Dictation software ranges from free to several hundred dollars, and the price tag rarely tells you what you'll actually spend. A $10-a-month app costs $360 over three years. A $250 lifetime license costs $250 forever. A free tool costs nothing but your editing time.
So this guide to cheap dictation software looks at the full picture: what's free, what's paid once, and what low-cost subscriptions add up to over three years. Prices come from each vendor's own pages as of October 2026, and they change, so check before you buy. We make LumeVoice. It isn't the cheapest thing here, and we'll say where cheaper options make more sense.
Looking for the best app regardless of price? See best dictation software in 2026 or the 10 best talk to text apps.
The 3-year cost of every option#
| App | Runs on | Free start | Paid plan (Oct 2026) | 3-year cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Dictation | Mac, iPhone | Free | None | $0 |
| Windows voice typing / voice access | Windows | Free | None | $0 |
| Gboard voice typing | Android (and iPhone) | Free | None | $0 |
| Chrome talk to type | Desktop Chrome | Free | None | $0 |
| Handy | Mac, Windows, Linux | Free, open source | None | $0 |
| Spokenly | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone | Free local models | Local+ $29 once; Pro $99.99/yr | $29 once, or $299.97 on Pro |
| VoiceInk | Mac | 7-day trial | $25 once (one Mac) | $25 |
| Speechnotes | Browser, Android | Free with ads | Premium $1.90/mo | $68.40 |
| Voicy | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android | 30 minutes | $82/yr or $260 once | $246, or $260 once |
| Superwhisper | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | Free plan with local models | $84.99/yr or $249.99 once | $249.99 once, or $254.97 yearly |
| Aqua Voice | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | 1,000 words | $96/yr | $288 |
| LumeVoice | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | 3,000 free words, no card required | $79.99/year or $249 once | $239.97 yearly, or $249 once |
| Wispr Flow | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | 2,000 words a week (desktop) | $144/yr | $432 |
| Typeless | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android | 8,000 words a week | $144/yr | $432 |
| Dragon Professional v16 | Windows | None | About $699 once | About $699 |
Swipe to see all columns
3-year costs use yearly billing where offered. Month-to-month billing costs more: Wispr Flow at $15 a month is $540 over three years; LumeVoice Monthly is $539.64. Taxes and currency differences aren't included.
Free: the built-in tools#
These cost nothing and need no account. Try them first.
- Apple Dictation on Mac and iPhone. Turn it on in Keyboard settings (Mac guide, iPhone guide). On iPhone it works without internet in many languages.
- Windows voice typing. Press Win + H on Windows 10 or 11 (Microsoft guide). It needs internet; Fluid dictation on Copilot+ PCs (English) removes filler words. Windows 11 voice access adds voice commands and works without a connection.
- Gboard on Android. On Pixel 6 and later, advanced voice typing punctuates automatically; on Pixel 11, Rambler also removes filler words (Gboard help).
- Chrome's talk to type. Gemini-powered dictation in any text box in desktop Chrome on Mac, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS, with cleanup and punctuation (Chrome help). If most of your writing happens in web apps, this is a strong free option.
What you give up: most built-ins type exactly what they hear, so filler words and restarts stay in, and none has a custom vocabulary you control. Chrome's talk to type and Pixel 11's Rambler are the exceptions on cleanup, but each works in only one place.
Free: open-source and local apps#
- Handy is free and open source on Mac, Windows and Linux, and runs speech recognition on your computer. Simple and private; no phone apps (LumeVoice vs Handy).
- Spokenly's local models are free with no word limit, on Mac, Windows and Linux, with an iPhone keyboard too (LumeVoice vs Spokenly).
- Superwhisper's free plan includes local models.
- For transcribing recordings rather than live dictation, Buzz is free and open source (best transcription software).
What you give up: local models are only as fast as your computer, and setup takes more effort than a cloud app.
Pay once, pay little#
- VoiceInk: $25 once for one Mac ($39 for two, $49 for three), with a 7-day trial; free if you build it from source. Open source and local. Mac only.
- Spokenly Local+: $29 once.
If you write only on a Mac and want speech to stay on it, VoiceInk is hard to beat on price.
Low-cost subscriptions with AI cleanup#
These are the cloud apps that turn rambling speech into finished sentences, ordered by 3-year cost.
- Voicy: $82 a year, or $260 lifetime, after a 30-minute free trial. Runs on five platforms including Linux, with an offline mode on desktop (Voicy pricing).
- Superwhisper: $84.99 a year or $249.99 once, with local and cloud models (Superwhisper pricing).
- Aqua Voice: $96 a year ($8 a month billed annually) or $10 month to month (Aqua Voice pricing).
- Wispr Flow and Typeless: both $144 a year. Their free weekly allowances are the most generous here, so light users may never pay (Wispr Flow pricing, Typeless pricing).
Where LumeVoice fits on price#
LumeVoice
Verdict: Mid-Priced, Cheapest Over Time With Lifetime or a Discount
AI dictation on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with one plan covering all four. It removes filler words, applies self-corrections, punctuates from context and turns spoken lists into lists, in 100 languages.
- Price: 3,000 free words, no card required; then $14.99/mo, $79.99/year or $249 once. Over three years: $239.97 on yearly billing (pricing).
- Discounts: students and teachers get 50% off (students). Anyone who finds typing hard because of a disability, injury or health condition gets 50% off, so Annual is $39.99 a year, with no proof needed (accessibility). Codes are used at checkout on Mac or Windows, and the plan then works on your phone too.
- Not the cheapest if: you only need short messages (use a free built-in), you write only on a Mac and want local processing (VoiceInk), or you need Linux (Handy, Spokenly, Voicy or Typeless). It needs an internet connection.
The Lifetime plan makes the most sense if you expect to dictate for three years or more, and the accessibility and student discounts make Pro one of the lower-cost cleanup options for the people who qualify.
Start free, pay only if it earns its place
Every new LumeVoice account gets 3,000 free words, no card required. Use them on your real emails and documents, then decide. One plan covers Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.
How to spend the least#
- Use a free built-in tool for a week. Measure how much you edit afterwards, not how impressive it feels.
- Count your devices. If you dictate on a computer and a phone, a single plan that covers both is cheaper than two apps.
- Spend free allowances on real work. Weekly word caps and free word allowances are enough to tell whether cleanup saves you time.
- Do the break-even math. Divide the lifetime price by the yearly price. If you'll keep using the app beyond that many years, pay once.
- Ask about discounts. Student, educator, non-profit and accessibility discounts can halve the price; most vendors list them on their pricing pages.
- Avoid month-to-month long term. It's the most expensive way to pay for every app on this list.
The bottom line#
The cheapest dictation software is already on your devices, and for many people it's enough. If you want privacy at the lowest price, look at Handy, Spokenly or VoiceInk. If you want AI cleanup on a budget, Voicy, Superwhisper and Aqua Voice cost under $100 a year. And if you want cleanup on every device with a one-time option or a discount you qualify for, LumeVoice is worth comparing.
