AI dictation apps have come a good distance in a short while. For years they have been gradual and inaccurate — except you spoke with a specific accent and enunciated clearly.
Advances in giant language fashions (LLMs) and speech-to-text fashions have modified that, producing methods that may decipher speech extra precisely whereas retaining sufficient context to format the textual content appropriately. Developers have additionally in-built options to robotically take away filler phrases, repair stumbles, and deal with punctuation — outputting textual content that wants far fewer edits.
With dozens of such apps now in the marketplace, we’ve rounded up our picks for the best and most helpful dictation apps accessible proper now.
Wispr Flow
Wispr Flow is a well-funded AI dictation app that permits you to add customized phrases and directions for dictation. It has native apps for macOS, Windows, and iOS; an Android model is within the works.
The app allows you to customise the way it transcribes your textual content by selecting from “formal,” “casual,” and “very casual” types for various sorts of writing, akin to private messaging, work, and e mail. And in case you use it with vibe-coding instruments like Cursor, you’ll be able to activate a characteristic to robotically acknowledge variables or tag information within the chat.
The app allows you to transcribe as much as 2,000 phrases per week without cost on desktop, and 1,000 phrases monthly on iOS. Paid subscription plans supply limitless transcription and begin at $15 monthly.
Willow
Willow advertises itself as an enormous time-saver for individuals who don’t prefer to kind. Alongside widespread options like automated enhancing and formatting, the app makes use of giant language fashions to generate a full passage of textual content from just some dictated phrases.
Willow additionally takes a extra privacy-focused method by storing all transcripts domestically in your gadget and allows you to choose out of mannequin coaching totally. It additionally allows you to add customized vocabulary to assist it adapt to your business’s terminology, or your native dialect.
Willow allows you to dictate 2,000 phrases monthly on its desktop app without cost. Individual subscription plans begin at $15 monthly, unlocking limitless dictation and enabling the app to recollect your writing type.
Monologue
If privateness in case your precedence, Monologue allows you to obtain its AI mannequin on to your gadget for transcriptions, maintaining your knowledge off the cloud totally. What’s extra, the app allows you to customise its tone relying on the app you utilize it with.
Monologue allows you to transcribe 1,000 phrases monthly without cost; a subscription prices $10 monthly or $100 per 12 months. The firm additionally sends its most lively customers a bodily shortcut gadget known as the Monokey to make use of with the app.
Superwhisper
Superwhisper is primarily a dictation app, however it may well additionally transcribe from audio or video information. The app allows you to select and obtain AI fashions, together with a number of of its personal at completely different speeds and accuracy ranges, together with Nvidia’s Parakeet speech-recognition fashions.
The app additionally allows you to write customized prompts to steer the output, and you’ll be able to view each processed and unprocessed transcripts immediately out of your system keyboard.
The primary voice-to-text characteristic is free to make use of, and you get quarter-hour to check Pro options akin to translation and transcription. The paid tier allows you to use your individual AI API keys and join cloud and native fashions with none utilization caps.
The month-to-month plan prices $8.49 monthly, the annual plan prices $84.99 monthly, or you’ll be able to pay $249.99 for a lifetime subscription.
VoiceTypr
The VoiceTypr app takes an offline-first, no-subscription method, letting you utilize native fashions for transcription. It additionally has a GitHub repository for individuals who need to host and run the open supply model themselves. VoiceTypr helps over 99 languages and works on each Mac and Windows.
The app is offered to attempt for 3 days without cost, and after that, it’s going to can help you purchase a lifetime license. The app prices $35 for one gadget, $56 for 2, and $98 for 4 units.
Aqua
Aqua is a Y Combinator-backed voice-typing app for Windows and macOS that claims to be one of many quickest instruments within the class when it comes to latency (the delay between whenever you communicate and when textual content seems on display screen).
Besides dealing with grammar and punctuation, Aqua additionally allows you to autofill textual content by saying phrases — you’ll be able to say “my address” and have Aqua kind it in, for instance.
The app additionally gives its personal speech-to-text API, letting different apps plug into Aqua’s transcription engine.
The free tier will get you 1,000 phrases monthly. Paid plans begin at $8 monthly invoice yearly and unlock limitless phrases and 800 customized dictionary values.
Handy
Handy is an open-source, free transcription instrument that runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. The app is fairly primary and doesn’t supply a lot customization, however if you wish to begin utilizing your voice extra and don’t need to pay, it’s a good possibility.
The app has a primary settings menu that permits you to toggle push-to-talk and change the hotkey to activate transcription.
Typeless
Typeless stands out for its excessive free phrase rely. The firm claims it doesn’t retain any knowledge or use it to coach AI fashions. Typeless additionally gives to rewrite sentences you’ll have fumbled.
The app allows you to dictate as much as 4,000 phrases per week (roughly 16,000 phrases monthly) on its free tier. You pays $12 monthly (billed yearly) to unlock limitless phrases and get entry to new options. Typeless is offered for Windows and macOS solely.
VoiceInk
VoiceInk is an open-source non-public dictation app for Mac. The app helps world shortcuts for recording begin/cease, together with a push-to-talk mode. It reads the context on display screen and adjusts its output accordingly.
The app can robotically detect sure apps and URLs and apply customized formatting or guidelines to every. It additionally has an assistant mode that may reply your questions. The app prices $25 for lifetime entry for one gadget, $39 for 2 units, and $49 for 3 units.
Dictato
Dictato is a dictionary app for Mac priced at €9.99 — roughly $12 — that offers you lifetime entry and two years of characteristic updates. The app works with offline fashions like Parakeet, Whisper, and Apple Speech Analyzer, and makes use of Apple Intelligence for gentle studying and filler phrase elimination. Thanks to those native fashions, the app claims an excellent quick 80ms latency, which means textual content seems virtually immediately after you communicate.
AudioPen
AudioPen started as a web-based voice notes app, however it has advanced over time. Its Mac model now allows you to dictate textual content and rewrite it in your most popular format and type, switching between completely different types at any time. Besides stay transcription, AudioPen permits you to retailer audio notes throughout platforms, mix notes for summaries, add audio information, and rewrite present notes utilizing AI. The app prices $33 for 3 months, $99 for a 12 months, and $159 for 2 years.
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