In some ways, 2025 was when AI dictation apps really took off. Dictation apps have been around for years, but in the past they’ve proven to be slow and inaccurate — unless you speak with specific accents and pronounce clearly.
However, advances in large language models (LLM) and speech-to-text models have helped improve systems that can better decipher speech while preserving context for text formatting. And the developers have built in functions to automatically format text, remove filler words, and break spam to produce text that would need fewer edits.
But with the growing popularity of all things AI, there are dozens of such apps on the market. So we’ve put together our pick of the year’s best and most useful dictation apps.
Wispr Flow
Wispr Flow is a well-funded AI dictation app that lets you add custom words and instructions for dictation. It has native apps for macOS, Windows and iOS, and an Android version is in the works.
The app lets you customize how its system transcribes your notes, letting you choose from formal, casual, and very casual styles for different types of writing, such as personal messages, work, and email. And if you use it with vibe coding tools like Cursor, you can enable a feature to automatically identify variables or tag files in the chat.
The app lets you annotate up to 2,000 words per month for free on either desktop version and 1,000 words per month on iOS. Its subscription plans offer unlimited transcription and start at $15 per month.
Willow
Willow advertised as a great time saver for those who don’t like to type. In addition to common features such as automatic editing and formatting, the application has a feature that taps large language models to create a complete piece of text from just a few dictated words.
Willow also takes a more privacy-focused stab at AI-assisted note taking, storing all transcripts locally on your device and also allowing you to opt out of model training. It also allows you to add custom vocabulary to the app to help it adapt to your industry language or local dialect.
Willow lets you dictate 2,000 words a month on its desktop app for free. Individual subscription plans start at $15 per month, giving you unlimited dictation and enabling the app to remember your writing style.
Monologue
If you are focused on privacy, Monologue allows you to download its model so you can run it on your device for transcriptions and avoid sending data to the cloud. Additionally, the app allows you to adjust the tone of her voice according to the apps you use her with.
Monologue lets you annotate 1,000 words a month for free, and its subscription costs $10 a month or $100 a year. And if you end up being one of the app’s top users, the company will also send you this funky Monokey to use with the app.
Super whisper
Super whisper it is primarily a dictation application, but it can also transcribe from audio or video files. The app gives you the freedom to choose and download AI models, including its own models that have different speeds and accuracy, along with Nvidia’s Parakeet speech recognition models.
The app also lets you write custom prompts to direct the output. You can easily view both edited and raw transcripts embedded in the system keyboard.
The basic voice-to-text feature is free to use, and you have 15 minutes to try Pro features like translation and transcription. The paid tier allows you to use your own AI API keys and connect cloud and on-premises models without capital.
The monthly plan costs $8.49 per month, the annual plan costs $84.99 per month, or you can pay $249.99 for a lifetime membership.
VoiceTypr
THE VoiceTypr The app takes an offline, no-subscription approach, allowing you to use local models to transcribe. There is also one GitHub repository for those who want to host and run the open source version themselves. VoiceTypr supports more than 99 languages and works on both Mac and Windows.
The app is available for trial for three days for free, after which it will allow you to purchase a lifetime license. The app costs $35 for one device, $56 for two, and $98 for four devices.
Aqua
Aqua is another Y Combinator-backed voice typing client for Windows and macOS that claims to be one of the fastest tools in its class in terms of latency.
In addition to handling grammar and punctuation, Aqua also lets you autocomplete text by speaking phrases — you can say “my address” and type Aqua in your address, for example.
The app also offers its own speech-to-text API for other apps.
The free tier gives you 1,000 words per month. Paid plans start at $8 per month (annual fee) and unlock unlimited words and 800 custom dictionary values.
Easy to use
Easy to use is an open source and free transcription tool that can run on Mac, Windows and Linux. The app is pretty basic and doesn’t offer a lot of customization, but if you’re trying to start using your voice more and don’t want to pay, it’s a good option.
The app has a basic settings menu that lets you toggle push-to-talk and change the hotkey to enable transcription.
Without type
Without type is another app in this category with a high number of free words. The company claims it does not keep data or use it to train models. Typeless also suggests a better version of the sentence if you might have been looking for a line.
The app lets you dictate up to 4,000 words per week (about 16,000 words per month) on its free tier. You can pay $12 per month (billed annually) to unlock unlimited words and access new features. Typeless is only available for Windows and macOS.
