In some methods, 2025 was when AI dictation apps actually took off. Dictation apps have been round for years, however up to now they’ve proved sluggish and inaccurate — until you communicate with specific accents and enunciate clearly.
However advances in giant language fashions (LLMs) and speech-to-text fashions have helped enhance the methods that may decipher speech higher whereas retaining the context to format the textual content. And builders have inbuilt options to robotically format textual content, take away filler phrases, and ignore fumbles to output textual content that would want fewer edits.
However with the hovering reputation of the whole lot AI, there’s dozens of such apps in the marketplace. So we’ve collated our choose of one of the best and most helpful dictation apps his 12 months.
Wispr Stream
Wispr Stream is a well-funded AI dictation app that allows you to add customized phrases and directions for dictation. It has native apps for macOS, Home windows, and iOS, and an Android model is within the works.
The app allows you to customise how its system transcribes your notes by letting you select from “formal,” “informal,” and “very informal” kinds for various sorts of writing, corresponding to private messaging, work, and electronic mail. And when you use it with vibe-coding instruments like Cursor, you may activate a characteristic to robotically acknowledge variables or tag information within the chat.
The app allows you to word as much as 2,000 phrases per 30 days at no cost on any of the desktop variations, and 1,000 phrases per 30 days on iOS. Its subscription plans supply limitless transcription and begin at $15 per 30 days.
Willow
Willow advertises itself as a giant time-saver for many who don’t prefer to kind. Alongside frequent options like automated modifying and formatting, the app has a characteristic that faucets giant language fashions to generate a full chunk of textual content from only a few dictated phrases.
Willow additionally takes a extra privacy-focused stab at AI-assisted note-taking by storing all transcripts regionally in your machine, and allows you to choose out of mannequin coaching as effectively. It additionally allows you to add customized vocabulary to the app to assist it adapt to your trade’s parlance, or your native dialect.
Willow allows you to dictate 2,000 phrases per 30 days on its desktop app at no cost. Particular person subscription plans begin at $15 per 30 days, supplying you with limitless dictation and enabling the app to recollect your writing model.
Monologue
In case you are targeted on privateness, Monologue allows you to obtain its mannequin so you may run it in your machine for transcriptions and keep away from sending knowledge to the cloud. What’s extra, the app allows you to customise its tone of voice in accordance with the apps you employ it with.
Monologue allows you to jot down 1,000 phrases per 30 days at no cost, and its subscription prices $10 per 30 days, or $100 per 12 months. And if you find yourself turning into one of many app’s prime customers, the corporate will even ship you this funky Monokey to make use of with the app.
Superwhisper
Superwhisper is primarily a dictation app, however it will probably additionally transcribe from audio or video information. The app provides you the liberty to decide on and obtain AI fashions, together with its personal fashions which have completely different speeds and accuracy, together with Nvidia’s Parakeet speech-recognition fashions.
The app additionally allows you to write customized prompts to steer the output. You possibly can simply see each processed and unprocessed transcripts which might be built-in with the system keyboard.
The essential voice-to-text characteristic is free to make use of, and also you get quarter-hour to check out Professional options corresponding to translation and transcription. The paid tier allows you to use your personal AI API keys and plug in cloud and native fashions with none caps.
The month-to-month plan prices $8.49 per 30 days, the annual plan prices $84.99 per 30 days, or you may pay $249.99 for a lifetime subscription.
VoiceTypr
The VoiceTypr app takes an offline-first, no-subscription strategy, letting you employ native fashions for transcription. There’s additionally a GitHub repository for many who wish to host and run the open supply model themselves. VoiceTypr helps over 99 languages and works on each Mac and Home windows.
The app is offered to attempt for 3 days at no cost, and after that it’s going to assist you to purchase a lifetime license. The app prices $35 for one machine, $56 for 2, and $98 for 4 units.
Aqua
Aqua is one other Y Combinator-backed voice-typing shopper for Home windows and macOS that claims to be one of many quickest instruments within the class when it comes to latency.
Moreover dealing with grammar and punctuation, Aqua additionally allows you to autofill textual content by saying phrases — you may say “my handle” and have Aqua kind in your handle, for instance.
The app additionally provides its personal speech-to-text API for different apps.
The free tier will get you 1,000 phrases per 30 days. The paid plans begin from $8 per 30 days (annual billing) and unlock limitless phrases and 800 customized dictionary values.
Helpful
Helpful is an open supply and free transcription software that may run on Mac, Home windows, and Linux. The appliance is fairly fundamental and doesn’t supply a whole lot of customization, however in case you are attempting to get began with utilizing your voice extra and don’t wish to pay, it’s a good choice.
The app has a fundamental settings menu that allows you to toggle push-to-talk, and alter the hotkey to activate the transcription.
Typeless
Typeless is one other app on this class with a excessive free phrase depend. The corporate claims that it doesn’t retain any knowledge or use it to coach fashions. Typeless additionally suggests a greater model of the sentence when you may need fumbled a line.
The app allows you to dictate as much as 4,000 phrases per week (roughly 16,000 phrases per 30 days) on its free tier. You possibly can pay $12 per 30 days (billed yearly) to unlock limitless phrases and get entry to new options. Typeless is offered for Home windows and macOS solely.
