Transcript Voice to Text Software Free Download

Dictation software has come a long fashion since it was offset released commercially in the early on 1990s. Back then, it was clunky, slow-going, and frustrating for those of u.s. early adopters.

Today'south dictation engineering science is light years ahead. You can now dictate as fast as you want and be assured that at to the lowest degree 90% of what you say volition be accurately transcribed. Plus, you'll have multiple languages to cull from and vocalism commands to further improve productivity.

In this article, I'll walk you through the unlike types of speech-to-text software, why you should give them a try, and provide tips on getting the all-time results. And, of form, I'll provide a detailed review of our top picks for the all-time dictation software.

The best dictation software

Apple Dictation for a gratis app for Apple devices
Windows 10 Speech Recognition for a free app for Windows users
Dragon by Nuance for a customizable dictation app
Google Docs vocalisation typing for dictating in Google Docs
Gboard for a free mobile dictation app
SpeechTexter for occasional employ

What is dictation software?

As you search online for dictation software, go along in listen that information technology tin include all dissimilar types of apps and services. The terms dictation software, speech-to-text, voice recognition, voice-to-text, and speech recognition can all mean a program that converts your voice to text on a screen in real-time. But sometimes lumped into a search for these terms are products that provide something else entirely.

For example, some products will transcribe sound files to text, simply they exercise not transcribe your vocalisation to text in real-time. Others market themselves every bit personal AI administration (performing all figurer tasks using speech) and may include a dictation component. And y'all may run across companies that provide transcription services—using humans to transcribe your voice files to text.

So there are those AI administration congenital into many of the devices we use each day: Apple'south Siri, Amazon's Alexa, and Microsoft's Cortana. These are fine for scheduling meetings, playing music, and finding a place to eat, but they aren't designed to transcribe your articles, meetings, and other documents.

For this review, we've focused on software, whether standalone or embedded in a device, meant for transcribing spoken communication to text.

Why would you desire to do that? For starters, dictation software provides accessibility to those with disabilities—both physical and language-based—to access technologies and be more productive. For example, if you're unable to use your easily, y'all can still operate a estimator, create documents, and access the web with dictation engineering. And those with chronic conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome tin prevent the repetitive stresses that come with typing, simply by using their voice.

Just as the engineering has improved over the terminal 20 years and costs take come down, dictation software is now accessible to everyone as a tool to increase productivity about instantly. Look no further than the changed working environment in the wake of COVID-19: more than working from home ways more opportunity to practice things like dictate emails.

Students can write papers and transcribe lectures into notes depending on the software's capabilities. And the casual user can dictate notes, a shopping list, a text, or a reminder while performing other tasks, making multi-tasking a reality. Think: taking a walk while "writing" your next novel.

What makes a great dictation app?

How we evaluate and test apps

All of our best apps roundups are written by humans who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software. We spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app equally it'due south intended to be used and evaluating it against the criteria we set up for the category. We're never paid for placement in our manufactures from whatever app or for links to any site—we value the trust readers put in us to offering authentic evaluations of the categories and apps nosotros review. For more than details on our procedure, read the full rundown of how nosotros select apps to feature on the Zapier blog.

It's astonishing how far dictation software has come in the 20-plus years since I offset tried information technology. I wouldn't take recommended it back then for the casual user—it was too much piece of work for besides petty reward. But at present, it's really enjoyable to come across your words skip across the screen like you're dictating to your ain personal assistant. And with the utilize of bogus intelligence that recognizes your oral communication with more accurateness the more than the apps are used, it's hard to become incorrect—no matter the platform.

For my tests, accuracy was the first chemical element I looked at when deciding which software to choose. This was followed by ease of utilize, including the availability of voice commands. For example, does the software require the user to say, "insert period" vs. merely "period"? The latter, while perchance less intuitive at kickoff, soon becomes 2d nature and saves fourth dimension in the long run. Other considerations were the number of languages and dialects supported and the versatility of a given app (e.g., can information technology be used within unlike apps for dictation?).

Tips for using voice recognition software

Though dictation software is pretty skillful at recognizing dissimilar voices, it's non perfect. Here are some tips to brand it piece of work equally all-time as possible.

Speak naturally (with caveats). Dictation apps learn your phonation and speech patterns over fourth dimension. And if you're going to spend any time with them, you want to be comfortable. Speak naturally. If you're not getting 90% accuracy initially, try enunciating more.
Punctuate. When you lot dictate, you accept to say each menses, comma, question marking, and so along. The software isn't smart enough to effigy information technology out on its ain.
Learn a few commands. Take the time to learn a few elementary commands, such as "new line" to enter a line break. There are different commands for composing, editing, and operating your device. Commands may differ from app to app, and so acquire the ones that apply to the tool you choose.
Know your limits. Especially on mobile devices, some tools have a time limit for how long they tin listen—sometimes for as picayune every bit x seconds. Glance at the screen from time to time to make sure you haven't blown past the mark.
Practice. Information technology takes time to conform to phonation recognition software, merely it gets easier the more y'all practice. Some of the more than sophisticated apps invite you to train past reading passages or doing other short drills. Don't shy away from tutorials, aid menus, and on-screen cheat sheets.

Communication on microphones for dictation

With dictation software, your voice is captured by a microphone, which is included on your device (computer, tablet, mobile) or every bit part of a specific software suite (due east.one thousand., Microsoft Part). For the occasional dictation user capturing notes and shopping lists, the congenital-in microphone should work fine. Just if you're using it more intensely—consistently writing content, dictating meetings, sending emails—consider something that more effectively nabs the sound waves from your vox.

For under $100, there are lots of options for headsets with mics or external microphones used by podcasters and YouTube interviewers. For this test, I used a mid-priced USB headset from Jabra for all just the mobile apps. It'due south lightweight, very comfortable, and has reasonably good sound/voice quality. If you prefer not beingness tethered to your device, wireless options like the Jabra Aristocracy 45h ($99) might be more than your speed. And the highly-rated Blue Snowball USB microphone ($79) has a cool retro look and its own adaptable stand.

How we tested dictation apps

For determining accuracy fairly, I used the same 207-discussion script for all tests. It has a multifariousness of sentence lengths, multiple paragraphs, proper names, and a few numbers. And as mentioned, I used a mid-priced headset as a microphone for all but the mobile apps. My testing space had very piddling groundwork noise.

In the initial evaluation of 12 apps, I dictated the script one time while using basic punctuation commands, noted accuracy as a percent of words missed or mistranscribed, and recorded my thoughts on ease of utilize and versatility. Once I narrowed the final listing downwards, I retested each app with the same script, recorded accuracy, and tried out other features such equally file sharing and using the aforementioned software in multiple places (eastward.grand., Google Docs and Discussion).

Keep in heed that many of these apps will become more accurate the more times y'all use them, then the accuracy numbers mentioned volition likely improve with continued utilise. Also, because I was reading from a "script," my speech communication tempo was likely faster than the boilerplate person who is dictating their thoughts.

All-time free dictation software for Apple devices

Apple Dictation (iOS, iPadOS, macOS)

The interface for Apple Dictation, our pick for the best free dictation app for Apple users

Look no farther than your Mac, iPhone, or iPad for i of the best dictation tools. Apple'due south congenital-in Dictation feature, powered by Siri (we'd be unsurprised if the ii merged i day), ships as part of Apple'southward desktop and mobile operating systems. On iOS devices, you employ it by pressing the microphone icon on the stock keyboard. On your desktop, you turn it on by going to System Preferences > Keyboard > Dictation, and and so use a keyboard shortcut to activate information technology in your app.

By default, Apple Dictation requires the internet to piece of work and has a time limit of well-nigh 30 seconds for each smattering of spoken language. To remove those limits, enable Enhanced Dictation, which requires Os 10 v10.9 or afterward or iPhone 6s or newer. Enhanced Dictation adds a local file to your device and then that you can dictate offline.

Yous tin can format and edit your text using unproblematic commands, such as "new paragraph" or "select previous word." Tip: you can view bachelor commands in a pocket-size window, like a little cheat sheet, while learning the ropes. Apple also offers avant-garde commands for creating custom ones.

Apple Dictation cost: Included with macOS, iOS, and iPadOS devices

Apple Dictation accuracy: On the 207-discussion test, twenty words were inaccurate, merely note that I was using a borrowed MacBook Pro to perform the test, so information technology was the first time the Siri speech-recognition engine had heard my vox. Regular users of Siri would probable experience better results.

Recommendation: I recommend Apple tree Dictation when using Enhanced Dictation. The standard version is a bit abrasive and inconvenient for anything longer than xl seconds. For short messages on mobile devices, it works fine. Enhanced Dictation is the way to go for continuous dictating.

Apple Dictation supported languages: Enhanced Dictation supports 20 languages. Apple's default Dictation supports 31 languages: Standard arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

All-time free dictation software for Windows

Windows x Speech Recognition (Windows)

The interface for Windows Speech Recognition, our pick for the best free dictation app for Windows

Considering Windows xi was recently released (October 2021), I decided to examination both the new dictation feature (renamed "voice typing") and the Windows ten version ("speech recognition"). Both are included in their respective operating systems with zip additional to install. To begin dictating in either OS, open an app, and on your keyboard, press the Windows logo key + H. A microphone icon and greyness box will appear at the top of your screen. Make sure your cursor is in the space where yous desire to dictate.

When it's prepare for your dictation, it will say Listening. You lot accept near 10 seconds to start talking before the microphone turns off. If that happens, just click information technology over again and wait for Listening to popular up. To stop the dictation, click the microphone icon once again or say "cease talking."

In my examination, Windows x had only three errors, and all were words that every other app missed as well. Other than that, it provided nearly flawless dictation. By dissimilarity, Windows 11 (which I downloaded after testing x) contained 13 errors for each of the ii times I tested it, making Windows 10 the clear winner for accuracy. Each Bone includes about iii dozen commands for punctuation, symbols, and for completing actions within a document. Windows 10 includes seven dictation languages, but commands are merely available in U.S. English. Windows eleven boosts the number of languages recognized to 36 plus a handful of dialects and commands for all these languages.

While both versions are piece of cake to use, it'southward Windows 10 that comes out ahead for accurateness by a large margin. This makes it the best complimentary selection for Windows users.

Windows 10 Oral communication Recognition price: Included with Windows x; Speech Recognition included in older versions of Windows and as well with the new release of Windows eleven.

Windows 10 Speech Recognition accuracy: For the 207-word transcription examination, Speech Recognition flubbed just three words on the kickoff endeavor, which is a 98.half dozen% accuracy charge per unit, and it confused the period punctuation command with the discussion itself. Windows Voice communication Recognition was one of the best out-of-the-gate for accurateness with but Gboard equaling information technology.

Recommendation: It worked in any app or browser I tried, which makes it a handy tool to take around. If you're a Windows ten user and don't mind a voice "grooming" menstruation, you lot'll get good utilise out of this characteristic.

Windows 10 Oral communication Recognition languages supported: Not counting different dialects separately, Windows Oral communication Recognition supports these languages: Chinese Simplified, English, French, German, Italian (Italy), Portuguese (Brazil), and Castilian.

Best customizable dictation software

Dragon by Nuance (Android, iOS, macOS, Windows)

The interface for Dragon, our pick for the best customizable dictation software

In 1990, Dragon Dictate emerged as the first dictation software. Thirty years after, we have Dragon past Dash, a leader in the industry and a distant cousin of that showtime iteration. With a diverseness of software packages and mobile apps for different utilise cases (e.grand., legal, medical, constabulary enforcement), Dragon can handle specialized industry vocabulary, and it comes with excellent features, such every bit the ability to transcribe text from an audio file you upload.

For this test, I used Dragon Anywhere, Nuance'southward mobile app, as it's the only version—among otherwise expensive packages—bachelor with a free trial. It includes lots of features non found in the others, like Words, which lets yous add words that would be difficult to recognize and spell out. For case, if yous live on Eichhorn St., Dragon volition hear this as "I corn." To avoid this, add it to Words and say the word (into the microphone) so you train the software.

It also provides shortcuts. If you wanted to shorten your entire accost to one word, get to Auto-Text, give information technology a proper name ("accost"), and type in your address: 1000 Eichhorn St., Davenport, IA 52722 and hit Save. The next time you dictate and say "accost," you lot'll get the unabridged matter. Press the comment bubble icon to see text commands while you're dictating, or say "What can I say?" and the command menu pops up.

One time you complete a dictation, yous can email, share (e.thou., Google Drive, Dropbox), open in Word, or salvage to Evernote. You tin can perform these deportment manually or past voice command (due east.k., "salvage to Evernote.") In one case y'all proper noun information technology, it automatically saves in Documents for later on review or sharing. Accurateness is skillful and improves with use: my starting time examination produced 13 errors, and my second test only flubbed nine.

Dragon past Nuance price: $15/month for Dragon Anywhere (iOS and Android); from $200 to $500 for desktop packages

Dragon past Nuance accuracy: Dragon Anywhere had a 96% accurateness charge per unit on my second test for the 207-word script.

Recommendation: Considering Dragon is a relatively large investment, you should exist seriously committed to using dictation regularly. I recommend trying Dragon Anywhere free for 7 days to see how you like it showtime.

Dragon past Nuance supported languages: Dragon Anywhere is available in English (Us, UK, Canada) and High german. Dragon desktop products are available in several languages, which vary by version, and include Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, and Castilian.

Best free mobile dictation software

Gboard (Android, iOS)

The interface for Gboard, our pick for the best mobile dictation software

Google'south first-class Gboard app, which includes dictation, works with both Android and iOS. To use it, become anywhere you can type (email, browser, text, certificate), and the keyboard will popular up. Tap the microphone icon at the top right of the keyboard, and start speaking when prompted. Information technology will very quickly capture your vocalism into text as fast equally you're able to talk. Information technology'due south scary how fast it transcribes. Not simply that, it'southward highly accurate. It was the just app that captured "birdcast" (albeit uncapitalized), the name of a birding website, and it fabricated merely 3 dictation errors. Note: If you cease speaking for about 10 seconds, the microphone turns off, then y'all'll have to tap it again.

Yous have the option to personalize the app, which allows Gboard to recognize your vox usage patterns and meliorate on them, increasing accurateness over time. I've dictated texts in the car with the radio on, and it's all the same nearly perfect. It'south also good at not including stammers, probable as a consequence of learning my speech patterns.

Note: I've been using Gboard for about vi years. It has learned my voice and speech patterns, then it'southward not surprising that it was the nearly accurate in my test.

Gboard price: Free

Gboard accuracy: In transcribing a 207-word passage, Gboard fabricated just iii errors.

Recommendation: Gboard spits out your words on screen as fast as you can say them. For faster talkers, information technology will experience only right, but for others, it may have getting used to. If you lot want to dictate texts, emails, or any other brusque notation, employ Gboard.

Gboard supported languages: Not counting unlike dialects separately, Gboard supports 69 languages: Afrikaans, Arabic, Azerbaijani cluster, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Welsh, Zulu, and more than.

Best dictation software for typing in Google Docs

Google Docs voice typing (Web on Chrome)

The interface for Google Docs voice typing, our pick for the best dictation software for Google Docs

Google Docs includes a dictation characteristic that's both highly accurate and easy to employ, chosen Google Docs voice typing—but you have to exist using Chrome to access this feature. Merely go to Tools > Vocalization typing, and a microphone icon will appear on the left. Click on information technology, and start talking. If you're idle for about xxx seconds, the microphone automatically stops. Click on information technology again to resume. Yous can use the same process to dictate speaker notes in a Slides presentation.

If you lot demand help or you want a listing of commands, click on the question marking inside the microphone icon. Aid will popular upwards on the correct where you can scroll or search to find voice commands such as punctuation, text formatting, editing, and even moving around your certificate.

Google Docs vocalization typing price: Free

Google Docs voice typing accuracy: Out of 207 words dictated, nine words were incorrect, giving it a 96% accurateness. Nearly of the errors were for capitalizing words in the middle of sentences, such equally untold, reject, and discovery.

Recommendation: If yous're a Google Docs ability user and want dictation capability, voice typing is an excellent choice for its accurateness and many voice commands.

Google Docs voice typing supported languages: Vocalism typing works in these languages and includes many dialects: Afrikaans, Amharic, Standard arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bahasa Indonesia, Basque, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croation, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Farsi, Filipino, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Kannada, Central khmer, Korean, Laotian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Malaysian, Marāthi, Nepali, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanaian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Sinhala, Spanish, Spanish, Sundanese, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Zulu.

Google Docs integrates with Zapier, which means you can automatically do things like save form entries to Google Docs, create new documents whenever something happens in your other apps, or create projection direction tasks for each new certificate.

Best free dictation software for occasional apply

SpeechTexter (Spider web on Chrome, Android)

The interface for SpeechTexter, our pick for the best dictation software for occasional use

SpeechTexter is supported merely using the Chrome browser or with the Android mobile app (iPhones and iPads are not supported). Many free dictation sites have an annoying number of ads, just this one keeps information technology to a manageable one or two. And they do have a privacy policy that states that, while they don't store any of your text, it is candy by Google's servers. But keep that in listen.

To beginning, select your language. (For English speakers, in that location are an impressive sixteen unlike dialects from countries such as Ghana, Hong Kong, and Pakistan and a full of 73 different languages.) Then in the peak-left corner, click Get-go, and brainstorm. As you're talking, your speech is captured in a pop-up window briefly and then quickly transcribed on the screen with piddling delay. Equally you talk, a word count displays in real-fourth dimension at the bottom-right.

Vox commands are placed handily to the right of the main window. If you lot want to create your ain control, click the pencil icon, so the plus sign and add together a command. I added a command, "quotes," for quotation marks and inverse the command for "flow" to "stop." You can edit your oral communication like you would in any basic give-and-take processing program, then relieve it as a .txt or Word file. Enabling the auto-save characteristic prevents you lot from losing work if your browser or window is airtight inadvertently. If that happens, only bring the site back up, and your previous dictation will appear on the screen.

SpeechTexter toll: Gratuitous

SpeechTexter accuracy: In a 207-word passage, SpeechTexter had 10 inaccuracies (95% accuracy). The nearly common mistakes were randomly capitalizing words in the middle of sentences, which is unsurprising, as it runs on the same speech engine as Google Docs (see its accuracy results higher up).

Recommendation: If y'all apply Chrome and occasionally demand dictation, SpeechTexter is a good choice for its accuracy and ease of utilise.

SpeechTexter supported languages: SpeechTexter supports speech to text in 73 languages, plus dozens of dialects.

Is phonation dictation for you?

While non perfect, the accuracy of most dictation software is excellent. That and the already complimentary versions packaged with so many devices and apps brand using the technology—at least for quicker tasks like annotation taking—an easy decision.

If you spend a lot of fourth dimension writing for work or even fun, information technology makes sense to try dictation just to get the feel of speaking the words that normally come through your fingers. This may be the hardest part for many users—one-time habits die hard. Once (and if) y'all get used to dictating your thoughts, you lot may observe information technology hard to go back to typing.

This commodity was originally published in April 2016. Previous versions had contributions from Emily Esposito and Jill Duffy.

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