From Tech Radar:
The best dictation software makes it simple and easy to record audio notes on your desktop or mobile device.
It also allows you to speak instead of typing and converts your spoken words into text. This can save you a lot of time and energy and is very useful for anyone who might have difficulty typing for any period, such as those with RSI or a disability.
Although dictation software has been around since the 1990s, it was mostly seen as a gimmick due to low accuracy. However, technological advancements have made them more accurate and usable; you can now dictate text with accuracy levels of over 90%.
The most popular office software, Word, comes with a built-in speech-to-text converter, and it’s back engine has almost certainly been helped by Microsoft’s purchase of the Dragon software company, which leads the field when it comes to dictation software for all applications. Apple and Google also provide similar options for their software platforms.
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Dragon Professional Individual
Dragon Professional Individual dictation software is widely recognized as the best in the business. Dragon products are reliable, easy to use, and among the most accurate available.
Having used Dragon dictation software on our laptop, we can attest to its best-in-class performance. In a 300 word test, the software got 299 words correct.
Like most advanced dictation software platforms, Dragon software leverages deep learning technology and artificial neural networks. These technologies enable Dragon to adjust its transcription based on several factors, such as the amount of ambient noise, the speaker’s accent, and even the tone with which they speak.
For businesses, several Dragon dictation products may be suitable. This is because Dragon has gone beyond merely offering one software package for all purposes, and has created dictation software custom-designed for specific industries. The most popular are Dragon Legal, Dragon Medical One, and Dragon Law Enforcement.
The biggest downside of Dragon dictation software is the substantial cost for a license.
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Microsoft Word speech to text
Although not a standalone dictation software platform, we believe Microsoft Word’s dictation functionalities merit a spot on this list. Built directly into Microsoft Word, and included with all Microsoft 365 subscriptions, it is a powerful and accurate dictation tool.
The platform relies on vast amounts of training data and artificial neural networks, meaning it is continuously improving its ability to transcribe voice to text. Having tested Microsoft’s dictation software, we’re confident it competes in accuracy and ease of use with the leading dictation software providers.
There are few standout features to mention, but we see this as a strength. Microsoft Word’s dictation software is straightforward to use, with no setup or installations required. It is accessible directly from the Word application, and it only takes one click to begin voice typing.
Several voice commands enable you to take control of the document. These include punctuation marks and formatting tools.
A final thing we like about Microsoft Word’s speech to text software is its support for nine different languages, with many more in the testing stage.
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Google Docs Voice Typing
Google Docs is a popular online world processor offered by Google, the tech giant best known for its search engine. It works just like Microsoft Word but online instead of a desktop app. It’s also free to use, so you don’t have to pay any extra fee for a dictation tool.
Google Docs allows you to type with your voice. When you open the software, just select Tools > Voice Typing and give it access to your device’s microphone. Then, you can click the pop-up microphone button anytime you want to dictate text. During our test, it was very accurate and typed in the correct words that were dictated. Just ensure you speak loudly and legibly because little pauses and stutters can confuse it.
All you need to use Google Docs is a working Google account. There’s no setup or installation required; you just have to sign in and open a new document. The drawback is that you can not use the voice typing feature offline.
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How We Tested the Best Dictation Software
To test for the best dictation software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the software could be used for different purposes and in different situations. The aim was to push each dictation software platform to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.
Link to the rest at Tech Radar
The OP includes information about other dictation programs beyond the three mentioned above plus a more detailed review of Dragon Professional, MS Word and Google Docs.
Feel free to share your experiences with dictation software in the comments.
I do agree with G. B. Miller. Arthritis has reduced my options for now.
I’ve tried a great many dictation apps for dictating stories on my commute, and while I hate the high subscription price tag, I use Dragon Anywhere just because it’s the most accurate with transcription for me. I do have to dictate punctuation, which kind of sucks, but I got used to it fairly quickly.
The worst thing about dictation for me is cleaning everything up, so the better the initial transcription, the less time it takes me just to correct minor errors before I can get to the bigger errors. But I recently tried pasting my transcribed dictation into ChatGPT, and asking it to “correct spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors”, and I tell you what – that is a game-changer! I just have the tiniest bit of cleanup after ChatGPT gets done (sometimes it “overcorrects” for grammar, and I have to go back and change that, and obviously it doesn’t always get homonyms/synonyms right), and that has made my whole process so much less onerous. I can focus on the bigger editing issues rather than whether I forgot a “close quote” or “comma” or have too many commas, or whatever.
ProWritingAid is also very helpful for this, but ChatGPT is faster. Either way, both of those combined with Dragon Anywhere really makes it much easier/faster to get words on (digital) paper. I’d love to find something less expensive than Dragon, but nothing I’ve tried is close in terms of accuracy.
That you for the advice on using ChatGPT for grammar and spelling issues. I’ve use Dragon Naturally Speaking in the past (badly injured wrist in my dominant hand). It was quite useful for shorter work. I may start trying it again with Word.
A year ago Kevin J. Anderson did a Kickstarter. One of the options included his audio dictation for the book. Best hundred bucks I ever spent.
I tried Dragon decades ago and it drove me nuts. Listening to Anderson “dictate” the story answered all of my questions.
– He simply spoke the story, not putting in “quote” or “period”, etc…
Basically, the woman who transcribes the dictation cleans things up along the way.
– That doesn’t work for me.
I started on a manual typewriter when I was a kid. Agony. I have to be able to shape the prose like clay. If wordprocessors were not created, I could not write.
This is how I describe writing; the same as Bronze Casting.
COLORES | Shidoni Foundry | New Mexico PBS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgkOxknxKgo
Brandon Sanderson posted videos of him typing.
https://www.youtube.com/@BrandSanderson/videos
Click on “Oldest” to see the first videos, and watch how he manipulates the prose rather than simply type forward. This is close to how mine works.
I tried to record myself typing, but because of the Observer Effect, I froze. I can only write if no one is watching me.
BTW, I have watched my friend dictate a message on his phone.
When he does that, he talks like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and everything goes smoothly. HA!
But I digress.
I used Dragon Dictation in the early 00’s but gave up on it when I wound up getting severe writer’s block while trying to do original writing (either regular or blogging). I use the Google version sporadically, and for straight dictation, as I currently write all of my stuff by hand before transcribing on the computer. However, my hands are getting progressively worse, so it may be time to dust off the microphone again. Overall, I found them to be decently accurate (the accuracy improved over time), but did have the occasional problem of the system not “understanding” certain select adjectives and typing something else.
I had several disappointment before I could get any sort of speech to text to work with any reliability, but the tech has become a lot better since you had your frustrating experience, G.
If you have MSWord, you don’t have to spend any money to experiment if you have a microphone. Either all or most laptops have had builtin microphones for a long time. You can also buy a cheap mic (less than $20 from a variety of online sources.