Is there a voice keyboard for Windows PCs?

Yes. Windows has a voice keyboard built in, under the name voice typing, and it works wherever the cursor is in a text box. You do not need to install anything to use it. If you need offline recognition, a third-party app is one option. The choice depends mainly on whether you can accept an internet connection and what you are willing to pay.

Windows voice typing is the built-in voice keyboard

On Windows 11, you turn on voice typing with Windows key + H on a hardware keyboard, or with the microphone button on the touch keyboard ¹. Microsoft's requirements are a working microphone, an internet connection and the cursor in a text box ². Because it needs the internet, it is not a voice keyboard you can rely on with no connection.

For the offline case, see the section on third-party apps below and the guide to offline speech to text on Windows.

Third-party voice keyboards run on your PC and can work offline

Several apps add a voice keyboard that types into other apps. Handy is one of them. It is free and open source, and it is listed as working on Windows, macOS and Linux ³. Its project describes it as working completely offline ⁴, and its README says transcription happens on your own computer without sending any information to the cloud ⁵.

Paid tools cost money. Aqua Voice is available for Windows ⁶, and its Pro plan costs $10 per month on a month-to-month basis ⁷. Read its privacy settings before you use it on confidential work.

Dragon is a paid product. A reseller listed a one-user Dragon Professional v16 license at $685.99 on the day we checked, so confirm the current price before you buy ⁸.

Which voice keyboard to choose

Start with the built-in voice typing, because it costs nothing and needs no setup beyond a microphone. Test it in the apps you use, using the checks in does Windows voice typing work in every app. If you need recognition without an internet connection, or you do not want audio sent to a company, test an offline app such as Handy before you pay for a license or subscription.

If you need several apps and one set of commands, a system-wide tool is the right kind of product. Yap, which we make, is an on-device dictation app for Mac and Windows, so it is one of the options to compare. Check its Windows page at /windows and test it in your own apps before you choose it.

For a comparison of the wider category, read the best dictation software for Windows. To understand whether the built-in tool is good enough for you, see is Windows dictation good. The glossary entry for voice typing explains the term, and the guide to dictation in Windows apps lists how each app handles it.