Choose between the extension and the desktop app
If the desktop app runs on your computer, it is the simplest answer, because it hears everything the extension hears and more. Where it cannot run, the extension is the one.
The short version
The desktop app listens to your whole computer, and that includes browser tabs — so on Windows 11 and on macOS 14.2 or later it covers every case on its own, and you never have to decide per session. That is the least fiddly setup.
The browser extension is the right one when the desktop app is not an option, or when a browser is all you need: on Windows 10, on a Mac running macOS 13 or earlier, on Linux and ChromeOS, or when everything you watch is in a tab anyway and you would rather not install an app. Its controls also sit right inside the page, which some people simply prefer.
Side by side
| Desktop app | Browser extension | |
|---|---|---|
| What it hears | Any app, the whole computer, browser tabs included | One browser tab |
| Typical use | Zoom and Teams clients, desktop players, local files, plus anything in a tab | YouTube, Udemy, Coursera, anything in a tab |
| Where captions appear | Floating HUD over every window | Docked inside the page |
| Controls | HUD, tray menu, global hotkeys | The dock, inside the page |
| Runs on | Windows 11 · macOS 14.2+ | Chrome, Edge and Brave, on Windows and macOS |
Neither one is a cut-down version of the other. They translate the same way, at the same quality, off the same balance — they differ in what they can listen to and where the controls live.
Mac and mobile
The Mac app is here. It needs macOS 14.2 or later, with separate downloads for Apple Silicon and Intel. It does everything the Windows version does — your whole computer, a single app, or a local file — with one extra step the first time: macOS asks you to allow recording system audio. It never asks for screen recording, and never for your microphone.
There is no mobile app, and none is close. We would rather say that than show you a button that does nothing.
If you need one, tell us and we will email you the day it ships, and nothing else: I need mobile.
Common questions
If the desktop app can hear browser tabs too, why use the extension?
Because the desktop app needs Windows 11 or macOS 14.2 or later. On Windows 10, on an older Mac, and on Linux or ChromeOS the extension is the only option. Some people also prefer having the controls and captions inside the page rather than in a floating window, and the extension installs in seconds with nothing to download.
Do I need a separate subscription for each one?
No. One account and one balance of hours cover the browser extension and the desktop app, on Windows and on Mac alike. Sign in on either and you get the same plan, the same minutes and the same session history.
Can the extension translate a Zoom or Teams meeting?
Only if the meeting is running in a browser tab — Zoom's web client and Google Meet work with the extension. For the Zoom or Teams desktop client the sound never passes through the browser, so you need the desktop app.
Is there a Mac app?
Yes. DubTab for Mac needs macOS 14.2 or later, and there are builds for Apple Silicon and for Intel. Both are signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Get it from the download page.