The best free dictation app for Windows is the one that runs on your own machine.
Most free dictation tools either cap you at a couple thousand words a week or send your audio to a server to transcribe it. Recitey runs the model on your own machine, so the free tier has no word cap and your audio stays on the device. You press a hotkey, speak, and cleaned text appears at your cursor in any app. No account, no subscription. That is why, for a free tier you can actually live in, it is our pick on Windows. The honest free-tier comparison is below.
How the free tiers compare
Free-tier details current as of June 2026. Competitor plans change. Check each vendor before you decide.
A short, honest note on each
Recitey Free tier is uncapped and runs on your machine, and it cleans the text rather than handing back a raw transcript. Desktop only, Windows and macOS. The code is not open source.
Wispr Flow Polished and cross-platform, with iOS and Android. The free tier caps at 2,000 words per week and the transcription is cloud only.
Willow Voice Calm brand, strong personalization that syncs across devices. Free tier caps at 2,000 words per week, cloud transcription, and the Team tier has a 3-seat minimum.
Superwhisper Cheaper on Pro and can run locally. The free tier is limited to small models and a few modes, and the product is Mac-first.
Windows Voice Typing (Win+H) Free, unlimited, and already built into Windows. It gives you a raw transcript and, with online speech on, sends your audio to Microsoft. Good for a quick note, not for cleaned writing.
Dragon Deep voice control and specialized vocabularies, processed locally. It is a paid license in the hundreds of dollars, not a free tool, and it is heavier than everyday dictation needs.
Common questions
What is the best free dictation app for Windows?
For a free tier you can use every day, Recitey is the strongest option on Windows because it runs the speech-to-text model on your own machine, so there is no weekly word cap and your audio is not uploaded. Wispr Flow and Willow have free tiers but cap them at 2,000 words per week and run in the cloud. Windows Voice Typing (Win+H) is free and unlimited but gives you a raw transcript rather than cleaned text.
Is there a free dictation app for Windows that works offline?
Yes. Recitey's free tier transcribes on your own device, so it does not depend on the cloud. Dragon also processes speech locally but is a paid license, not free. Most other tools (Wispr Flow, Willow, Windows Voice Typing) send your audio to a server to transcribe it.
Is the built-in Windows Voice Typing good enough?
For a quick sentence, Win+H is free, already there, and fine. It hands you a raw transcript with basic punctuation and, when online speech is on, sends your audio to Microsoft. If you want the filler removed, the text formatted, and your terms corrected, a dedicated tool like Recitey does that and runs the transcription on your machine.
Are these free dictation apps private?
It depends on where the transcription runs. Recitey's free tier and Dragon process speech on your own device. Wispr Flow, Willow, and Windows Voice Typing send your audio to a server. If keeping your audio on the machine matters, choose a tool that transcribes locally.
Is Recitey open source?
No. Recitey is free to use and the free tier runs locally, but the code is not public. Free means no subscription and no account; local means the free tier processes your speech on your own machine.
Try the free, local one
Recitey Free is uncapped and runs locally. No account, no card. Windows 10/11 or macOS (Apple Silicon).