What happened to Dragon for Mac
Nuance ended Dragon Medical for Mac in August 2018 and Dragon Professional Individual for Mac on 22 October 2018. Owners of version 6 kept a perpetual licence, but there are no updates. Microsoft bought Nuance in 2022. The current Dragon line is Dragon Professional for Windows and Dragon Medical One, a cloud service that also runs in a browser on a Mac.
Your options on a Mac
| Dragon Medical One | Dragon Professional | macOS Dictation | Scrieb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on a Mac | In a browser | ✗ Windows only | ✓ Built in | ✓ Native app |
| Text appears | Live, in the field | Live, in the field | Live, in the field | After you stop, as a document |
| Voice commands | ✓ | ✓ | Via Voice Control | ✗ |
| Where audio is processed | Microsoft cloud | On the PC | On the Mac or Apple servers, by setting | Always on your computer |
| Works offline | ✗ | ✓ | Partly | ✓ |
| Speaker labels for recordings | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Draft in your own note structure | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | Subscription, quote on request | One-time licence | Free | Free 1 h/day; Pro monthly or yearly |
When Dragon is still the better choice
If you dictate straight into your EHR or practice software, word by word, and navigate it by voice, Dragon Medical One does that and Scrieb does not. Its tight integration with clinical systems is what organisations pay for. If your hospital already provides it, keep it for those fields.
When Scrieb fits better
- Longer dictations. Clinical notes, referral letters, reports and file notes that you dictate in one go and check afterwards.
- Confidential material. Audio and text are created and stored on your Mac; Scrieb's server never receives them. See the HIPAA page.
- Recorded conversations. Consultations, client meetings and interviews, with speaker labels.
- Your note structure. A summary type with your headings, for example SOAP or a letter layout, drafts the note from the transcript.
- Mac and Windows. One licence covers both, including native Windows on ARM.
Moving over from Dragon
- Bring your vocabulary. Add the custom words you rely on in Dragon, such as drug names, eponyms, colleagues and case names, to Scrieb's custom vocabulary.
- Dictate, then stop. Record from the menu bar with the microphone only, or import a file from your phone or dictation recorder.
- Pick the model. Large v3 Turbo handles medical and legal language best; Small is faster on older Macs.
- Review and paste. Correct the text, then copy it into your record system or export to Word or PDF.
More on clinical use: medical dictation software for Mac. Download Scrieb.
Pricing
Free plan: 1 hour of recording per day. Pro: no minute limits, one licence for Mac and Windows.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there still a Dragon for Mac?
- Not as a Mac app. Nuance stopped selling Dragon Professional Individual for Mac on 22 October 2018, and Dragon Medical for Mac ended in August 2018. Existing version 6 licences keep working, but get no updates. Nuance now offers Dragon Professional for Windows and Dragon Medical One, a cloud service that Mac users open in a browser.
- Can I use Dragon Medical One on a Mac?
- Through a web browser, yes, as a cloud subscription from Microsoft (which bought Nuance in 2022). The audio is processed on Microsoft’s servers, and it needs an internet connection.
- Can I run Dragon Professional on a Mac?
- Dragon Professional is a Windows program. On a Mac you would need a Windows installation to run it.
- Does Scrieb work like Dragon?
- Not exactly. Dragon types into the active text field while you speak and takes voice commands. Scrieb records what you dictate and transcribes it on your Mac when you stop, then gives you the text, and if you want a draft in your own note structure. For live typing into a field, macOS Dictation is built in.
- Is Scrieb suitable for medical and legal dictation?
- Yes, for recorded dictation: clinical notes, referral letters, reports, file notes and recorded consultations. The audio and text stay on your computer, so there is no cloud processor for the content. Add drug names, eponyms and case names to the custom vocabulary so they are spelled your way.
- What does Scrieb cost?
- The free plan includes 1 hour of recording per day. Pro has no minute limit, is billed monthly, every six months or yearly, and one licence covers Mac and Windows.