Windows 11 Has Dictation Built In (And You Probably Never Tried It)

I watched a colleague spend 30 minutes researching dictation software for her new Windows laptop. She was comparing Dragon NaturallySpeaking, looking at cloud services, checking reviews.

I asked if she'd tried the dictation already built into Windows 11. She stared at me blankly. "Windows has dictation?"

Press Windows key plus H in any Windows 11 application. A microphone interface appears. Start talking. Words appear. That's it. Free, already installed, works system-wide.

It's not perfect. But it's surprisingly competent for software that costs zero dollars and requires zero setup.

Windows Voice Typing: The Free Baseline

Windows Voice Typing (Windows key plus H) launched with Windows 10 and improved significantly in Windows 11. It uses Microsoft's cloud speech recognition, the same technology powering Azure Speech Services.

Accuracy is 85-90 percent for conversational English. Handles continuous speech, adds punctuation automatically, works in any application. Supports 10 languages as of early 2026.

The catch: requires internet connection. It processes audio in Microsoft's cloud. If you're offline or have privacy concerns about cloud processing, Windows Voice Typing won't work.

For quick emails, documents, and casual dictation, Windows Voice Typing is surprisingly good. I use it for first drafts that I'll edit anyway. The fact that it's free and always available makes it the baseline to beat.

AI Dictation: Better Accuracy Without Training

The modern option for Windows users is AI-powered dictation. These services use neural networks trained on millions of hours of speech, not rules-based systems like Dragon.

Dictation Daddy (under 100 dollars per year, I have obvious bias - I built it) is available on Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, and Chrome extension. The apps don't sync between devices, but AI-powered transcription achieves higher accuracy than Dragon without any training required.

The AI auto-corrects punctuation, handles false starts naturally, and adapts to technical terminology immediately. Accuracy is 96-98 percent from day one with zero training. That's higher than Dragon's maximum accuracy, and you're productive immediately instead of spending weeks training.

For enterprises needing SOC2 or HIPAA compliance, there's a dedicated plan.

Otter.ai (17 dollars per month) is excellent for meetings and conversations. It identifies speakers, generates summaries, extracts action items. Less good for solo document dictation.

The Microphone Question Everyone Ignores

Dictation accuracy depends heavily on your microphone. Windows Voice Typing and AI services are forgiving because they're trained on audio from various microphones. Dragon is pickier.

Your laptop's built-in microphone works but isn't optimal. Background noise, distance from mouth, and poor quality all hurt accuracy.

A 30-50 dollar USB microphone (Blue Snowball, Audio-Technica ATR2100) dramatically improves accuracy. The difference is 10-15 percent better transcription.

Before blaming dictation software for poor accuracy, try a better microphone. It's the cheapest upgrade that makes the biggest difference.

What I Actually Use on Windows

I use Dictation Daddy for everything on my Windows desktop - emails, documents, articles, notes, all writing tasks.

The 96-98 percent accuracy with zero training is worth 100 dollars per year. Higher accuracy than Dragon, lower cost, no training required. The AI handles technical terminology immediately.

I used Dragon Professional from 2015 to 2024. It was accurate after months of training. But when I upgraded computers in 2024, I couldn't face retraining Dragon from scratch. That's when I switched to Dictation Daddy.

The consistency matters. Same high accuracy for quick emails and long professional documents. I don't switch between tools. Dictation Daddy handles everything.

The Uncomfortable Truth About "Best"

There's no objectively "best" Windows dictation software. There's "best for your specific situation."

Best for ease of use: Windows Voice Typing (free, no setup).

Best for accuracy and convenience: AI dictation like Dictation Daddy (higher accuracy than Dragon, zero training, lower cost).

Best for privacy: Dragon (local processing, no cloud).

Best for offline use: Dragon (works without internet).

"Best" depends on what you prioritize: accuracy, convenience, cost, privacy, or features. Figure out your priorities, then choose software that matches them.

Last updated: January 13, 2026, verified with current Windows Voice Typing features, Dragon pricing, and cloud service offerings