Best speech recognition software, compared on public facts
There is no single best speech recognition software for everyone. A clinician in a hospital, a novelist on a Mac and a founder answering email on a phone need different things. This page compares five options on what their makers state publicly: platforms, custom vocabulary, formatting, meeting transcription and price as publicly listed, checked on 20 October 2026. We make Stenograph, so read our verdicts with that in mind; we also say where another tool is the better choice.
Listening
How this comparison works
We did not run accuracy tests and we do not publish accuracy numbers, ours or anyone else's. Recognition quality depends heavily on your voice, microphone, accent and vocabulary, and any single benchmark says little about your own use. Instead we list facts you can verify on each product's website and explain which kind of user each tool suits. Prices were read from public pricing pages or, where a vendor sells through resellers, from third party reseller listings, on 20 October 2026. Check the vendor site before you buy, because prices and plans change.
- Platforms where the tool works
- Whether you can teach it your own terms
- Whether it formats text or returns raw words
- Whether it also transcribes meetings or recordings
- Price as publicly listed
Speech recognition tools side by side
| Tool | Platforms | Custom vocabulary | Formatting of dictated text | Meetings and recordings | Price as publicly listed, checked 20 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stenograph | Mac, Windows, Chrome, iPhone and Android keyboard | Personal dictionary plus legal, medical, software and finance vocabularies | Lists, paragraphs, emails, memos, writing style per app, voice edit commands | Meeting notes recorded on your device, file transcription with export | Solo 49 USD monthly or 24 USD per month billed yearly; Pro 99 or 49; Team 299 or 149; Enterprise 999 or 499 |
| Wispr Flow | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | Personal dictionary | Cleans up dictated text, adapts tone by app | Notetaker features listed | No-cost tier; Pro 15 USD monthly or 12 billed yearly; Growth 23 or 18 (official pricing page, wisprflow.ai/pricing) |
| Dragon by Microsoft (Nuance) | Windows desktop for Dragon Professional; cloud for Dragon Medical One | Custom words and vocabularies | Voice commands for formatting and editing | Transcription of recorded audio in Dragon Professional | Microsoft publishes no price; Dragon Professional about 699 USD one-time at resellers such as CDW and Newegg; Dragon Medical One quote-based, resellers cite about 99 USD per user per month on a yearly term |
| Superwhisper | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | Custom vocabulary and modes | Configurable modes that rewrite dictated text | File transcription listed | No-cost tier; Pro 8.49 USD monthly, with yearly and lifetime options (official site, superwhisper.com) |
| Built in dictation in macOS and Windows | Mac (Dictation), Windows (voice typing with Windows key plus H) | Limited | Spoken punctuation and basic commands | Not part of system dictation | Included with the operating system |
Who each speech recognition tool fits best
Stenograph
Stenograph fits professionals who write long, terminology heavy text every day and want the same tool for dictation, recordings and meetings. Its strengths are the professional vocabularies, the formatting that shapes text as a memo, letter or list, and voice commands like "make that a list" or "more formal". It costs more than the consumer tools in this list. If you only dictate a few short messages a week, a cheaper option will serve you well. See how it works on how ai dictation works.
Wispr Flow
Wispr Flow is a strong fit for people who want fast dictation across apps at a lower price, and it lists a no-cost tier for light use. Its public page lists HIPAA support with a BAA on its Growth plan, so a clinician who needs a signed BAA for a dictation tool should look at it; Stenograph does not offer a BAA.
Dragon by Microsoft
Dragon has a long history in professional dictation. Dragon Medical One is widely deployed in hospitals and integrates with major EHR systems, which makes it the obvious choice for clinicians whose organization already licenses it. Dragon Professional is a Windows desktop product sold as a one-time license, which suits people who prefer to buy once and work offline on a single PC.
Superwhisper
Superwhisper suits people who like to configure their tools and want a low monthly price. People who enjoy building their own modes and prompts tend to appreciate it.
Built in dictation
The dictation that comes with macOS and Windows costs nothing extra and needs no installation. For short notes, quick searches and occasional emails it is a sensible first step, and you should try it before paying for anything.
What makes speech recognition software right for professional work
If you write for a living, recognition of everyday words is not the hard part. The hard part is the vocabulary of your field, the structure of your documents and how quickly you can correct a mistake.
- Terminology: can you add names, drugs, citations and code identifiers once and see them spelled right afterwards. More on custom vocabulary speech recognition.
- Structure: does the text arrive as paragraphs, lists and emails, or as one block. See ai text formatting dictation.
- Editing: can you fix text by voice, or must you reach for the keyboard. See voice commands for dictation.
- Reach: does it work in every app you use, on every device you carry.
- Data: what happens to your audio after processing, and is your content used for training. See dictation privacy.
Speech recognition software for doctors, lawyers and developers
Fields with specialist vocabulary benefit most from a tool that lets you teach it terms. Clinicians can compare options on medical dictation software, attorneys on legal dictation software, and engineers on voice coding dictation. If most of your writing happens in one document editor, dictation software for microsoft word covers that case.
What Stenograph costs
Plans are billed yearly by default at half the monthly price: Solo 24 USD per month (288 USD per year), Pro 49 USD per month, Team 149 USD per month for up to five people, Enterprise 499 USD per month for up to twenty. Month to month billing is also offered. Every plan has stated monthly limits shown in the app. Full details on stenograph pricing.
Questions about choosing speech recognition software
Which speech recognition software is the most accurate
We do not publish accuracy rankings because we have no fair, independent measurement. Accuracy varies with voice, microphone and vocabulary. Try a tool on your own words before deciding.
Is Dragon still sold for Mac
Dragon Professional is listed as a Windows product. Mac users usually look at Stenograph, Wispr Flow, Superwhisper or the built in Mac dictation.
Can I try Stenograph before paying
Yes, through a one-time demo on the home page. No plan is priced at zero; plans start at 24 USD per month billed yearly.
Why is Stenograph priced higher than some consumer tools
It is built for professional work: field vocabularies, formatting per document type, meeting notes and file transcription in one subscription, plus team dictionaries and admin controls. If you do not need those, a lower priced tool is a reasonable choice.
Hear the difference on your own words
Record a sentence full of your field's terms in the demo and see how it comes back formatted.