GoKawiilLance Whitney/ZDNET
A couple of years ago, I fell and fractured my left wrist. The injury meant that I couldn't write, at least not by typing with two hands. As a workaround, I tried dictating text using the voice dictation tools built into Windows. But I was never truly happy with their usability or accuracy. I wish I'd known about Wispr Flow at the time.
Available in free and paid plans, Wispr Flow from Wispr is a reliable and flexible AI-powered speech-to-text tool that lets you dictate emails, text messages, notes, lists, documents, and more. You can also use it to record and transcribe conversations, speeches, presentations, meetings, and similar activities. Plus, if you're into vibe coding, which lets you develop software using natural language, Wispr Flow will understand your instructions.
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The program is available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. The desktop version is a full application that you can trigger with a keyboard shortcut in any program. The mobile version is not only an app but a keyboard, so you're able to use it with any text-based program on your phone or tablet.
Three editions compared
Wispr Flow comes in three editions -- Free, Pro, and Enterprise. The freebie provides all the basic features, including support for more than 100 languages, the ability to learn names and jargon, and an option to use your dictated notes in AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude. The program can also identify speakers for your transcribed meeting notes, answer questions about your transcribed meetings, and connect to your calendar and meeting tools such as Slack.
Wispr promises that your data stays private and is HIPAA-ready. There is an option to allow the AI model to train itself based on your data, but you can easily turn that off.
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With the free edition, you get what Wispr calls a 2,000-word soft cap and a 5,000-word hard cap on the desktop and a 1,000-word soft cap and a 1,500-word hard cap on mobile. As you approach the soft cap limit, a warning appears. If you keep going and near the hard cap limit, Wispr Flow slows down until your quota is reset at the end of the week.
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