The best dictation apps and software

AudioPen is a voice to text app that turns what you say into writing in your chosen style. You can use it two ways. Voice typing puts the text wherever your cursor is. On a Mac or Windows PC, hold the hotkey and talk for clean text, or double-tap it for a rewrite in your style. On iPhone and iPad it's a keyboard, and on Android it's a floating bubble. Notes keep what you record in a library you can come back to, and they work on the web and in the Chrome extension too.

Stands out: Styles. Pick a built-in one like Clear & Simple, or write your own. People do both. Across 20,000 AudioPen notes from July to September 2026, about 7 in 10 used a built-in style and 15.2% used one the person wrote. AudioPen also writes in the language you choose, even when you speak another.

Dictation comes with your Mac and your iPhone. On iPhone, Apple says you can dictate “anywhere you can type it.” On a Mac, you turn it on in System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation. In supported languages, it puts in the commas, periods and question marks for you.

Stands out: On iPhone, Dictation runs on the phone in many languages, with no internet connection needed. On a Mac, whether it runs on the Mac or on Apple's servers depends on the language and the Mac. Our guide to Dictation on a Mac covers the setup and the shortcuts.

Falls short: It types what you said, the ums and the false starts included. And it stays on Apple devices, so it won't follow you to a Windows PC or an Android phone.

Click in any text field, press the Windows logo key + H, and talk. It works on Windows 11 and Windows 10. It uses Microsoft's online speech recognition, so you need to be connected to the internet.

Stands out: On Copilot+ PCs, Fluid dictation is on by default in English, and it “automatically corrects grammar, punctuation, and filler words as you speak.” Voice access, a separate feature in Windows 11, can dictate without an internet connection. AudioPen's Windows app adds voice typing in your own style on any PC.

Falls short: On a PC that isn't a Copilot+ PC, voice typing hands back your words as you said them, and it stops when you're offline. It's Windows only.

In Google Docs on a computer, go to Tools > Voice typing, click the microphone and talk. It runs in Chrome and other current browsers. On Android, Gboard has a microphone key on the keyboard, so you can speak instead of type.

Stands out: Both take spoken punctuation: say “period”, “comma” or “new line”. On a Pixel 6 or later, Gboard adds Advanced voice typing, and Pixel 9 and later phones, except the 9a, can rewrite text by voice. Our Google Docs voice typing guide shows where it stops.

Falls short: Docs voice typing works only inside Docs, in a browser on a computer. Both type what you say, so the tidying up is yours.

Wispr Flow types into whatever app you're in, on your computer or your phone. It removes filler words, adds punctuation and formats what you say.

Stands out: On a computer, you choose how much it edits: Auto Cleanup has None, Light and Medium. Styles set the tone by app, formal in docs and casual in messages, in English. A beta feature called Transforms rewrites text with prompts. Pro is $15 a month, or $12 a month on yearly billing. We cover more options in Wispr Flow alternatives.

Falls short: Transcription always runs in the cloud, so there's no offline option.

SuperWhisper works in any app. Its modes shape what you say for the job, and you can build your own.

Stands out: Its free plan gives unlimited dictation with local Whisper models, plus up to two modes with no AI processing, per its Plans & Pricing page. Local models transcribe without the internet. One Pro license covers unlimited Macs and Windows PCs plus an iPhone and an Android phone. Pro is $8.49 a month or $84.99 a year. See how it compares in SuperWhisper alternatives.

Falls short: The AI modes, like Super and Mail, are on Pro, and most AI processing needs the internet. SuperWhisper doesn't support iPad.

Willow works in any text field. It drops filler words, fixes punctuation and formats your writing as you go.

Stands out: Willow lists an offline mode, though it doesn't say which plan or device has it. Pro is $15 a month, or $12 a month on yearly billing.

Falls short: The free plan runs on what Willow calls a “weaker speech-to-text model”. Willow says it runs on secure cloud infrastructure in the United States.

Aqua Voice is a dictation app for computers and phones. In Aqua's words, its Avalon model “punctuates, fixes the grammar, and drops the ums”.

Stands out: Pro is $8 a month on yearly billing, or $10 if you pay month to month. It adds unlimited words, Custom Instructions and a bigger custom dictionary. Students get 70% off.

Falls short: The free plan is 1,000 words in total, not a monthly allowance. Cloud dictation needs an internet connection, and offline use depends on your platform.

Spokenly is a dictation app for Mac, Windows, Linux and iPhone.

Stands out: Its on-device Whisper and Parakeet models are free, with “no word caps, no trial clock, and no credit card”, and they work completely offline. You can also bring your own API keys, and you don't need an account. Our Spokenly comparison goes further.

Falls short: Cloud models and AI text cleanup are on Pro, at $99.99 a year ($8.33 a month). On the free models, you get what the model hears.

Dragon Professional is Nuance's dictation program for Windows. Nuance, now part of Microsoft, lists it for Windows 11 and Windows 10, installed on the PC. There's no buy button, only Contact us, and no public price. PCMag lists it at $699.

Stands out: For clinical work, Nuance sells Dragon Medical One and Dragon Copilot. We go through the rest in Dragon vs AudioPen.

Falls short: Dragon Professional is for Windows, and the phone app is no longer sold: “As of July 1, 2026, Dragon Anywhere Mobile is no longer available for sale.”