions, then downloads the on-device models once (a couple of gigabytes).3Pick your notes engine
At setup, choose Parlo Cloud for hosted meeting notes (included, transcript text only) or the on-device model for fully offline notes. You can change this later in Settings, Meetings.4Dictate into any app
Hold fn, speak, and release in any macOS application. For a different key, open Settings, General and assign a modifier, a key combination, or a second shortcut for external keyboards.5Record a meeting
Let Parlo detect a call from your calendar or microphone activity and accept the prompt to record. When the call ends it offers to stop, then writes the transcript and notes to a folder on your Mac.6Sign in on later machines
Existing members use the sign-in page to reach the download for a new Mac.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Speech recognition and dictation run on the Mac, so audio stays local and dictation works offline after the model downloadAI
- Three separate jobs (dictation, meeting notes, voice commands) are handled in one app instead of a stack of subscriptionsAI
- No bot joins meetings: Parlo records mic and system audio locally and writes notes into a folder you ownAI
- Cleanup is genuinely useful, removing fillers and false starts and fitting dictated text to the surrounding sentenceAI
- Clear choice between hosted notes and a fully on-device model, plus support for your own API keyAI
Cons
- Mac only and Apple Silicon only, with macOS 15 as a hard floor, so Intel and older machines are excludedAI
- Voice commands are labeled Alpha and the roadmap lists more commands and app-aware actions as still to comeAI
- Each person needs their own license; team plans are set up by hand rather than self-serveAI
- Mail search covers only Apple Mail, not Gmail or Outlook in a browserAI
- On-device note writing depends on the local model, and the product documentation gives no detail on output qualityAI
How much does Parlo cost?
Pricing
Monthly is $8 per month with a 14-day free trial, and the price is locked while the subscription stays active. Founder First 100 is $80 once for lifetime access. Teams are priced by headcount and activated per work email; approved charities and nonprofits get Parlo free.
Learn moreSupport
No public help centre is listed on the homepage. The Monthly and Founder plans include a direct line to the founder, and team rollouts are handled by the founder through the teams contact form.
Integrations
Read-only search covers Spotlight files, Apple Notes, Mail and the calendar. Notes can publish to iCloud Drive, a network share or Google Drive as a Google Doc or markdown. Polish opens transcripts in ChatGPT or Claude; your own OpenAI or Anthropic key is supported.
Features
System-wide dictation with filler removal, spoken punctuation, spoken self-corrections and cursor-aware formatting; bot-free meeting recording with transcripts, notes and follow-up drafts; alpha voice commands for apps, reminders, file operations, lookups, and read-only search across Spotlight, Apple Notes, Apple Mail and the calendar.
Frequently asked questions about Parlo
How much does Parlo cost?
Monthly is $8 per month with a 14-day free trial, and the price is locked while the subscription stays active. Founder First 100 is $80 once for lifetime access. Teams are priced by headcount and activated per work email; approved charities and nonprofits get Parlo free.Does Parlo offer a free trial?
14 days free on the Monthly plan. Cancel before the trial ends and you are not charged. The trial starts at checkout on parlohub.com.How do you use Parlo?
The walkthrough on this page covers 6 steps: 1. Start the free trial 2. Download, install and grant permissions 3. Pick your notes engine 4. Dictate into any app 5. Record a meeting 6. Sign in on later machines.What platforms does Parlo support?
Parlo is available on MacOS.What does Parlo integrate with?
Read-only search covers Spotlight files, Apple Notes, Mail and the calendar. Notes can publish to iCloud Drive, a network share or Google Drive as a Google Doc or markdown. Polish opens transcripts in ChatGPT or Claude; your own OpenAI or Anthropic key is supported.What are the limitations of Parlo?
Mac only and Apple Silicon only, with macOS 15 as a hard floor, so Intel and older machines are excluded. Voice commands are labeled Alpha and the roadmap lists more commands and app-aware actions as still to come. Each person needs their own license; team plans are set up by hand rather than self-serve.
Status
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Added10/21/2026
Platforms
MacOS
Pricing
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