The 10 Best Dictation and Speech-to-Text Apps in 2026

During a recent interview, my dictation app transcribed blockchain technology as blog chain mythology. That’s when I realized even the best voice recognition tools still have their bad moments. Since I often interview industry leaders, I’ve become heavily dependent on dictation software to note down tiny details.

Fortunately, dictated text errors are fading fast with voice dictation software. If you’re still typing everything by hand, you probably spend hours transcribing meeting notes. You'll be happy to learn that you can cut that in half with dictation apps.

As a content professional who can’t afford typos, missed punctuation marks, or getting someone’s name wrong, I’ve spent weeks testing dozens of voice typing apps. Some crashed and burned, while others blew my mind. Here are the ones that actually work.

Best speech-to-text apps: At a glance

There is plenty of speech recognition software, but some won't suit your needs. Here is a quick comparison of the best dictation software, including what each app does best, compatibility, pricing, and language support.

What makes great voice-to-text software

Good speech recognition tools are accurate, easy to use, and have multilingual support. After using multiple tools, I also realized that a tool that supports voice commands correctly should get a higher rating. Here is a breakdown of the most valuable features of good voice-to-text software:

• Accuracy: Great speech-to-text software must stay true to what you’re saying. To test these apps, I spoke off the cuff and included some brand names and industry-related keywords, such as HubSpot, Microsoft, and others. I made sure the listed apps have at least 90% accuracy.

• Ease of Use: Trying to dictate something shouldn’t be frustrating. I made sure each tool is basic enough for anyone to figure it out in seconds.

• Languages Supported: If you’re part of a global team that speaks different languages, being able to dictate in one shared tool makes life a lot easier. The voice dictation tools I included in this list support multiple languages to keep everyone on the same page.

• Availability of Voice Commands: The best dictation software lets you add instructions while dictating. You should be able to add paragraphs, punctuation marks, or capitalize the words in a sentence.

• Versatility: I checked the availability of the voice dictation tools as apps and ensured they work correctly. Some listed apps made minor mistakes when the background noise was high, but most performed well.

10 best speech-to-text & dictation apps

To test these dictation apps, I used a 200-word script packed with numbers, punctuation marks, and technical terms. I used my phone and laptop mic to dictate everything, and most of these note-taking apps actually did pretty well.

#1. Notta

Best for business meetings and other situations where precision is crucial

Notta leads the pack as the best dictation software with a high accuracy rate of up to 98.86%. That is one of the highest ratings I have come across. In my tests, it captured almost everything: question marks, punctuation, special characters, and even smileys.

Notta can transcribe text live in 58 languages and translate into 42 languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic. I asked my Chinese client to use it to voice-write and translate text into English. The error rates were minimal, and it could even distinguish between different speakers for extra clarity.

It’s accessible on almost all your devices: Android, iOS, a Google Chrome Extension, and through your web browser.

Notta is fast and easy to use on any platform. Simply press the ‘Instant record' button, and you can focus on the conversation without losing any details. You can also pause and resume the transcription process easily.

Notta offers an interactive text editor that makes it easy to proofread your transcript. While the transcription is highly accurate, minor edits may be needed for your final copy. You can also search through your text or highlight words for quick navigation.

Once the transcription is polished and ready, you can share your transcript via a link or convert it into popular formats like Microsoft Word DOCX, PDF, or plain old TXT.

I'm always a little hesitant about sharing data with cloud-based services, but Notta keeps your data encrypted at all times with industry-standard 256-bit AES encryption.

Pros:

• Custom vocabulary to improve accuracy for specific terms

• AI-powered summaries of your dictated text in one click

• Translation features for sharing with global audiences

• Neatly organize the transcripts in one workspace with folders

Cons:

• May provide more features than some users need for simple dictation

Pricing: A free trial is available, offering 120 transcription minutes, and paid plans start at $8.17 per month.

Compatibility: Web browser, iOS, Android, and Chrome Extension

Supported Languages: 58 total supported languages, including English, Chinese, and Arabic.

#2. Google Docs Voice Typing

Best free software for dictating in Google Docs

Google Docs is my go-to word processor, so it's extremely helpful to have voice typing integrated from the ground up.

Google doesn’t share official numbers, but in my testing, the speech-to-text gave surprisingly good results. This accuracy helps when I have to brainstorm and outline ideas without even touching the keyboard (especially when the keyboard is about to break because of furious typing). You can even format your text and add punctuation with just your voice. However, the voice command feature only works if you use Docs in English.

For standard speech-to-text, Google Docs Voice Typing supports 62 different languages, including wide support for different regional dialects and accents.

Like everything in the Google Cloud, your data is encrypted while it’s being sent and stored. Google will use your voice data to improve its tools, but it's hard to argue with a free solution that's built right into your favorite app!

Pros:

• Free voice typing solution.

• Supports text formatting commands.

• Extensive language support.

Cons:

• Only works in Docs and Slides

• Doesn't support Firefox, Brave, or other browsers

Pricing: Free.

Compatibility: Chrome, Safari, and Edge web browsers.

Supported Languages: 62 total supported languages, including English, Polish, and Dutch.

#3. Apple Dictation

Best for users who value a smooth, familiar workflow across phone, tablet, and laptop.

Apple Dictation is a versatile, free speech-to-text app built into iPhone 6s or higher and iPads. It can be used without an Internet connection and offers a high accuracy level. It also has impressive customer reviews and features great punctuation and formatting tools that I haven't seen with many speech-to-text apps. With a few basic punctuation and formatting commands, you can format and add punctuation: periods, commas, dollar signs, quotation marks, colons, and much more.

I like that Apple Dictation comes pre-installed on iOS devices. It also has a simple user interface that makes using and learning the app easy. I also like that the dictation will either stop manually or automatically after 30 seconds of no speaking. All in all, this app is a great on-the-go option for iPhone and iPad users.

Pros:

• Can be used on iPhone 6 or later and iPad without an Internet connection.

• You can use Voice Control to interact with your iPhone.

• Dictate text of any length.

Cons:

• Not available on Android devices.

• Not available in all countries and regions.

Pricing: Free

Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Supported Languages: 66 total supported languages, including English, German, and Finnish.

#4. Gboard - The Google Keyboard

Best for Android users looking for both glide typing and voice typing

Gboard, also known as Google Keyboard, offers reliable voice typing features. I love that it provides voice and glide typing, allowing you to slide your finger from letter to letter rather than regular typing and dictating on the go. You can type faster using Gboard's voice typing feature and talk to anyone with the built-in translate feature.

The app also offers handwriting options, allowing your text to appear in cursive and printed letters. I also like that you can add GIFs, stickers, and even smileys to your text to infuse your personality into the text. It even offers intelligent suggestions to improve spelling and readability while you type.

Gboard has a user-friendly one-handed mode, and you can customize the interface by making the number row available and creating symbol hints. It also allows you to choose your own theme, with or without key borders.

Gboard does not share data with third parties and allows you to ask Google to delete your data. This app also encrypts data at all times, like the rest of Google's services.

Pros:

• Offers GIFs, stickers, and emojis through the emoji kitchen.

• Multilingual typing allows you to switch between languages automatically.

• Translate as you type with Google Translate.

• Supports a huge number of languages and dialects.

Cons:

• No verbal punctuation or formatting.

Pricing: Free

Compatibility: Android and iOS devices

Supported Languages: 916 total supported languages, including English, Hindi, and French.

#5. Dragon Medical One

Best for medical dictation

Dragon Medical One is a desktop medical transcription app that accurately captures medical terms for doctors and other medical professionals. It lets doctors speak freely to patients, without needing to sit at a keyboard to record notes. Since Dragon has been working with speech recognition for a long time, it’s no surprise that it offers the highest transcription accuracy at over 99%.

The app can run in the background and can insert your transcription text into any text field in any app. This makes it more flexible and powerful than most dictation tools. However, you do need to spend time setting it up before using it.

Dragon Medical One also offers a full range of AI workflow improvements for medical professionals and works with many electronic health record (EHR) systems. It keeps data safe by using Microsoft Azure cloud servers that meet GDPR and ISO 27001 standards.

Pros:

• Highest accuracy rating of any transcription app

• Provides dictation in any desktop app

• AI workflow tools for improving efficiency

Cons:

• Very expensive

• Limited language support

Pricing: $99 per user, per month (annual term), plus a one-time $525 platform fee.

Compatibility: Windows, macOS. Android/iOS for PowerMic Mobile companion app

Supported Languages: 10 total supported languages, including English, French, and German.

#6. Descript

Best for content creators

Descript is a speech-to-text app that helps you transcribe audio. It's designed for media pros who want to create video and podcast content as quickly as possible. It uses one of the most innovative editing methods I've ever seen.

Instead of using a standard media editing timeline, Descript matches your text transcript to your audio and video content. When you edit the text, those edits also apply to the media file you're working on! It's really fun to use and especially helpful if you don't enjoy using traditional multi-track editors.

Descript can automatically transcribe any media content you record or upload with an accuracy rate of up to 95%. This is pretty good, but you'll probably still have to make the occasional correction. This tool also removes silent sections and filler words to make your transcript easier to read.

Pros:

• Innovative approach to media editing

• Remove filler words intelligently

• Add subtitles to the video with transcription

Cons:

• The cheapest paid plan is too limited

• Overly complex for simple speech-to-text usage

Pricing: Free plan available with 1 hour of transcription per month, and paid plans start at $19 USD per user per month.

Compatibility: Browser-based.

Supported Languages: 23 total supported languages, including English, French, and German.

#7. Otter

Best for business use because of its collaborative and organizational functions

Otter is an AI-powered voice transcription app designed for hybrid/remote work teams, students, content creators, and sales teams. The Otter assistant can join your online meetings and transcribe everything into automated meeting notes. I used it to transcribe the audio notes I was making for a content strategy. The error rate was a little higher than some other apps, but it still did a good job. It can also record and transcribe in-person meetings or personal voice notes using your mobile device's microphone.

Otter only transcribes three languages: English, French, and Spanish. It also supports a wide variety of English accents and regional dialects from around the world. Fortunately, it also allows you to create a custom vocabulary for industry and technical terms often missed by AI transcription tools. You can review your transcript using the Otter online dashboard and share it with your team for collaborative editing.

Pros:

• Compatible with Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom

• Built-in project management tools

• Custom vocabulary

Cons:

• Only supports three languages

Pricing: Free plan and paid plans start at $8.33 per user per month.

Compatibility: Web browser, iOS, and Android

Supported Languages: English, Spanish, and French

#8. Speechmatics

Best for users who need accurate transcription for British and other global accents.

Speechmatics is a leading speech recognition technology that works on both existing video and audio files and live conversations. This app is ideal for users who convert speech to text with strong accents, including British and Jamaican accents.

Speechmatics has a high accuracy of 90%. It also offers many speech-to-text transcription services, such as turning call center phone recordings into searchable Word or text documents. The software is also compatible with video and other media, and creates captions and keyword triggers to organize your files.

Another benefit of Speechmatics is that it includes speaker diarization. This feature helps detect and label different speakers in your transcript. It even adds full punctuation, making the transcript easier to read.

Pros:

• No contract required.

• Automatic sample rate detection chooses the best transcription model.

• Cloud-based.

• Supports all major file formats.

• Offers online support during traditional business hours for On-Demand and Enterprise plans.

Cons:

• No free option available.

• Offers only essential features with nothing that stands out.

Pricing: Free tier and paid plans start at $0.30 per hour.

Compatibility: Android and iOS

Supported Languages: 55 total supported languages, including English, Chinese, and Dutch.

#9. Rev

Best for high-volume transcription

Rev offers both AI-powered and human transcription. It can transcribe audio and video from any source: meetings, calls, interviews, voice memos, and more.

Rev supports 37 languages and claims its AI transcription service is over 95% accurate. They also offer transcripts with 99.9% accuracy by hiring a human transcriptionist.

Rev also offers an interactive AI assistant that can summarize your dictation, but it's limited compared to the other tools in this list. You'll have to subscribe to the most expensive plan to create custom summary templates.

Pros:

• Available on a per-minute basis instead of the monthly plan

• Supports background recording

• Free plan with high usage limit

Cons:

• Human transcription services are expensive

Pricing: Free plan includes 300 AI transcription minutes per month. Paid plans start at $9.99 per month.

Compatibility: Android, iOS, and web browsers.

Supported Languages: 37 languages, including English, Mandarin, and Hindi.

#10. Speechnotes

Best for free, user-friendly online dictation

Speechnotes is a free online tool for dictation and transcription. The user interface is a bit confusing, but it's hard to argue with the value it provides for free. Your dictation is displayed in a text editor to correct any mistakes. You can use voice commands to add a new paragraph, question marks, special characters, punctuation, or even emojis!

Speechnotes has many productivity features in addition to its dictation capabilities. I love that it auto-saves your document in real time, so you never have to worry about losing your transcript. The app will also automatically capitalize letters at the beginning of the sentence, saving you time editing your document later. You can easily export your transcript to Google Docs or download it to your PC.

Speechnotes values user privacy and never shares anything you say or type with third parties (other than Google's speech-to-text engine). The website interface also doesn't use any cookies and follows Google's strict privacy policies. I like that it has custom keyword options, allowing you to create and save technical terms, names, or other frequently used text.

Pros:

• Extremely easy to use by opening a dictation page.

• Free unlimited usage.

• Auto saves your document and edits.

• Voice commands for adding punctuation.

Cons:

• No iOS app available.

• In-app advertisements for the free option.

Pricing: A free plan is available, and paid plans start at $1.99 per month.

Compatibility: Android, iOS, Web browser

Supported Languages: 55 total supported languages, including English, Mandarin, and Dutch.

Pro tips for using speech-to-text apps

Here are a few key tips to follow when using a speech-to-text app to make your transcript as accurate as possible.

• Speak clearly and loudly. The app must hear you clearly for the best transcription accuracy. Use a quality microphone to isolate your voice and reduce background noise. I recommend speaking slowly and enunciating clearly so that the app doesn't misunderstand your words.

• Avoid background noise. Background noise can skew the accuracy of your transcription and lead to gaps in the text.

• Outline a draft first. If you are dictating a voice memo or email, go over your notes or outline first. This can help you avoid pauses and errors while dictating.

• Emphasize while you speak. Take pauses before sentences, and don't be afraid to take a long pause to collect your thoughts. The app won't mind waiting!

• Learn voice commands. Many speech-to-text apps offer dictation commands, such as “comma,” “period,” “close parentheses,” or “open parentheses,” so that you can add punctuation to your transcription easily. Many of these apps also allow you to insert emojis as you go. Using voice commands will save you time in the long run by cutting down on edits later.

• Choose the best app for your situation. If you plan on having multiple speakers for dictation, select an app that identifies multiple speakers. Some apps offer more supported languages and dialects than others, so keep that in mind if you need translation or speak in a regional accent.

• Proofread your transcripts. Before sending your transcript to a colleague or fellow student, take a moment to look over the transcript for mistakes. Even the best speech-to-text apps will make minor errors, so always take a moment to double-check for mistakes to avoid any embarrassing moments.

• Use placeholder commands. Check if your speech-to-text app offers the ability to use a placeholder word. The placeholder word will signify to your app to insert a phrase, jargon, or email signature instead of needing to state the entire phrase each time you dictate to your app.

Key takeaways

The best speech-to-text apps can save you time, free up your hands, and create an organized transcript of your dictation. This guide will help you find speech-to-text software that fits your needs, saves time, and makes everyday tasks feel less stressful.

Out of all the apps in this article, I think the Notta AI transcription tool provides the best balance of features, precision, and value. It allows you to focus on meetings and conversations with accurate, real-time transcription. You can edit and organize all your transcriptions online and generate AI summaries. Best of all, it's simple to use and makes your life easier. What more could you want from dictation software?

FAQs about speech-to-text

1. What is speech-to-text used for?

Speech-to-text is used for speech recognition and transcribing spoken words into text through a computer or app. Speech-to-text is also known as computer speech recognition or just speech recognition. It's often used for saving notes on your phone through dictation, media subtitling, clinical documentation, call analytics, and media content search.

2. Can ChatGPT transcribe speech to text?

Yes, the paid version of ChatGPT can transcribe speech to text, but it's only useful for improving conversation flow, not as a dictation app. Because ChatGPT uses conversation as an interface (that's the 'chat' part of ChatGPT), it will actively respond to any text that it transcribes for you instead of just making a record of what you say.

3. Should I go for AI or a human speech-to-text service?

AI transcription services are much faster and more affordable than speech-to-text services that employ human transcriptionists. The best AI transcription apps like Notta are very close to the same level of accuracy at a fraction of the cost, so it's ideal for most daily transcription tasks. If you need 100% accuracy, and speed and cost are not an issue, then you may want to choose a human speech-to-text transcription service.

4. Is voice-to-text software secure?

Yes, most voice-to-text software is reasonably secure, but there is always some risk to your data security when using any software. However, voice-to-text software removes the human element from the transcription process. This helps to keep your information private and reduces the chance of security leaks.