Wispr Flow can mute your music while you dictate, and pause it on a paid plan; the mute is off by default on a Mac. superwhisper can pause or mute, chosen separately for each mode. MacWhisper can mute. Every one of those mute options works through your Mac’s own volume, so none of them can quieten a group of speakers.
Most comparisons of these apps weigh accuracy, speed, privacy and price, and those are the right things to choose a dictation app on. This guide looks at one smaller question that decides whether you can keep music on while you work: what happens to the song that is playing when you press the dictation key, and what happens when that song is coming out of more than one speaker.
What does Wispr Flow do with your music?
Wispr Flow’s setting is called Mute music while dictating, and it lives in Settings, under System, then Sound. On a Mac it is off until you turn it on. When it is on, Flow checks whether anything is playing as you start dictating, and only then mutes your whole default output device, not just the music app, restoring it when you stop. Its help centre adds a detail that matters for anyone with more than one speaker: on a device with no mute control, such as an aggregate device, Flow sets the volume to zero instead, and if it cannot read or change the level at all, it skips muting entirely. Paying users also get a second option, Pause music while dictating, which is off by default and pauses the player rather than silencing the speakers. On macOS 14.2 or later, Flow’s own dictation sounds are ignored, so they never set it off.
What does superwhisper do with your music?
superwhisper keeps its audio options inside each mode rather than in one global setting. Open a mode, go to its Advanced settings, and you will find Pause Media While Recording and Mute Audio While Recording. Because they belong to the mode, a quick-note mode can pause your podcast while a long-form writing mode leaves the music alone. Pause stops whatever is playing for as long as you record; mute silences the output instead.
And MacWhisper?
MacWhisper offers a Mute Audio During Dictation option. It works by changing your Mac’s output volume, which is simple and effective on built-in speakers or a single pair of headphones. One user who plays everything through an external audio interface and a routing app wrote up in March 2026 that the mute stopped doing anything for exactly that reason: macOS reported no volume for MacWhisper to change. MacWhisper’s own documentation does not mention a pause option.
The options side by side
| Pause | Mute | Where it lives | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wispr Flow | Yes, on a paid plan | Yes, off by default on a Mac | Settings, System, Sound |
| superwhisper | Yes | Yes | Each mode’s Advanced settings |
| MacWhisper | Not in its documentation | Yes | MacWhisper’s settings |
| VoiceInk | Yes, off by default | Yes, on by default | VoiceInk’s settings |
| On a group of speakers | Works | Nothing to change |
Why does mute do nothing on a group of speakers?
A group is several speakers playing as one, built on the Multi-Output Device that macOS already includes. macOS gives that group no volume and no mute switch of its own, which is the same reason the menu bar volume slider greys out the moment you choose one. Dictation apps that quieten your music do it by turning down or muting the Mac’s current output, so on a group they find nothing to change and the music carries on. Pause is different: it tells the music player itself to stop, and never touches the speakers, so it works on any setup. If you want to understand the greyed-out slider, that guide explains the same limit from the other side.
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Download for MacHow Chorus handles it instead
Chorus 1.0.10 added Dictation Controls for exactly this. Open Settings, choose Dictation, and every dictation app on your Mac gets five choices: Default, Pause, Lower, Mute or Off. Default follows the app’s own setting where Chorus can read it, which it can for superwhisper, VoiceInk, TypeWhisper, Pindrop, Hex and Handy. For Wispr Flow and MacWhisper, whose settings Chorus cannot read, Default lowers your audio. Lower goes to the level you set with the Lowered Volume slider, from 0% to 100%, and your audio fades down as you start and back up about half a second after you stop. It works on groups and on single speakers, and needs macOS 14.4 or later. Chorus never listens to the microphone: it only notices that an app is using it.
Which should you choose?
If you dictate with a podcast or music on and want it to keep your place, use Pause in the app you already have. Wispr Flow’s paid plan, superwhisper’s modes and VoiceInk will all do it, on any speaker. If you would rather keep music going at a lower level, or you play through a group, none of them can do that on their own, and that is the gap Chorus fills. Which dictation app you use is a separate decision about accuracy, privacy and price, and nothing here asks you to change it.
Settings as described in Wispr Flow’s help centre and superwhisper’s documentation, checked September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does Wispr Flow mute music automatically?
Only if you turn it on. Mute music while dictating is off by default on a Mac, in Settings, System, Sound. When it is on, Wispr Flow mutes your whole output while you dictate, and only if something is playing when you start.
Can superwhisper pause my music while I dictate?
Yes. Turn on Pause Media While Recording in a mode's Advanced settings. It is set for each mode, so one mode can pause your music while another leaves it playing.
Why doesn't my dictation app mute my speakers when I use a group?
Because a group has no volume or mute switch of its own for the app to change. Pause still works, because it stops the player rather than the speakers, and Chorus can lower or mute a group for any dictation app.
Does Chorus replace my dictation app?
No. Chorus does no dictation of its own. It works alongside Wispr Flow, superwhisper, MacWhisper, Raycast and other dictation apps, and handles what happens to your audio while they listen.
