Limits & quotas
The exact numbers. On‑device transcription is unlimited; cloud and AI features are metered. Here's how.
Updated July 2026
Here's the honest, exact version. The headline: on‑device dictation is unlimited and free. The limits below apply only to cloud transcription and AI features, which route through THOHT's service.
Free vs Pro at a glance
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| On‑device dictation (Apple Silicon) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Cloud transcription | Onboarding preview only | No daily cap |
| AI Polish / custom prompts | Onboarding preview only | No daily cap |
| Auto‑Translate, AI reformat | — | Included |
| Custom vocabulary words | 5 | 20 |
The onboarding preview lets a new user test cloud transcription and AI cleanup before subscribing. The normal cloud and AI workflows are Pro-only. Day to day on an Apple silicon Mac, free on-device dictation has no usage limits.
On-device transcription
On‑device transcription (the default on Apple Silicon) has no daily, weekly, or monthly limit. The only ceiling is per recording:
- 30 minutes per recording. For longer sessions, record in separate takes.
It works offline and nothing is metered, because nothing leaves your Mac.
Cloud transcription limits
Cloud transcription is a Pro service. It is optional on Apple silicon Mac, and it is the required transcription route on Intel Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
| Limit | |
|---|---|
| Max length per recording | 9 minutes |
| Free tier | Onboarding preview only; normal cloud dictation requires Pro |
| Pro — rate | about 5 transcriptions per minute |
| Pro — weekly | roughly 5 hours of cloud audio per week |
The per‑minute and weekly numbers are abuse‑prevention ceilings, not day‑to‑day limits — normal use doesn't come close.
AI feature limits
AI Polish, custom prompts, Auto‑Translate and AI reformat share these limits:
| Limit | |
|---|---|
| Free tier | Onboarding preview only; normal AI use requires Pro |
| Pro — rate | about 10 AI requests per minute |
| Pro — weekly | a large weekly character budget (≈500,000 characters) |
| Per request | very long inputs are trimmed (around 20,000 characters) |
Auto‑Translate and AI reformat are Pro‑only — they have no free demo allowance.
Vocabulary and prompt limits
| Item | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Custom vocabulary words | 5 | 20 |
| Saved prompts (built‑in + custom) | 30 total | 30 total |
| Personal Context | — | up to 500 characters |
Service limits are associated with the verified App Store entitlement and apply across the supported devices using it.
What happens when you hit a limit
THOHT tells you clearly, and nothing breaks:
- No Pro entitlement — you'll see a prompt to subscribe before normal cloud or AI use. On-device dictation on an Apple silicon Mac keeps working as normal.
- Pro per‑minute rate hit — a brief "try again shortly" message; wait a moment and continue.
- Pro weekly ceiling hit — a "weekly usage limit reached" message; it resets at the start of the next week.
If you think you're hitting a limit you shouldn't be, get in touch.
Something unclear or out of date? Let us know.