Free Speech to Text: Dictate Live or Transcribe Audio and Video Files

Short answer: To type with your voice for free, use what you already have: Voice typing in Google Docs, Windows key + H on Windows, Dictation on a Mac, or the microphone on your phone keyboard. To turn an existing recording or video into text for free, run OpenAI's open-source Whisper on your own computer, or use a free plan such as Otter.ai's within its limits. Microsoft Word's Dictate and Transcribe need a Microsoft 365 subscription.

This is for students, writers and anyone with a voice note, lecture or video they want as text.

Dictation or transcription: which one do you need?

People mix these up, and it decides which tool works.

• Live dictation: you speak, words appear as you talk. Every phone and computer can do this for free.
• Transcription: you already have an audio or video file and want its text. Built-in dictation tools can't open files.

How to type with your voice for free

Google Docs

Google says Voice typing works in the latest versions of Chrome, Edge and Safari.

1. Open a document in one of those browsers.
2. Click Tools > Voice typing.
3. Click the microphone and start speaking.
4. Say "period", "comma" or "new paragraph" to add punctuation.
5. Click the microphone again to stop.

Voice commands for editing only work in English. In Google Slides, use Tools > Dictate speaker notes.

Windows 11

1. Click in any text box.
2. Press Windows key + H.
3. Speak, then press Windows key + H again to stop.

Microsoft says voice typing needs an internet connection because it uses online speech recognition. Turn on Automatic punctuation from the gear icon on the voice typing bar. Windows 10 has the same shortcut under the name Dictation.

Mac

1. Open Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard.
2. Turn on Dictation, then click Enable.
3. In any app, press the Microphone key or choose Edit > Start Dictation.
4. Press Escape to stop.

Apple says there's no time limit, but Dictation stops after 30 seconds without speech.

iPhone and Android

1. iPhone: open Settings > General > Keyboard and turn on Enable Dictation.
2. iPhone: tap a text field, then tap the Dictate button on the keyboard.
3. Android with Gboard: tap a text field, then tap the Microphone icon.
4. Speak when you see Speak now, and tap again to stop.

On iPhone, punctuation is added automatically in supported languages. If you have a Pixel, Google's Recorder app can also transcribe recordings as you make them.

How to turn a voice recording or video into text for free

Here you have three free routes, from easiest to most private.

The Google Docs playback trick

This video from Howfinity shows a common free workaround: start Voice typing in Google Docs, then play the recording so the microphone hears it.

It costs nothing, but it runs in real time and picks up room noise. Expect to fix words, especially at the start.

Free online tools

Otter.ai's Basic plan, as of November 2026, includes 300 transcription minutes a month, up to 30 minutes per conversation and only 3 imported files per account, ever. It's better for recording meetings live than for a pile of old files.

Gemini can take uploaded audio. Google's help page says total audio length can be up to 10 minutes, extended to 3 hours with Google AI Pro or Google AI Ultra.

Uploading a recording sends it to that company's servers. Before you upload anything private, read the service's privacy page: Otter.ai's privacy policy or the Gemini Apps Privacy Hub. If it's sensitive, use Whisper on your own computer instead.

How to transcribe audio offline with Whisper

Whisper is OpenAI's open-source speech recognition model. Its code and model weights are released under the MIT License, and it runs on your own computer, so your audio never leaves it.

1. Install Python and ffmpeg (for example brew install ffmpeg on a Mac).
2. Install Whisper with pip install -U openai-whisper.
3. Open a terminal in the folder with your file.
4. Run the command below, swapping in your file name.
5. Open the .txt file Whisper saves in the same folder.

whisper audio.mp3 --model small

Whisper also saves subtitle files such as .srt by default, which is handy for video. Bigger models are more accurate but slower; the README lists them from tiny to large, plus turbo, the default. Add --language English (or your language) if detection guesses wrong.

Did you know? Whisper can translate as well as transcribe. Add --task translate and it turns speech in another language into English text. The README says to use medium or large for this, because turbo isn't trained for translation.

Prefer not to use the terminal? Browse free speech-to-text tools, including hosted Whisper options, or see how to make a podcast with AI if you're transcribing episodes.

Can you do speech to text in Microsoft Word for free?

Not according to Microsoft's own pages. Microsoft says Dictate in Word (Home > Dictate) is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.

Transcribe, which turns uploaded .wav, .mp3, .m4a or .mp4 files into text, also needs Microsoft 365. As of November 2026, Microsoft says subscribers can transcribe up to 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month.

If you don't pay for Microsoft 365, dictate in Google Docs or Windows voice typing, then paste the text into Word.

Recording other people? Ask first

Before you record a call, class or meeting, ask everyone for permission. Recording laws differ by country and state, and some require every person's consent. Uploading the file to an online service shares their voices too.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free speech to text?

For live typing, the dictation built into your device or Google Docs is free and good enough for most people. For files, Whisper is free, open source and private because it runs on your computer.

How do I convert a voice recording to text for free?

Run Whisper on your computer with whisper yourfile.mp3 --model small. Or use a free online plan like Otter.ai's, within its import limit.

Can Google Docs transcribe an audio file?

Not directly. Voice typing listens to your microphone, so the only free trick is to play the recording aloud while it listens.

How do I use speech to text on Windows?

Click in a text box and press Windows key + H. You need an internet connection.

Is there speech to text with no sign-up?

Yes. Your phone keyboard, Windows voice typing, Mac Dictation and Whisper need no new account.

How do I convert a video's voice to text for free?

Whisper accepts video files like .mp4 through ffmpeg and saves a .srt subtitle file too. Otherwise, play the video into Google Docs Voice typing.

Sources

• Google Docs Editors Help: Type and edit with your voice
• Microsoft Support: Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC
• Apple: Use Dictation on Mac
• Apple: Dictate text on iPhone
• Gboard Help: Type with your voice
• Microsoft Support: Dictate your documents in Word
• Microsoft Support: Transcribe your recordings
• Gemini Apps Help: Upload and analyze files
• Otter.ai pricing
• OpenAI Whisper on GitHub

Reviewed on November 3, 2026. Free-plan limits and app menus change often, so check the vendor pages above before relying on a limit.