Free vs Pro

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The short version: Free has every feature. Live dictation has a 30-minute monthly budget, and file transcription is capped at the first 10 seconds of each file. Pro is a one-time purchase that lifts both limits. No subscriptions. No accounts.

What’s in Free

Everything. Hold-to-record, double-tap latch, file transcription, postprocessing rules, every language, every appearance setting, every microphone option. There are no “Pro-only” toggles hiding behind a paywall.

Free has two limits on how much you can transcribe:

  • Live dictation has a 30-minute monthly budget. The menu bar shows your usage, and the meter resets on the 1st of each calendar month.
  • File transcription is capped at the first 10 seconds of each file, so you can try it before deciding whether to upgrade.

What Pro unlocks

  • Unlimited live dictation. No monthly meter. Hold the hotkey for as long as you want, or latch it and walk through a five-minute thought.
  • No 10-second cap on file transcription. Drop in a 90-minute interview or a 30-minute lecture and get the whole thing.

That’s the whole feature list. Same model, same accuracy, same on-device processing.

How much does Pro cost?

TongueType Pro is $19.99 USD, one-time. No subscription, no recurring charges. One license activates Pro on up to 5 Macs.

Buying Pro

Click Unlock Pro… in the menu bar, then click Buy a license. Checkout opens on Polar, our payment provider. After you pay, your license key arrives by email within a minute or two.

Unlocking your license

Open TongueType, click Unlock Pro… in the menu bar, paste your license key, and click Unlock. Both limits lift immediately. No relaunch needed.

Using Pro on another Mac

One license activates Pro on up to 5 Macs. Install TongueType on the other Mac, paste the same key into Unlock Pro…, and you’re done. To move your license to a different Mac, open the Unlock Pro… window on the Mac you’re retiring and click Deactivate this device, which frees up a slot. Lost your key? and we’ll help you out.

Refunds

If Pro isn’t working out, we’re happy to refund you within 30 days of purchase, no detailed explanation required. Beyond 30 days, we still review refund requests on a case-by-case basis when something legitimate has gone wrong. with your order details and we’ll take it from there.

How the free limits work, exactly

For live dictation, every transcription on the free tier counts against a 30-minute budget that resets at the start of each calendar month. The menu bar shows the current month’s usage, and you’ll see a one-time notice as you cross 50%, 80%, and 100% of the budget. Once you’ve hit the cap, dictation pauses for the rest of the month or until you upgrade.

For file transcription, the file is trimmed to its first 10 seconds before processing on the free tier, regardless of remaining monthly budget. You’ll see “[Audio trimmed to 10 seconds]” appended to the transcript so it’s never a mystery.

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