Dictation software for Windows 11
Hold one key and talk. Finished text lands in Outlook, Word, Teams — any app on your PC.
- 99%+ accurate
- 3× faster than typing
- Every Windows app
Free to try. No card. Nothing to set up.
Windows 11, 64-bit · Apple Silicon Mac · Intel Mac
How does dictation work on Windows?
Step one
Hold Right Ctrl
It types nothing on its own, so you lose no shortcut. Rebind it if you prefer.
Step two
Talk normally
No saying the punctuation out loud. No restarting when you pause to think.
Step three
Let go
Finished text lands at the cursor.
You talk at 150 words a minute. You type at 40.
The same status update and the same three replies, in a third of the time. A better keyboard changes how typing feels, not how much of it there is.
If your wrists are why you are reading this, dictation for RSI goes into it properly.
Why not just use Win + H?
It is free and already on the machine. Here is what it costs you.
| Feature | JotMic | Windows Voice Typing |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | 99%+ | ~85% |
| Ready to send | Fillers taken out | Every um typed in |
| Learns your words | Taught once | No way to teach it |
| Languages | 99+, picked up as you talk | One, set in Settings |
| Controls your apps | Open apps, switch windows, scroll | Types only |
| Transcribe recordings | Drop a file in | Live speech only |
| Works offline | Keeps working | Will not start |
What you stop going back to fix
99%+ accurate
Accents, a noisy room and the microphone in your laptop. 99+ languages, worked out as you talk.
Ready to send
Fillers and false starts out, punctuation and capitals in. Every other word as you said it.
Learns your words
Clients, colleagues, products and acronyms, taught once. Your list follows you to your Mac.
Free to try, no card. Enough to write a week of email on your own PC.
Works in every Windows app
It types at your cursor like a keyboard. Nothing to set up.
Plus Outlook, Word, Teams and every other app on your PC.
Email and replies
The four-line reply you have been putting off, said in twenty seconds.
Notes and documents
Meeting notes, handovers and first drafts, punctuated as they land.
Teams, Slack and WhatsApp
Every message box on the machine, work and not.
Prompts and code
Long prompts are easy when you are not typing them. Any terminal, any editor.
To sam@northfield.co
Subject Thursday review
Hi Sam — is Thursday still good for the review? I’ll send the figures either way.
Staging build is up. Holding the migration until Thursday.
Agreed the rollout slips a week. Finance to confirm the revised figure by Friday.
It works with no internet
- Works on a plane, or on a locked-down corporate network
- Nothing is uploaded, and nothing waits to be uploaded later
- Works best on a machine with room to spare
Online stays the default and handles difficult audio better. Offline dictation sets out the trade.
Set up in two minutes
- Download, allow the microphone, pick your key
- No voice training and no passage to read aloud
- One licence covers a PC and a Mac
Read next
Offline dictation
Dictating with the network switched off.
Dictation for hand arthritis
Typing less when your hands are the reason you are looking.
Dictation on Mac
The Mac build, and the voice commands that come with it.
Compared with the other apps
On Windows the two names that come up most are Dragon and Voicy.
Questions
Which version of Windows do I need?
Windows 11 on x64.
Is this better than Windows Voice Typing?
Three things you notice in the first week. It takes the fillers out instead of typing them. It learns names and acronyms, which Win + H cannot be taught. And it keeps working with no connection, where Win + H will not start.
Does it work in every Windows app?
Any app or website with a text box — Outlook, Word, Teams, Slack, Chrome, VS Code, the terminal. It types at your cursor like a keyboard, so there is no per-app setup.
Which key do I hold?
Right Ctrl by default. It types nothing on its own, so it costs you no shortcut. Change it to whichever key your hand rests near.
Can I dictate on Windows with no internet?
Yes — a plane, a locked-down corporate network, a machine that has never been online. It works best on a PC with room to spare, and online is the default otherwise.
Do I have to say the punctuation out loud?
No. Full stops, commas, question marks and capitals come from the way you talk. They arrive already in place.
Will it get names and technical terms right?
Add them to your vocabulary once and they keep landing correctly. Colleagues, clients, products and the systems your company runs on are where dictation usually costs you a correction.
Does it change my wording?
It removes, it does not rewrite. Fillers and false starts come out, punctuation and capitals go in, every other word stays as you said it. One switch gives you the raw transcript.
Does it work in other languages?
Yes, 99+. It works out which one you are speaking rather than making you set it each time.
Will it work on my Mac as well?
One licence covers both, and your vocabulary and settings follow you between them.
Do I need a good microphone?
Your laptop mic is fine for normal use. A headset helps in a noisy office, but do not buy one before you try it.
Free to try, no card, on Windows 11.