Free dictation got dramatically good — the built-ins are now neural and rival what Dragon charged hundreds for:
Built into your OS (start here):
- Windows: press Win+H in any text field. Modern Windows voice typing is accurate, handles punctuation commands (“period”, “new line”), and works in every app — Outlook, Word, browsers.
- macOS: System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation (double-tap a hotkey to start). On Apple Silicon it runs on-device — private and works offline.
- Phones: the mic key on Gboard / iOS keyboard is the same class of model. Many people dictate long emails on their phone and finish on the PC.
In the browser: Google Docs Voice Typing (Tools → Voice typing) remains excellent for long-form drafting and is completely free with punctuation commands and basic editing commands.
Practical tips that matter more than the tool:
- Dictate in thoughts, then edit — don’t try to speak perfect prose. Speed comes from a messy fast draft plus a cleanup pass.
- Learn 5 commands: period, comma, new line, new paragraph, delete that. That’s 90% of daily use.
- A basic wired headset or earbuds mic beats a laptop’s built-in mic noticeably for accuracy.
- For the cleanup pass, paste into a free AI chatbot: “Fix dictation errors and punctuation, change nothing else.” This combo (voice draft + AI cleanup) is the real Dragon replacement — see the writing-tools thread: Free AI writing tool for emails and essays — what do you recommend?
Transcribing recorded audio (meetings, voice memos) is a different problem with different tools — thread here: Free way to transcribe recorded audio to text (interviews, meetings)?
Which OS are you on? Happy to give the exact setup steps.