What is the best dictation app for iPad?

For most people, the best dictation app on an iPad is Apple's built-in dictation. It comes with iPadOS, it works in any text field where the keyboard appears, and in many languages it runs on the device with no internet connection. Other choices fit specific jobs: Microsoft Word's Dictate button when the text must be a Word document, and a third-party app only when you have tested it on your own writing and checked its iPad support.

Start with Apple's built-in dictation

Apple's dictation starts from any text field where the onscreen keyboard appears ¹. Apple says dictation on iPad is processed on the device in many languages, and that no internet connection is required ². Those two points make the built-in feature the baseline for every other app on this list. It works in any text field, including your notes, messages and drafts.

Its limits are the language coverage and the silence timeout, which stops dictation during long pauses. Apple also says dictation may not be available in all languages or regions ³, so check your language before you rely on it.

Apple Intelligence dictation needs a recent iPad and English

Apple has a newer English model for dictation. On iPadOS 27, Apple Intelligence improves spelling, punctuation and capitalization, and Apple says it is available in English on iPad models with M4 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory ⁴. If you are buying an iPad mainly for dictation, check the model and memory first. Apple does not say how much better the model is, so test it on your own writing before you judge the difference.

Word is the right app when the text must be a Word file

Word's dictation is a different kind of answer. Microsoft's Word Mobile dictation article applies to Word on iPad, iPhone and Android tablets and phones ⁵, but Word's dictation is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers ⁶. Choose it when the document has to live in Word and you already pay for Microsoft 365. Otherwise, the built-in feature in a plain text editor or notes app is the simpler choice. The question on dictating in Word on a phone or iPad covers the steps.

Voice Memos transcribes recordings, not live dictation

If your need is a transcript of a recording, not text as you speak, the built-in Voice Memos app on iPad transcribes recordings. Apple says Voice Memos transcription on iPad is available on supported models in English and nine other languages ⁷. Use it for interviews and lectures you have already recorded. It does not type into other apps as you talk.

We did not rank third-party iPad apps

We searched for independent tests of dictation apps on iPad. The results were mostly vendor blogs and roundups, and they did not test the same apps on the same material. We did not find an independent iPad ranking we could cite, so this page does not name a winner among paid apps.

That gap matters because dictation accuracy depends on your voice, your room and your text. Speed figures from controlled studies do not tell you how an app will handle your draft. The authors of the 2018 iPhone study say that results in non-laboratory settings still need study ⁸, so measure each app yourself.

Check these points before you pay for a third-party app:

• iPad support. The App Store listing should name iPad, and the app should work in the apps you use.
• Offline mode. Check whether dictation works with no connection, and in which languages.
• Where your audio goes. Read the privacy policy for what is sent to a server and kept.
• Price. Compare the one-off cost with the built-in feature, which comes with iPadOS.
• Your own test. Dictate a 500-word draft in each app and count the corrections you need.

What to do

1. Try Apple's built-in dictation first, in the app where you write.
2. If the text must go into Word, use Word's Dictate button with a Microsoft 365 subscription.
3. If you need a third-party app, check the App Store listing for iPad, offline mode and privacy.
4. Test each candidate on the same draft, and keep the one with the fewest corrections.

Yap, which we make, is an on-device dictation app for Mac and Windows. Check the download page for its current platforms before you consider it for an iPad. Our guide to the best dictation apps for iPhone and Android covers phone apps, and the offline voice typing guide for phones explains how offline modes work on mobile. For the iPad steps, read our guide to dictation on iPad and Android tablets. If dictation does not start at all, the question on why dictation is not working on an iPad lists the causes to check.