The best speech-to-text software for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android

Best for: Controlling your Windows computer with voice commands and dictating documents

Windows 10 Speech Recognition makes it easy to use voice-to-text in Windows 10 and works anywhere as long as there is a text input field. In addition to converting spoken words to written words, the software can also control various functions. For example, you can use a voice command to control the cursor within a document and select a particular word or phrase.

Microsoft makes it easy to get started with your audio recording and text documentation, as they have a useful tutorial page on their website, making this program suitable for beginners. Being built into the Windows 10 software, this is a great option when you can’t or don’t want to type.

Pros

• Comes preinstalled on Windows 10 computers or tablets
• Able to transcribe speech-to-text in several languages
• Honors voice commands to help with editing and creating a document

Cons

• Limited functionality
• Requires “training” the software to improve accuracy

Best for: Controlling your Mac computer and transcribing short text using speech

For Mac users looking for a way to control their computer with voice commands rather than needing to use a mouse or keyboard, Apple Dictation is the way to go. It is built into the OS, making it easy to get started. This Apple software tends to be reasonably accurate and is based on the same technology powering Siri, Apple’s voice-controlled digital assistant. Meant more for controlling functions and taking short notes. It isn’t capable of capturing longer dictation tasks as an entire document.

Pros

• Built into Apple’s OS ready for immediate use
• Involves grid numbering of desktop layout for easier voice control of a cursor
• Available customizable vocabulary and commands to allow the program to understand what you’re saying and asking it to do

Cons

• Doesn’t handle longer dictation
• Available for U.S. English only

Best for: Transcribing multiple voices

G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5

Otter offers a real-time transcription service that uses AI to create accurate transcriptions of meetings or interviews quickly. It can recognize different voices, which is useful when recording a session. The company aims to be an enterprise-ready solution, and while it’s a decent option, the limitations make it better suited to non-critical tasks. The company offers both free and paid plans, with the free version being limited to 600 minutes of transcription time per month.

Pros

• Recognizes multiple speakers
• High accuracy levels
• Real-time transcriptions
• Integrates with Zoom to transcribe video meetings

Cons

• Takes some time for the final text from audio recording to be completed
• Time limitations for monthly usage (maximum 600 minutes of audio recording)

Best for: Hands-free computer use

Voice Finger allows you to control your computer without touching the keyboard or mouse at all. This makes it a great solution for people with injuries or disabilities. This hands-free approach also makes it ideal for gamers who want to control their computer for a task but need their hands to control the game. The voice-activated mouse controls include controlling left, middle, and right mouse buttons. Although it excels at managing the computer through voice commands, this isn’t a transcription service, so you’ll need to find additional software to avoid typing documents like essays, school assignments, meeting minutes, and more.

Pros

• Useful for computer control for people with repetitive strain injury sufferers or physical disabilities
• Complete hands-off mouse control requiring just one-step commands
• Allows shorter and quicker commands than the built-in Windows Speech Recognition controls

Cons

• Windows only
• Not intended for document transcription services

Best for: People who need a full-featured and accurate speech-to-text solution

Dragon Home is, like the name suggests, meant for home users. The company also offers more advanced versions for lawyers, law enforcement, medical professionals, and the financial industry. Users of the home version benefit from the accuracy and reliability of professional-grade software without the higher cost.

Pros

• Ability to program custom phrases for often-used commands
• “Speed of Thought” transcription with high accuracy
• Playback feature to review dictated text in your own voice

Cons

• Resource intensive - not a great option for underpowered computers
• Requires practice to adjust to the command functioning and how to operate them
• Limited to Windows PCs and tablets

Best for: High volume, single voice transcriptions

G2 rating: 4 out of 5 stars

IBM Watson might be best known as the AI software that once went head-to-head with Jeopardy champions in a battle of trivia. What you may not know is that this software is also very strong for helping people conduct menial tasks, like transcribing your audio and shaping it into text. Using AI and digital learning, this technology applies what it knows about the way people talk to create accurate text transcriptions. If you have hours of speech that need to be formed into text, the IBM Watson may be what you’re looking for. Note however, that the price reflects the advanced software of this advanced speech-to-text program.

Pros

• Fast and very accurate transcription with the understanding of colloquial speech and more
• Cloud-based making it deployable from anywhere, including private, public, hybrid, multi-cloud networks, and more
• Can be embedded into other applications through an API

Cons

• Pricey when compared to other options
• Struggles to distinguish voices or understand controls from multiple voices

Best for: People who need multi-language support with a guarantee of accuracy

TechRadar rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Braina Pro is, like many voice recognition software solutions, powered by AI technology. This means that the software will only get better over time. Upon the first time using this program, you may notice the learning in action element involved in its functioning. However, what may seem to be inaccurate text when first dictating to the Braina Pro is afterward automatically corrected as the software adjusts to the voice it’s transcribing. The digital brain behind Braina is smart enough to understand accents as well as multiple languages.

Pros

• Flexible and very accurate voice recognition and transcription
• Budget-friendly software
• Good multi-purpose tool for computer control and documentation from audio

Cons

• Primarily task-oriented rather than a “chat-bot” used for finding quick answers or simple computer controls
• Limited to Windows PCs and tablets

Best for: Professional users, such as journalists, lawyers, or podcasters

TechRadar rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Transcribe by Wreally is a web-based service, which means you don’t need to download or install any software onto your computer. However, it also means you need an internet connection to use it. While the interface and design layout is quite simplistic, Transcribe earns kudos from people who can rely on it even when they have a poor internet connection. The software offers the ability to transcribe existing recordings and live dictation. This means you can upload a recording you made in the past, which helps for attending meetings, lectures, interviews, or important speeches where you can’t also bring your computer.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Highly accurate software
• Accessible for all computers
• Good multi-language support
• Ability to transcribe recordings

Cons

• Requires annual subscription or advanced subscriptions, which include annual plus hourly costs
• Requires an internet connection to use

Best for: Developers who need to add speech-to-text to their apps

G2 rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Amazon Transcribe was made for app developers who wanted to incorporate the best speech-to-text software capabilities into their products. Amazon claims their transcription service is ideal for writing customer phone calls, creating automatic subtitles, and other uses that require turning spoken words into text. The service offers real-time transcription as well as the ability to transcribe pre-recorded audio.

Pros

• Recognizes multiple voices
• Includes time stamps on recording texts
• API means it can be integrated with custom apps

Cons

• Adding industry or task-related vocabulary is tedious
• Requires careful proofreading after dictations

Best for: People who need highly accurate transcriptions in professional or learning environments, but not immediately

G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Verbit claims a more than 99% accuracy rate, making it ideal for those times when accuracy is critical or when you don’t want to comb through the text to fix mistakes after it’s been created. Real-time transcription services are available, along with proofing and editing options, although it will take a few hours for the final version to be delivered. The service is used by court-reporting agencies, which by necessity must be very accurate, meaning it will also be sufficient for plenty of other uses.

Pros

• Easy to operate
• Cost-effective compared to other solutions
• Good customer service

Cons

• Delays in receiving final transcribed text with proofing
• Proofing is not automated, which leaves room for human error and possible delays in delivery

Best for: Businesses requiring transcription services

Capterra rating: 4.5 out of 5

Speechmatics is able to transcribe real-time or prerecorded audio and video files. It takes into account dialect and punctuation when transcribing and can handle multiple speakers and languages. The software was trained using speech from 40 countries. After processing tens of billions of words spoken in English from around the world, it is able to understand multiple accents. This makes it especially useful for international companies who need to transcribe meetings and have found other software unable to deal with the various accents.

Pros

• Ability to understand numerous English dialects and accents
• Enterprise-ready
• Accuracy has been deemed among the best among the long line of voice-to-text products

Cons

• Document outputs to a pdf, which can be difficult to edit or manage
• Has trouble with mumbled speech, making this less effective for users with speech impediments

Best for: Quickly jotting down voice memos

G2 rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Speechnotes is a browser-based app that works somewhat like a notepad. You just click the microphone icon, start talking, and your words appear as text in the browser window. It’s fairly accurate when you speak clearly at a moderate pace. Fast talkers will find it more error-prone, so speaking at a slower pace is best for this program to catch everything being said. This is a free, web-based tool ready to help you jot down your thoughts.

Pros

• Easy to operate
• Browser-based, requiring no installation
• Works well enough for home or casual usage

Cons

• Functioning tends to be delayed and less helpful for fast-talkers
• Requires an internet connection for use

Best for: Creating text documents, like essays or blog posts, using your voice

Google Docs Voice Typing is a function within Google Docs, as opposed to being a standalone app. As such, it requires a Chrome browser on your Windows PC to be uploaded. The Google Docs Voice Typing works well and has the ability to decipher speech correctly when background noise is loud enough to require slightly raised voices. For slow typers who need to write an essay or web post, this service has the potential to be a real time-saver.

Pros

• Works well with distinguishing voices from background noise
• Accurate and fast typing-to-audio speed
• Allows the ability to create long text documents without using the keyboard

Cons

• Only available in Chrome Browsers
• Requires editing to add punctuation and formatting

Best for: Hands-free typing of various documents

Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars

SpeechTexter is targeted for people who need to create documents but aren’t able to type or want to write texts without the delays or physical strains of excessive typing. This makes it ideal for people with hand trauma or those with dyslexia and other impairments that make typing difficult. Accuracy levels are claimed to be between 90 and 95% for American English users. The software also supports more than 60 other languages for recording and typing along to. Note that this is a browser-based program.

Pros

• Supports 60 languages
• Simple interface for easy operation
• Quick and fairly accurate speech-to-text functioning

Cons

• Only works in Chrome browsers
• Punctuation will need editing

Best for: American English users who don’t need a highly accurate transcription

TechRadar rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Temi works well when used in an environment free of background noise, and the person speaking has an American Accent. In other instances, such as noisy places with non-native English speakers, you may experience some roadblocks with the app. Designed for use with pre-recorded audio, the interface is easy to use if you have a meeting that you recorded and need transcribed, or a long interview that needs to be documented. Simply upload a file, check a few boxes about audio quality, and that’s it.

Pros

• Inexpensive
• Accepts multiple file types for uploading pre-recordings
• Also has a mobile app for audio transcription on the go

Cons

• Doesn’t work well with non-American English accents
• Struggles to distinguish voices from background noise

Best for: Making quick notes on the go

Google Play rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Gboard is a keyboard app for Android users that offers increased functionality when compared to a mobile device’s built-in touchscreen keyboard. Voice typing, as Google calls it, allows you to compose hands-free text messages or notes. The app also adds swipe functionality to the keyboard for ease of typing.

Pros

• Easily writes dictated texts and short messages from anywhere
• Includes a translate function
• Allows convenient texting and note-taking without requiring touchscreen keyboard tapping, which can often be challenging for typing

Cons

• Does not fully understand slang language or colloquialisms, which are often included in text messaging
• Commonly experiences delays or lags in recording audio and writing the text

Best for: iPhone users seeking a simple recorder

Apple App Store rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is a simple app that uses your phone’s built-in microphone to record audio. As the name says, it is easy to use as it just includes a record button that you tap to capture speech. The app then creates a text transcription of the dictation. The app also backs up files in iCloud.

Pros

• Simple to operate
• Works with Apple Watch
• Can edit audio-to-text results in the app for one-stop usage

Cons

• Not 100% accurate when recording audio and turning to text
• Punctuation needs to be dictated, which adds more time to the process

Best for: Fans of the desktop version who need a mobile solution

Google Play rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars

Like the desktop version, the app is simple and easy to use. It tends to be fairly accurate, but the lack of punctuation means you’ll have to edit the transcribed text to make it grammatically correct. There may still be some flaws in the system, as users have reported a tendency for the app to crash and delete their files. When it works, however, it can help with accurately transcribing speech.

Pros

• Good for quick notes to yourself
• Simple to use
• Uses Google’s voice-to-text engine

Cons

• Tends to crash or delete files occasionally
• Advertisements on the program can be intrusive

Best for: Making short notes on the go

Google Play rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Voice Notes is meant for short recordings and is ideal for capturing ideas on the go. This makes it a good option for creatives who need to record thoughts on the go with their voice quickly but need the idea written down as well. The app also includes an option to set reminders, making it operate similarly to an alarm clock for meeting or event reminders. The app also has an option to share notes with people through social networks or email.

Pros

• Accurate speech recognition
• Works well as a quick way to capture ideas and notes
• Intuitive interface

Cons

• Stops recording after a short pause in speaking
• Can experience delays or lags in registering audio and turning to text

Best for: Quick notes and to-do lists

Google Play rating: 4.1 out of 5

ListNote, like the name implies, works best for tasks such as list-making and jotting down quick ideas. The interface makes organizing or categorizing notes relatively easy, and notes can be color-coded to easily find them later. Because it’s made as a note-taking app and optimized for shorter text lengths, it’s not a good choice for dictating more extended texts.

Pros

• Password protected notes
• Easy to quickly make notes
• Good speech recognition

Cons

• Ads on the app can be distracting
• Has a tendency to crash