How much does dictation software cost?

Built-in dictation has no separate price in the sources we read. The tools on the Mac, iPhone, Android, Windows and Chromebook come with those systems. Paid dictation apps fall into four price types: a free plan with word caps, a monthly or yearly subscription, a one-time license, and a professional product such as Dragon that costs hundreds of dollars. The right price depends on how many words you dictate each week, and whether you need offline use or specialist vocabulary.

Built-in tools have no separate price, but Word's Dictate needs a subscription

Apple's Mac and iPhone dictation, Google's Gboard and Docs voice typing, and Windows voice typing and Voice access do not come with a separate price in the pages we read. Word's Dictate is the exception. Microsoft says the Dictate feature in the Word desktop app is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers ¹. We did not verify the current Microsoft 365 price, so check Microsoft's plan page before you count it as a cost of dictation.

Free plans of paid apps cap the words you can dictate

Most paid dictation apps keep a free plan, and the free plan is where the limit sits. Wispr Flow's free plan allows 2,000 dictated words per week on desktop and 1,000 per week on mobile, according to its pricing page ². Its paid Pro plan is listed at $15 per user per month ³.

Aqua Voice's free plan includes 1,000 free words and its Avalon transcription model ⁴. Check whether that allowance resets before you count on it.

Before you pay, count a normal week of dictation. A few messages a day may fit a free plan, while a full writing day may not.

One-time licenses and subscriptions cost differently over time

Some apps sell a one-time license. Superwhisper lists its Pro plan at $249.99 as a one-time lifetime purchase ⁵, which you pay once instead of month by month. VoiceInk sells a Solo license for $25, paid once, for one Mac ⁶, so it suits a single computer and a fixed budget.

Check what a license covers before you buy. A one-Mac license does not cover a Windows PC, and a per-user plan changes with the number of people who need it.

Professional Dragon costs several hundred dollars

Dragon is the high-end option, and its prices are far above the consumer apps. A one-user Dragon Professional 16 license is listed at $685.99 by CDW ⁷. Dragon Professional Anywhere, the subscription version, is listed at $480 per year on a one-year term by Milner ⁸. Reseller prices differ, so compare the listings before you buy. For Dragon's editions and history, see how much Dragon NaturallySpeaking costs.

How to choose by cost

1. Test the built-in tool first. It costs nothing extra and may cover your work. Compare the options in does Apple have a voice to text app, does Google have a voice to text app and does Microsoft have dictation software.
2. If a word cap stops you, count your weekly words and compare them with the cap. A subscription makes sense only when the cap blocks a task you do every day.
3. If you use one Mac and want to pay once, compare a one-time license such as VoiceInk's against a monthly plan over the time you expect to use it.
4. If your words are specialist terms, look for a custom vocabulary feature before you move to a larger plan.
5. If you need dictation that runs on your own computer, the open-source apps cost nothing but setup. See open-source dictation software.

Yap, which we make, is an on-device dictation app for Mac and Windows, and it also runs on phones. Its plans are on pricing, and you can start from the download page. The tool already on your device is still the first thing to test.

For a full comparison of paid apps by need, see best dictation software. For the free options in full, read our guide to free dictation software. For the category, see dictation software, and for the terms, the free tier and perpetual license entries.