Glossary
Dragon Professional Anywhere
Dragon Professional Anywhere is a subscription edition of Dragon that Nuance sells for professional and enterprise users. It is often shortened to Dragon Anywhere, a name that also belongs to Nuance's mobile app, so check which product a listing means.
Updated October 16, 20267 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called Dragon Anywhere.
Dragon Professional Anywhere is a subscription edition of Dragon. You pay for access for a set term, rather than buying a version once. The name causes confusion, because Nuance uses "Anywhere" for more than one product, and many listings shorten it to Dragon Anywhere.
Two products share the Anywhere name
Nuance's US store lists Dragon Professional Anywhere and Dragon Legal Anywhere as separate products 1. Its mobile product, Dragon Anywhere Mobile, lets you create, edit and format documents of any length 2. A listing that says only "Dragon Anywhere" can mean either one, so check the platform and the product name before you buy.
Sources disagree on where it runs
A US reseller describes Dragon Professional Anywhere as cloud-hosted speech recognition for the enterprise 3. Other listings we found describe it as an enterprise, on-premise solution, so the sources disagree. We could not confirm the current deployment model from Nuance's own pages. If your audio contains protected or confidential information, ask Nuance in writing where the audio is processed before you rely on either description.
What a subscription costs
Reseller listings put the annual subscription at $660 for a one-year term 4, and another reseller lists an annual subscription at $480 5. The gap between two listings is a reason to get more than one quote, and the prices may be out of date by the time you read this.
The comparison with a license is useful. A one-user Dragon Professional v16 license was listed at $685.99 by one reseller 6, which is about the same as one year of the $660 subscription 7. The two are different editions and years, so the comparison shows the scale of the choice rather than an exact match. If you expect to use the software for several years, a one-time license may cost less. If you want updates handled for you, a subscription may be the better fit. The perpetual license entry explains that trade-off in more detail.
What to check before you subscribe
- The product name. Confirm that the listing means Dragon Professional Anywhere, not the mobile app.
- The term and renewal. Check how long the term runs and whether it renews automatically.
- Where the audio goes. Get the hosting and data terms in writing, since the sources differ.
- Your use. A subscription suits teams and people who want updates handled for them, while a license suits someone who wants one fixed version.
Why it matters for dictation
Subscriptions keep the software current but charge every term, while a license keeps one version. Cloud-hosted dictation also sends your audio to a server, which raises privacy questions that a local app avoids. Our guide to whether voice to text is safe explains what to ask. For the related cloud term, see cloud dictation. The company behind the product is Nuance Communications, and the older desktop program is Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
For the price question, read how much Dragon NaturallySpeaking costs. For alternatives with different pricing models, read our guide to Dragon NaturallySpeaking alternatives.
Evidence
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Related terms
- Dictation Software: How to Choose the Right AppThe topic this term belongs to
- AI dictationAI dictation is dictation in which a language model edits the recognized text after speech recognition, removing filler words, fixing punctuation and sometimes rewording a sentence. It can change your meaning, so check the result before you send it.
- Bring your own key (BYOK)Bring your own key (BYOK) is a setup in which you supply your own API key for an AI or speech provider. The app then sends requests through your account with that provider, so your agreement with the provider governs the data.
- Cloud dictationCloud dictation sends your recorded speech to a remote server, which recognizes it and returns the text. It usually needs an internet connection, and your audio leaves your device, so check the provider's policy before you dictate sensitive material.
- Custom vocabularyA custom vocabulary is a list of words, names and phrases that you add to dictation software so it recognizes and spells them as you intend. It matters most for names, jargon and product terms the recognizer has not learned.
- Dictation softwareDictation software is a program that recognizes your speech and types the words where your cursor is, as you say them. It comes built into many phones and computers and is also sold as separate apps.
- Dragon Medical OneDragon Medical One, abbreviated DMO, is Nuance's speech recognition product for clinicians who dictate notes into health records. Microsoft now combines it with DAX Copilot in a product called Dragon Copilot.
- Dragon NaturallySpeakingDragon NaturallySpeaking, usually called Dragon, is a speech recognition program for dictating text on a computer. Dragon Systems released it in 1997, and Nuance has sold it in several editions since.
- Free tierA free tier is the no-cost version of a dictation app, with limits such as a weekly word cap, fewer modes or no AI processing. Read those limits before you rely on it, because a free plan can run out in the middle of your work.
- Nuance CommunicationsNuance Communications was a speech technology company best known for the Dragon family of speech recognition products. Microsoft announced that it had completed its acquisition of Nuance on March 4, 2022.
- Perpetual licenseA perpetual license is a software license you pay for once. It lets you keep using that version without renewing. Updates, support and new major versions are often separate, time-limited or paid extra.
- PowerScribePowerScribe is a family of radiology reporting products in which a radiologist dictates an imaging report by voice. It began as a Nuance dictation application, and Microsoft completed its purchase of Nuance in 2022, so Microsoft now sells the line.
- Voice profileA voice profile is the set of files that dictation software keeps for one user, with settings such as the microphone they use and their custom words. It is not the same as speaker recognition, which identifies who is speaking.
Pages that use this term
- Does Dragon NaturallySpeaking work over Remote Desktop?Question
- Is Dragon NaturallySpeaking discontinued?Question
- Is Dragon NaturallySpeaking worth it?Question
- Is there a Dragon dictation app for iPhone or Android?Question
- What is the best voice to text software for business?Question
- Dragon Medical OneGlossary
- Dragon NaturallySpeakingGlossary
- Nuance CommunicationsGlossary
- Perpetual licenseGlossary