Margin for Apple Silicon Macs

Turn recordings into Markdown you can use.

Margin transcribes audio and video on your Mac, then turns the transcript into readable Markdown. Save it to Obsidian or take it to your favourite editor or AI tool.

See how it works

Preparing for the Mac App Store.

Requires Apple Silicon (M1 or later) · macOS 14+
Intel Macs are not supported.

Garden Studio - Design Review - 2026-10-15.md

Garden Studio

Design Review

15 October 2026
Source: Garden Studio Review.m4a
Speakers: Alex · Sam

Alex

Let's keep the space simple. A long table by the window, somewhere for sketches, and enough room to move things around.

Sam

I like that. We can try the layout for a week before choosing the shelves. The light will tell us where the work belongs.

Illustrative note with fictional sample text. Margin exports standard Markdown, so its appearance depends on the app you open it in.

Audio and video recordings

Local transcription

Optional speakers and timestamps

One-time purchase

Markdown exports

A transcript that fits
your notes folder.

Keep a readable copy of the conversation in the folder where you already work. Margin lets you choose how much detail comes with it.

01 / READ

Read in paragraphs.

Margin groups the transcript into paragraphs and adds speaker headings when you want them. Export notes with timestamps, without timestamps, or both.

02 / FIND

Name the exported note.

Edit the topic, context and date. Margin uses them in a Topic - Context - Date filename, like the sample above.

03 / KEEP

Choose your formats.

Export Markdown to your Obsidian vault or another folder. You can add TXT, SRT subtitles or JSON, and Margin remembers the formats you select.

MarkdownTXTSRTJSON

Margin showing a sample transcript with speaker names, timestamps and options for exporting notes — Inside Margin: the transcript reader and export options. Synthetic sample content. Select the image to see it at full size.

On your Mac

Transcription runs on your Mac.

Transcription and optional speaker identification run on your Mac. Margin does not upload your recording or transcript, and you don't need a Margin account.

First use downloads speech models from Hugging Face. Once your chosen models are ready, you can transcribe offline. Download progress is visible, with automatic retries for temporary connection problems.

Read the privacy policy

Using Margin

Import, review and export.

Choose your recording.

Drop in an audio or video file. Turn Identify speakers on for a conversation, or off for a simpler transcript.

Review the transcript.

Check names and important details against the recording, then edit the topic, context, date and speaker names before exporting.

Export your notes.

Choose your formats and export. Open the files in Obsidian, an editor, or an AI tool of your choice.

Before you download Margin

Which Macs can run Margin?

Margin requires an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) running macOS 14 or newer. It requires internet and several GB of free storage for the initial speech-model downloads. Intel Macs are not supported.

Does it write summaries or action items?

Margin creates readable transcripts of what was said. It does not generate summaries, action items or rewritten notes. You can take your exported transcript to an AI tool yourself if you want to work with it further.

Is there a subscription or a usage allowance?

Margin will cost US$19.99 at launch, with a regular price of US$29.99. Pay once through the Mac App Store, without a subscription or transcription credits. The store will show the price for your region. Recording length is limited by your Mac's memory and the selected model, up to a maximum of four hours per recording. Longer recordings may need to be split.

Can I use it without the internet?

Yes, once your selected speech models are fully downloaded. First use, switching to a model you haven't downloaded, or restoring missing model files needs an internet connection. Hugging Face and its delivery providers receive the normal connection information needed to deliver those files.

What can I transcribe?

Audio and video recordings with an audio track macOS can decode, including common WAV, MP3, M4A and MP4 files. Protected media is not supported. Margin imports existing recordings and does not record live meetings.

How accurate are the notes?

Speech recognition and speaker labels can make mistakes. Review important names, numbers and statements against the original recording before relying on or sharing a transcript.

Fast, elegant transcription.