To turn on Live Captions on a Mac, open System Settings > Accessibility > Live Captions and switch it on. A caption window appears and transcribes audio from any app, such as FaceTime, Zoom, a browser video or a podcast, and it can also caption your microphone. Processing happens on the Mac, so it keeps working without sending audio to a server.
What it does not do, at the time of writing, is translate. Live Captions writes down what is said in the language it hears, and only in the languages Apple supports for the feature. If you need English audio as Spanish text, or a Japanese call spoken in your language, you need a translation app on top. Here is how the built-in feature works and where a translator fits.
How to turn on Live Captions on a Mac
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click Accessibility in the sidebar, then Live Captions. On some versions it is listed under the Hearing section.
- Turn on Live Captions. The first time, macOS downloads the speech model it needs.
- Play audio. The caption window appears; drag it where you want it.
- Use the controls in the window to pause, switch to microphone captioning, or change the appearance (font, size, colors) back in Settings.
You can also add Live Captions to Control Center or the menu bar from the same settings page, which makes it quicker to toggle during a call.
Which Macs support Live Captions?
Live Captions arrived with macOS Ventura and is supported on Macs with Apple silicon (M1 and later). Intel Macs generally do not get the feature. Apple has been labeling it as a beta in some versions and regions, so if you do not see the setting, check your macOS version, your Mac's chip and your region and language settings.
Which languages does Live Captions on Mac support?
Live Captions launched for English and Apple has added more languages and regions in later releases. The list is shorter than for Dictation, and it changes with macOS updates, so check the language menu in the Live Captions settings on your own Mac. Choose the language that is being spoken; captions for any other language will come out as nonsense.
That last point matters for multilingual calls. If one participant speaks English and another speaks Korean, Live Captions can only follow one of them at a time.
Can you translate Live Captions on a Mac?
Not inside Live Captions itself, at the time of writing. Apple offers translation in other places, such as the Translate app and, on supported devices with Apple Intelligence, translation features in some Apple apps. Those are limited to particular apps, devices and language pairs, and they do not cover audio from Zoom, Google Meet or a random video playing in Chrome.
Common workarounds people try:
- Meeting app captions. Zoom, Teams and Google Meet have their own captions and, on some plans, translated captions. They only work inside that app.
- Browser captions. Chrome's Live Caption can caption audio in Chrome, and in some versions translate it. It does nothing for desktop apps. See Chrome Live Caption and translation.
- The Translate app. Good for a phrase you say into the microphone, not for following a live call.
- A dedicated translation app that listens to system audio, which is the only option that covers every app at once.
Live Captions vs. a translation app on Mac
| macOS Live Captions | SpeakFlow Pro for Mac | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, built in | 1 free hour, then hour packs from $19 for 10 hours |
| Supported Macs | Apple silicon | Apple silicon and Intel, macOS 14.4+ |
| Hears any app | Yes | Yes |
| Translation | No, same-language captions | Yes, 60+ speech languages, auto-detected |
| Spoken translation | No | Yes, nearly 100 natural voices |
| Your speech into the call | No | Yes, via the built-in SpeakFlow microphone |
| Transcript and summary | No saved transcript | Bilingual transcript, AI summary on demand |
| Offline | Yes | No, needs internet |
If you are hard of hearing and the audio is in a language you understand, Live Captions is excellent and free. If the problem is the language itself, captions in that language do not solve it.
How to get translated captions and voice on a Mac
SpeakFlow Pro is a native Mac app, notarized by Apple, for macOS 14.4 or later on Apple silicon and Intel. It listens to whatever your Mac plays and shows a translated caption panel while a natural voice reads the translation, with the original turned down so the two do not overlap.
- Download SpeakFlow Pro for Mac and open it. Your first hour is free, no card.
- Pick a preset: Video call for Zoom, Meet, Teams or FaceTime, or Watch video for videos and podcasts.
- Choose your language. The language being spoken is detected automatically.
- Press Play. Drag and resize the floating caption panel, for example under the video.
- To be understood too, choose the microphone called SpeakFlow in your meeting app. The app installs it for you. What you say is translated and spoken into the call.
Wear headphones on calls so the translated voice does not leak back into your microphone. Translation usually lands 1 to 2 seconds after the speaker, because the app waits for enough of a sentence to keep the meaning. Adding the meeting topic or a few glossary terms helps with names and jargon.
Translate text on screen, too
Select any text on your Mac and press ⌘⇧D to hear it translated. It is handy for a chat message, a slide or an email you cannot read.
Getting better results from either tool
- Clean audio wins. Captions and translation both depend on recognition. A speaker on a laptop microphone in a noisy cafe will be captioned worse than one on a headset, whatever tool you use.
- Lower the overlap. When two people talk at once, every recognizer struggles. In a meeting you run, ask people to take turns.
- Keep the window visible. Place the caption window next to the speaker's video so your eyes do not travel across the screen.
- Save what matters. Live Captions does not keep a transcript. SpeakFlow keeps a full bilingual transcript on your Mac, and you can ask for an AI summary of the last few minutes if you lost the thread.
Privacy works differently in each. Live Captions runs on the device. SpeakFlow streams audio for recognition and translation and does not store it, and transcripts stay on your computer.
Next step
Use Live Captions when you need captions in a language you already understand. When you need the meaning in your own language, or need the other person to understand you, try SpeakFlow Pro for Mac with the free hour. For meeting-specific steps, read how to translate a Zoom meeting in real time or translating Google Meet in real time. On a PC, see Windows 11 Live Captions.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I find Live Captions on my Mac?
Live Captions needs a Mac with Apple silicon and a recent version of macOS, and it may not be offered in every language or region. Intel Macs generally do not have it.
Does Mac Live Captions work in FaceTime and Zoom?
Yes. It captions audio from any app, and FaceTime also has its own caption option. The captions are only on your screen; other participants do not see them.
Can Mac Live Captions translate to English?
No, at the time of writing it captions in the language being spoken. For translation you need an app that listens to your Mac's audio and translates it.
Is Live Captions on Mac private?
Apple processes Live Captions on the device. Captions are not saved as a transcript, so copy anything you need before closing the window.