Finding reliable and accurate dictation software can be difficult, mainly because there are many options to choose from. On top of that, there are also a lot of factors to consider when choosing a dictation software.
For instance, some dictation software options are not accurate or reliable, especially with background noise or when the speaker has a heavy accent. Furthermore, they could be unable to differentiate between the different speakers on your file or lack the security protocols to keep your sensitive data safe.
To help you avoid these problems, we’ve identified the best dictation software and voice recognition software available today.
You’ll find all the information you need to make an informed decision between various AI dictation software, including the most crucial purchasing considerations you need to be aware of before making a choice.
Diction software is more commonly called voice recognition or speech-to-text software. This is a type of software that takes spoken words and converts them into written text. Machine learning, speech recognition, special algorithms, and other AI features are utilized to produce high-quality transcripts, pieces of text, or written documents from speech.
Dictation can be done in a live environment, such as during an interview or lecture, to record the proceedings. Alternatively, most dictation software can also create transcripts and written documents from pre-recorded files, often both video and audio files.
There are various use cases where this is particularly useful. For instance, one of the areas where dictation software is becoming commonly used is in healthcare, with medical professionals often using it to record encounters with patients, create reports, and more. As far as professionals are concerned, the legal field is also seeing an upsurge in the use of dictation software, as it can be useful for drafting legal documents, and taking meeting notes.
There are many other fields where dictation software can streamline processes and allow for greater efficiency and productivity, with journalism and writing at the forefront. Dictation software can also create subtitles and captions for audio and video files, making it a remarkable option for anything related to accessibility, particularly for those hard of hearing.
Here’s a quick glance at the top 10 best dictation software of 2024.
| Tool | Best for | Accuracy | Pricing |
| Sonix | Transcription and translation | Extremely high (Up to 99%) | Starts at $10/hour; subscription options available |
| Dragon Professional Individual | Professional, customizable dictation | Very High | Starts at $699 for a lifetime license |
| Google Cloud Speech-to-Text | Developers and cloud-based applications | High | Pay-as-you-go pricing; starts at $0.006/15 seconds of audio |
| Otter.ai | Meetings, notes, and collaboration | High | Free for basic; Pro starts at $8.33/month billed annually |
| Descript | Podcasting and video editing | High | Free for basic; Creator starts at $12/month, Pro at $24/month |
| Verbit | Legal, educational, and enterprise transcription | Very High | Custom pricing based on volume and needs |
| Gboard | Mobile users for on-the-go dictation | Moderate to High | Free |
| Talkatoo | Veterinary professionals | High | Starts at $95/month |
| Apple Dictation | Users of Apple devices | High | Included with macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS |
| Rev.ai | Developers and businesses for transcription and captioning | High | Pay-as-you-go pricing; starts at $0.035/minute |
With exceedingly high accuracy levels, a suite of tools to suit virtually anyone and any industry, and fair prices, Sonix stands out as the leading dictation software.
Sonix is the number one AI dictation software out there. It excels in delivering high-fidelity transcriptions for various applications, including but not limited to meetings, lectures, and interviews. This makes it an indispensable resource for educators, legal professionals, journalists, and anyone needing reliable, real-time transcription services.
Beyond its core capabilities, Sonix extends its utility by offering transcription, subtitle, and caption generation for audio and video files across nearly 40 languages. This functionality positions it as an essential tool for enhancing accessibility and inclusivity for media producers, content creators, and filmmakers.
Here are some of the core features of Sonix that make it the go-to tool in the dictation software space.
The number one standout attribute of Sonix is its astounding degree of accuracy, creating transcripts that are up to 99% accurate. Despite challenges such as significant background noise, hard-to-understand accents, and similar complications, Sonix consistently achieves an accuracy rate exceeding those offered by its competitors.
Not only is Sonix exceedingly accurate when compared to the vast majority of competitors, but it is also much faster. It can process several hours of recorded audio or video in just a few minutes. Sonix’s fast turnaround time is one of the primary reasons for choosing the platform over traditional human transcription. The same file that would take 2-3 days to transcribe can be processed with AI within just a few minutes.
Sonix is well-renowned in the industry for being the most secure transcription platform out there. With a wide range of security features, Sonix guarantees that your sensitive data remains private on our servers. Here’s a breakdown of all the security features packaged with our accurate AI.
| Features | Description |
| SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance | Sonix’s commitment to rigorous standards highlights our dedication to your security and confidence. |
| Data Transfer Encryption | Sonix ensures the integrity of your data during transmission with state-of-the-art, bank-level encryption methodologies. |
| Data Storage Encryption | Your information on Sonix servers is encrypted to ensure the protection of your sensitive data. |
| Network Protection | Sonix employs robust cyber defense mechanisms to protect your digital interactions, significantly elevating your online security posture. |
| Secure Data Centers | Our data center infrastructure is designed as a fortress, meticulously safeguarded against both physical and digital security breaches. |
| Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) | Sonix enhances security by integrating a secondary authentication step, significantly strengthening account security. |
| Security Monitoring | We maintain rigorous server oversight to preemptively identify and neutralize potential security threats, ensuring data integrity. |
| AI Training Data Privacy | We pledge the confidentiality of your data, confirming that it is not utilized for AI model training. |
| Regular Penetration Testing | Sonix proactively fortifies its security measures, assuring continual protection against cyber threats. |
Here is a full breakdown of Sonix’s primary features.
Aside from all of its useful features that make dictation and transcription as fast, easy, and accurate as possible, Sonix is also a fan favorite, thanks to its fair pricing structure.
If low prices combined with high levels of accuracy and vast integrations are what you need from dictation software, then Sonix should always be the first consideration on your list.
Looking to try out the capabilities of Sonix’s 99% accuracy and rapid turnaround times? Sign up for a 30-minute free trial today. No credit card required.
Business professionals who want to move away from the tiered subscription plan to a one-time fee should definitely consider Dragon Professional. It’s a tool designed for enterprise use by professionals who need their meetings, interviews, and more recorded with an accuracy rate bordering on 99%, which is its main selling point.
To achieve this accuracy, it uses advanced speech recognition software, combined with the ability to learn from and adapt to your voice without any extra work required on the user’s end. Dragon Professional Individual can also create custom words and vocabularies, allowing the software to gradually improve on its initial accuracy.
Dragon Professional Individual sets itself apart with a unique pricing structure that offers long-term value. Rather than adopting the common subscription-based approach, it requires a one-time payment of $699 plus tax. This model eliminates the need for ongoing fees, representing a more economical option for users who require a transcription tool for several years, thereby offering the potential for cost savings over time.
Google Cloud Speech-to-Text is a cloud-based dictation app that puts Google’s own machine learning system to use to convert speech and audio to written text. Transcripts created with Google Cloud Speech-to-Text are highly accurate, although what really stands out is its usefulness for developers, especially those who use Google’s other systems and apps.
Its main drawing point is its ability to seamlessly integrate with other Google services, such as the Google App Engine, cloud storage, PUB/SUB, and more. This allows users to create scalable and complex apps capable of handling great volumes of audio, processing it, and then using it for various purposes.
It also has a decent roster of features like real-time streaming transcription, background noise suppression, multiple speaker support, automatic punctuation, and a customizable vocabulary.
Google Cloud Speech-to-Text has a very interesting pricing system, with it being pay-as-you-go. Many find this preferable because users only pay for what they need instead of monthly subscriptions.
The pricing standard speech recognition without data logging is $0.024/minute, $0.078/minute for medical, and $0.016/minute with data logging enabled.
If you’re looking for the full breakdown of their prices, you can take a look at Google Cloud’s pricing page.
Next, we have Otter.ai, another advanced speech-to-text dictation service, complete with highly advanced AI features that are ideal for enhancing productivity in many settings and industries. Where Otter.ai really shines is in its ability to record real-time audio from lectures, meetings, interviews, and regular voice notes alike, and with a relatively decent degree of accuracy, up to 83% or higher in some cases.
What stands out about Otter.ai is its suite of collaborative features, such as live transcript sharing, shared notes, integrating meeting summaries, and the live editor, where team members can highlight pieces of text, leave comments, and more. As far as collaborative features are concerned, Otter.ai is up there with the best of them.
In terms of its affordability, this is one of Otter.ai’s main drawing points. The prices for Otter are pretty reasonable, but considering the fact that it only supports transcription in English is a bit of a letdown.
Many people like Otter.ai for its pricing system, although beware that some people have noted that Otter often changes prices, so keep an eye on this.
If you are a content creator, specifically a video creator, editor, or podcaster, then Descript is a great dictation software worth looking into. It combines both AI-driven features with traditional video editing capabilities, making it an ideal choice for those creating digital content.
As far as video editing and podcasting are concerned, Descript has an array of features, including but not limited to overdub, multi-track editing, screen recording, filler word removal, automatic transcription, and a vast array of video editing features as well.
Descript also has some other useful features, such as direct publishing for podcasts, collaborative editing, and ready-made templates for various content types. If you are a digital content creator, specifically as far as videos as concerned, Descript should be considered.
Descript’s pricing structure offers reasonable tiers that provide a fair allotment of hours for the cost. However, the scalability of these plans may not fully cater to individuals with small teams or those with extensive transcription needs on a monthly basis.
Verbit provides transcription and captioning services, leveraging a mix of artificial intelligence and human professionals. The company’s focus is on enhancing accessibility and inclusivity by making content more engaging through searchable and actionable verbal information.
They offer solutions that integrate with various digital platforms to service different sectors, including legal, educational, media, and corporate entities. Verbit’s offerings include live transcription and captioning, as well as post-production services, all designed to support accessible communication.
The service emphasizes ease of use and professional-grade accuracy, aiming to facilitate efficient workflows for its users. Their technology, namely Captivate and Gen.V, is geared towards customization to cater to the specific terminology and formatting needs of their clients.
The pricing for Verbit is custom and based on specific needs. Contact the Verbit team directly for more information.
Gboard is yet another advanced dictation and transcription service, with this one being geared towards mobile users who need fast and relatively accurate transcripts created on the go and even just for dictating text messages and emails.
Its mobile functionality is by far one of its biggest selling points. Beyond professional uses, Gboard is designed with convenience in mind for smartphone users, as it helps to enhance the overall experience when using these devices.
Gboard is a little different from all the other software we’ve discussed on this list. But, given the fact that most of the options here aren’t available for mobile devices, Gboard is definitely something worth mentioning.
At this time, Gboard is totally free to use and available on the Play Store and the iOS App Store.
Talkatoo is an advanced dictation software designed specifically for veterinarians. It’s very useful for veterinarians to report and document their cases, tasks, and more. To this end, Talkatoo is designed with an array of features that allow for highly accurate veterinary medical transcripts to be created. Creating reports, noting tasks, and creating precise medical records is made easy thanks to the plethora of features that Talkatoo comes with.
For one, Talkatoo features veterinary-specific language, with an advanced dictionary and vocabulary designed to recognize animal species, medication types and names, medical terms, and anything else relevant to this industry. The vocabulary can also be further customized.
Furthermore, Talkatoo functions on Mac and Windows, and it’s designed to easily integrate with various veterinary practice management software. This allows vets to dictate their words directly into reports and medical documents on their own systems. It even has voice-activated commands for hands-free operation, which is useful for vets dealing with squirming animal patients.
Talkatoo’s prices are determined by the number of users, and there are monthly standard plans and annual plans, with the annual plans allowing for a good deal of monthly savings.
For anyone with an Apple Device, whether a smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, or anything in between, taking advantage of Apple Dictation, which comes included with these devices, is just common sense.
Apple users should rejoice at the suite of features that Apple Dictation comes with, such as its overall consistency across all Apple devices, combined with Apple’s enhanced security and privacy protocols. It’s a very simple type of dictation software, one designed for writing text messages, emails, searching the web, and more.
It’s not particularly designed for professional purposes, but it will fulfill your baseline requirements really well.
Apple Dictation is included in modern Apple devices.
Last but not least, we have Rev.ai, a fairly advanced service that uses the finest of speech recognition technology to create transcripts, subtitles, and captions with high degrees of accuracy, up to 99%. One of the standout features of Rev.ai is its high rate of accuracy, with transcripts and subtitles rarely requiring heavy editing.
Rev.ai also has many other useful features that make dictation and transcription fast, easy, and accurate, including widespread language support, speaker identification, timestamps, real-time transcription, a custom vocabulary, and more.
However, the standout feature of Rev.ai is that its API is designed with developers in mind. The API is specifically formulated to integrate with the existing platforms of their enterprise consumers.
All that said, Rev.ai also offers human-powered services, mainly human transcription and subtitling. These are both hailed for their accuracy but also come in at a premium price.
Rev.ai pricing is relatively fair, albeit on the slightly higher end of the spectrum, and there are many options to choose from, both AI and human.
Navigating the extensive array of dictation software on the market can indeed present a daunting challenge, given the wealth of options at your disposal. To streamline your decision-making process and figure out the most suitable dictation solution for your needs, here are a few criteria you need to consider.
The number one thing to look for in a dictation service is accuracy. Accuracy is often the make-it or break-it for dictation software. An accurate application that borders on 100% accuracy but otherwise has limited features is generally preferable to an app with loads of features but can’t achieve a high degree of dictation accuracy.
The closer you can get to 100% accuracy, the better, with the industry leader on this front being Sonix. Dictation apps like Sonix use advanced machine learning and speech recognition to produce transcripts that barely require any editing.
There are various ways you can evaluate the performance of these apps, with free trials always coming in handy on this front. User reviews are another good source of information, although some trial and error may be required as well.
The first step in the process of choosing dictation software is to assess what your own needs are, and then compare those needs to the features and services offered by any dictation service in question.
Two things to look out for here include the type of content that you plan on creating (reports, meeting notes, lecture transcripts, movie captions, and subtitles, emails, and so on) and whether or not the software in question will be able to understand industry-specific jargon.
For example, a tool like Talkatoo works great, but it’s specifically designed for veterinarians. This means that if you’re not from that highly specific demographic, you might not be able to use all of its features properly.
Any dictation software you get should be able to seamlessly integrate with your existing systems and workflow, with Sonix being a prime example, as it’s designed with integrations in mind and will easily become a part of your current suite of applications.
You need to choose a dictation app that easily integrates with your present system. It should work in combination with the tools that you use currently, such as CRMs, word processors, email applications, and more.
Make sure that the app in question works on all of your devices as well, and for larger organizations, having access to an advanced API for a high level of customizability is called for as well.
After evaluating the top ten dictation apps, Sonix emerges as the leader. Its capabilities extend to real-time dictation and generating transcripts, subtitles, and captions from audio/video files. Leveraging machine learning and advanced algorithms, Sonix delivers transcripts with unparalleled speed and accuracy—exceeding 98% consistently.
Coupled with competitive pricing, Sonix is the definitive choice for top-tier, cost-effective dictation services.
If you need the best dictation software in the market diverse enough to serve virtually any industry, Sonix is your best bet! Sign up for a 30-minute free trial today. No credit card required.
Dictation software serves a broad spectrum of users, including legal professionals for note-taking, educators for lecture transcripts, content creators and media editors for digital projects, as well as a diverse range of professionals and individuals for various tasks. Its versatility extends from complex professional applications to everyday uses, including dictating text messages or compiling shopping lists, making it an indispensable tool across numerous domains.
Our evaluation confirms Sonix as the premier dictation software, distinguished by its exceptional accuracy, robust security measures, comprehensive range of features, and integrations, all offered at a competitive price.
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