Best Morse code app for Mac: 6 ways to learn, compared honestly
If you want to learn Morse code on a Mac and pay nothing, start with LCWO: it runs in your browser, has a full Koch method course, and needs only a free account. If you’d rather have an app, Morse Mania (on Apple silicon Macs) and Morse Master run on a Mac and are free to start. If you want a native Mac app that teaches by keying, with timing feedback on every letter you send, that’s what Dot & Dash is for. And if you want a person to teach you, CW Academy runs free classes.
Below are six options, free ones first. Every fact about another option comes from its own website or store listing, checked on 28 October 2026. We make Dot & Dash, so read its section with that in mind; it gets the same treatment as the rest, limits included. macOS itself has no Morse trainer built in, so there’s no built-in option to start with.
What to look for in a Morse code app
- Sound at a real character speed. Morse is a set of rhythms. Characters sent slowly fall apart into separate beeps, and you end up counting dits and dahs instead of hearing letters. Look for a real character speed with Farnsworth spacing, which keeps each character at full speed and stretches only the gaps.
- A sensible order. Two or three characters at a time, adding more as you get the earlier ones right, is the idea behind the Koch method. The Koch method explained covers why it works.
- Both directions. Copying by ear and sending by hand are different skills. Check whether the option trains one, or both.
- Feedback on your sending. Without it, your timing drifts and nobody tells you.
- Review of what you miss, so the characters you confuse come back more often.
- Where it runs, and what it costs. Some of these are websites, some are iPhone and iPad apps that also run on a Mac, and one is a class.
What a good Morse code app for Mac should do turns this into a checklist you can try during any free trial.
The options
1. LCWO (Learn CW Online)
Good at: a complete, free course in your browser. LCWO has a Koch method course, then speed practice with code groups, plain text, callsigns and words, plus downloadable MP3 practice files. In its own words, “You don’t need to install a program on your computer”, so it works on any Mac with a browser. Its text to CW converter works without logging in. It’s thorough, and it’s free.
Falls short: most of the training needs an account, and it needs a connection. It’s built around copying what you hear; its page doesn’t mention practice or feedback for sending with a key.
Price: free, with a free account.
2. Morse Mania
Good at: a lot of levels, game style. Morse Mania calls itself “a fun and educational game”, with 135 receiving levels and 135 sending levels that start with E and T and work up to words, callsigns, Q codes and sentences, plus 52 challenge levels. Its listing gives a speed range of 5 to 45 WPM with a separate Farnsworth setting, a tone of 400 to 1000 Hz, seven sending keys including an iambic one, and offline use with no ads.
Falls short: it’s an iPhone and iPad app. Its listing says it runs on a Mac with macOS 11 or later and an Apple M1 chip or later, so not on an Intel Mac, and it marks the app “Not verified for macOS”. Several features, such as vibration and the flashlight, are for the phone.
Price: free to download, with in-app purchases: a Pro Bundle at $8.99, a Beginner’s Bundle at $4.99, and a monthly premium subscription at $0.99.
3. Morse Master
Good at: decoding as well as training. Morse Master (listed as “Morse Code - Morse Master”) offers “progressive Koch lessons that introduce characters step by step”, listening and sending drills, and 60-second “Daily Sprint” sessions. It also does “on-device audio decoding from recordings or microphone input”.
Falls short: its version notes describe a 40-stage Koch path with the first 18 stages free, so the full path costs extra. Its listing doesn’t say whether the Mac version is a Mac app or the iPad app running on a Mac.
Price: free to download, with in-app purchases: Pro Lifetime $5.99, Pro Annual $2.99, Pro Monthly $0.99, and a $0.99 full-version unlock. Requires macOS 12 or later.
4. Morse Code Ninja
Good at: listening practice, in bulk. Morse Code Ninja has “over 300 unique practice sets of incremental difficulty at speeds of 15 to 50 wpm”, in formats such as Morse, then spoken, then Morse again, so you hear the answer straight after you guess. The material comes as videos, podcasts and direct downloads, and its site says the audio files are offered for free. Load a set on your phone and practice on a walk.
Falls short: it’s listening only: there’s nothing to key and nothing that keeps track of your progress. The sets run from 15 WPM up, so it works best alongside a course rather than instead of one.
Price: free.
5. CW Academy
Good at: a real teacher. CW Academy is a training and mentoring program from CWops, where advisors teach Morse to beginners and to operators getting back into it. Its page says “There is no cost or obligation to participate”, CWops membership isn’t required, and “Enrollment is open to anyone with the desire to learn or improve their proficiency in Morse Code.”
Falls short: it isn’t an app, and it runs on a schedule: classes are “offered three times a year, in two-month increments” (January to February, May to June, September to October). You sign up for the next session and learn at the class’s pace.
Price: free.
6. Dot & Dash
Good at: learning by keying, on a Mac. Dot & Dash draws a Morse machine on screen: a key, a lever, a tone and a paper tape that prints what you send. Hold Space or press the knob to key it. Its course has twenty short chapters, two or three characters each, ordered so you key real words from the first chapter and look-alike letters arrive at least a chapter apart. After each letter you key, the lesson draws each of your dits and dahs against the length it should have been and shows the speed you keyed it at, so you see your timing, not just right or wrong.
Practice has a five-minute daily review that brings back the characters you miss, sending drills, and listening drills where the machine sends and you type what you hear, on characters, groups of five, words, callsigns or sentences. You can key with Space, with two keys as iambic paddles (mode A or B), or with a USB key or keyer that types a keyboard key, as many do. Speed runs from 5 to 40 WPM with Farnsworth spacing, and the sidetone from 400 to 1000 Hz. Beyond learning, it writes messages in Morse, turns Morse into text and back, and Type Anywhere lets you key Morse into any app on your Mac. It works offline, with no account.
Falls short: it costs more than everything else here, and after its 24-hour trial only the machine, the reference and sharing a tape image stay free. It’s Mac only: no iPhone or iPad version, so no practice on a walk. Its course teaches by keying first; copying by ear waits in Practice as an advanced drill, so if you want to train your ear from day one, pair it with LCWO or Morse Code Ninja. It doesn’t decode Morse from audio or a microphone (Morse Master does), doesn’t connect to a radio, and doesn’t prepare you for any exam. It needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Price: $29 once, for up to 3 Macs, with updates included and a 24-hour free trial. Requires macOS 14 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.
Side by side
| Price | Runs on a Mac as | Course | Sending practice | Copying by ear | Works offline | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCWO | Free account | A website | Koch method | Not mentioned | Yes | MP3 files only |
| Morse Mania | Free; bundles $4.99 and $8.99 | iPhone and iPad app, M1 or later | 270 levels | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Morse Master | Free; Pro from $0.99 | Listed for macOS 12 or later | Koch, 40 stages | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Morse Code Ninja | Free | Audio and video files | Practice sets | No | Yes | Once downloaded |
| CW Academy | Free | Classes with an advisor | Advisor-led | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Dot & Dash | $29 once, 3 Macs | Native Mac app, macOS 14 | 20 chapters | Yes, with timing feedback | Advanced drill | Yes |
“Not mentioned” and “Not stated” mean exactly that: the option’s own page, as checked on 28 October 2026, doesn’t say.
Which one to pick
- You want to start today and pay nothing: LCWO. Do a few minutes of its Koch course a day.
- You learn best with a game, and have an iPhone or an Apple silicon Mac: Morse Mania.
- You also want to decode Morse you hear, from a recording or the microphone: Morse Master. How to decode Morse code from an audio recording covers doing it by ear too.
- You already know the letters and want to build speed by ear: Morse Code Ninja.
- You want a teacher and a class to keep you going: CW Academy, if you can wait for the next session.
- You want to learn on your Mac by keying, see your timing on every letter, and use Morse afterwards for messages and typing: Dot & Dash.
Many people combine two: a course for the characters, and a pile of listening practice for speed. How to learn Morse code: a plan that actually works shows how to fit them together.
Questions
Is there a Morse code trainer built into macOS?
No. macOS has no Morse trainer, so you need a website, an app or a class. LCWO works in any browser on a Mac.
What is the best free way to learn Morse code on a Mac?
LCWO is the most complete free option: a Koch method course and speed practice, in your browser, with a free account. Add Morse Code Ninja’s free practice sets once you know the characters, and look at CW Academy if you’d like a teacher.
Can iPhone Morse apps run on a Mac?
Some can, on Macs with Apple silicon, when the developer allows it. Morse Mania’s listing says it runs on a Mac with an M1 chip or later, but it also marks the app “Not verified for macOS”. Check each listing before you count on it.
Do I need a radio or a license to learn Morse code?
No. Every option here works without a radio, and you don’t need a license to learn or practice. You need one only to transmit on amateur bands.