Best teleprompter for Mac
The best teleprompter for Mac is the one that tracks what you said
Tellie tracks the words you actually say, checks off what you've covered, and stays invisible on Zoom, while most Mac teleprompters scroll when they hear noise. The teleprompter is free, no signup. Pro is $29 once.
Each download unlocks all of Tellie for 10 days. No account, no card.
Sound or words
Scrolls when it hears you, or follows what you said?
There are two kinds of voice teleprompter app for Mac, and the difference is everything.
Most voice teleprompters
Sound-detection scrolling
The script moves while it hears a voice and pauses when the room goes quiet. It keeps pace, but it doesn't know what you said. Jump back a line, skip a paragraph or say it in different words, and it just keeps rolling.
Tellie
Word tracking
On-device speech recognition matches your spoken words to the script, so the read line sits on the exact words you're saying. Backtrack and it follows you back. Ad-lib and it waits. Your voice never leaves your Mac.
Compare
Mac teleprompters, honestly compared
Where the popular MacBook teleprompter apps land on the two questions that matter: does it follow your words or just the sound of your voice, and is it a one-time buy or a subscription?
| App | Follows your words | Lives in the notch | Invisible on Zoom | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tellie | Yes, word-level | Yes | Yes | Free tier · Pro $29 once |
| Avocado | No, sound-paced | Yes | Yes | Free tier · $7.99/mo or $79.99/yr |
| VoicePrompter | Yes, word-level | No, floating window | Not documented | Paid |
| CueNotch | No, sound-paced | Yes | Ghost Mode (Pro) | Free tier · $29.99 once |
| Moody | No, sound-paced | Yes | Yes | $39 one-time |
| NotchPrompter | No, sound-paced | Yes | Hidden mode | Free |
No scores, no stars, just what each app does. Only Tellie combines word-level voice-follow, a spot in the notch, and a one-time price. The full field guide
Prices as published by each maker. Check the latest before you buy.
Stagehand PRO
It makes sure you say the thing you came to say
Mark what you must cover. Key points check themselves off the moment you say them, in any words, and if time gets tight, Tellie gently nudges you while there's still time to cover everything. Then Take Coach scores the take and gives you one fix. All on your Mac, invisible to everyone but you.
Free forever
The best free teleprompter for Mac is a real one
Load a script, hit play and read at your pace in the notch, invisible on calls. No account, no trial clock on the basics. Every new copy starts with 10 days of Pro switched on, no card. Pro is $29 once, not a subscription, and free stays free when the trial ends.
Companion PRO
Filming on your iPhone too? Your Mac still runs the show
Your Mac does the listening. Your phone, tablet or laptop becomes the display and the remote over your own Wi-Fi. Stand it near any camera lens and read from there, run play and jumps from your hand, or keep a private checklist on a second screen.
“Having a teleprompter that follows my speech instead of scrolling at a fixed speed is an absolute game changer.”
Mac teleprompter questions, answered
More in Help, or email steve@skytech.io and a person replies.
What is the best teleprompter for Mac?
It depends on how you talk to camera. Tellie is built for people who speak naturally: its on-device Voice Follow tracks the words you actually say, in 40+ languages, and scrolls to match, so you can pause, skip, and ad-lib without touching a key. It lives in the Mac notch or a window you size yourself, stays invisible on Zoom and recordings, and is free to download, with the voice and coaching features as a one-time $29 Pro. If you read word for word at a steady pace, a plain auto-scroll app is enough; if you improvise, a voice-following prompter fits better.
Is there a free teleprompter for Mac?
Yes. Tellie is a complete Mac teleprompter for free: open a script from Word, PDF, Pages, or plain text, hit play, and read at your own pace in the notch, with no account and no trial clock on the basics. Voice Follow, Stagehand, and Companion are the paid Pro features, a one-time $29, and every new install gets 10 days of Pro switched on with no card.
Can a Mac teleprompter scroll automatically as I speak?
Yes. Tellie's Voice Follow uses on-device speech recognition to track the words you actually say and scroll to match, rather than creeping at a fixed speed you have to chase. Pause, skip a line, or ad-lib and it holds your place, then picks you up when you return to the script. It works in 40+ languages and regional variants, entirely on your Mac with no cloud.
Which Mac teleprompters follow your actual words?
Of the popular Mac teleprompters, Tellie and VoicePrompter follow your words at the word level. Avocado, CueNotch, Moody and NotchPrompter are sound-paced: they scroll while they hear you talk. Tellie is the only one of them that combines word-level following, a spot in the notch, and a one-time price. Details as published by each maker.
Is there a teleprompter that stays invisible on Zoom or screen recordings?
Yes. Tellie's prompter window is excluded from screen capture, so on Zoom, Teams, WebEx, or a screen recording, everyone else sees only your desktop, never your notes. A per-session toggle can reveal it on purpose for a demo. That is what lets you read on a live call or a recorded take with nobody the wiser.
Does Tellie use the Mac notch?
On a Mac with a notch, Tellie turns that black bar into a teleprompter and a glanceable status surface. On a Mac without one, it sits top-center just below the menu bar, with the same features. With Pro you can also detach it and float it anywhere, from a thin strip to a wide panel. Either way the reading surface stays invisible to screen capture.
How much does Tellie cost, and is it a subscription?
Tellie is free to download and free forever as a teleprompter. Tellie Pro is a one-time $29, never a subscription, good for 3 Macs, with a 14-day refund. Pro adds Voice Follow, Stagehand, Presenter Magic, Take Coach, and Companion, and every new install gets 10 days of Pro with no card and no sign-up.
Read like you wrote it
The free Mac teleprompter is one download away. Try Pro free for 10 days, no card.