Looking for the best free Windows software for speech to text? The most-repeated paid recommendation is Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS). But some might scoff at paying money for software. Fortunately, there are several great free programs out there like Google Docs Voice Typing (GDVT) and Windows Speech Recognition (WSR).

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You might wonder how these two products compare against DNS — and whether or not DNS meets your needs. For this article, I’ve identified three kinds of users: those who need speech to text transcription for writing novels, those who need academic transcription, and those who write business documents, like memos. To this end, I tested three speech transcription programs (DNS, GDVT, and WSR).

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Speech Transcription Setup

Before we head into the test, let’s first look at the recommended hardware and software setup.

Hardware and Software Requirements

Google Docs Voice Typing requires the Chrome Browser and a microphone. And it also needs a persistent internet connection (which isn’t mentioned in the requirements). Otherwise, this is probably the easiest method to get started with speech transcription.

DNS requires a processor made in 2001 or later, Windows 7 or later, and around 4GB of free storage. Its strictest requirement is 2GB of RAM. Here’s a complete list of DNS’s hardware requirements.

Windows Speech RecognitionEnable Speech-to-Text and Voice Control by Setting Up Speech Recognition in WindowsEnable Speech-to-Text and Voice Control by Setting Up Speech Recognition in WindowsSpeech Recognition remains more powerful than Cortana. It drives speech to text and voice control. This article will show you what Speech Recognition can do, how to set it up, train it, and use it.Read More, also known as Speech Platform Runtime (download WSR), costs nothing and requires only a Windows 7 or later operating system.

Microphone Considerations

I use a dynamic microphone (best microphone for podcastingThe Best Podcast Microphone for Your Money in 2017The Best Podcast Microphone for Your Money in 2017Microphones matter a lot when making a podcast. The initial costs are fairly low: recording software, a desktop or laptop, and of course, a microphone. So what's the best podcast microphone?Read More) and a relatively fast Intel Core i7 processor. While a high-quality microphone is desired, it isn’t required. Even so, your results will improve with better sound quality and reduced background noise.

The lowest-priced microphone that I would recommend for high-quality recording is the Audio-Technica ATR-2100. However, the accuracy difference between $5 microphone and a $200 device is pretty minimal.

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On the other hand, the minimum requirements for Microsoft Speech are pretty much any remotely modern computer (most computers made in the last ten years) and a microphone. If you own a laptop or tablet made in the last five years, it should have what you need by default.

Configuring Speech Transcription Programs

Here’s how to use Google Voice Typing:

Here’s how to get started with Windows Speech Recognition:

And, finally, here’s how to get started with Dragon Naturally Speaking:

Test Methodology

I want to find the best free Windows-based speech to text application. Because different consumers may need a different product, I’ve devised a simple test. I read three different passages from texts without copyright: one from Charles Darwin’s On the Tendency of Species to Form Varieties. One from H.P. Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulu. The last hails from Jerry Brown’s 2017 State of the Union speech. My methodology is by no means perfect, but it does give an impression of each voice recognition suite’s accuracies.

Fiction Writing Sample (From H.P. Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulu)

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”

Business Writing Sample (Jerry Brown’s 2017 State of the Union speech)

“It is customary on an occasion like this to lay out a specific agenda for the year ahead. Six times before from this rostrum, I have done that, and in some detail. And, as I reread those proposals set forth in previous State of the State speeches, I was amazed to see how much we have accomplished together.”

Academic Writing Sample (Charles Darwin’s On the Tendency of the Species to Form Varieties)

“Now when a variety of such an animal occurs, having increased power or capacity in any organ or sense, such increase is totally useless, is never called into action, and may even exist without the animal ever becoming aware of it. In the wild animal, on the contrary, all its faculties and power being brought into full action for the necessities of existence, any increase becomes immediately available, is strengthened by exercise, and must even slightly modify the food, the habits, and the whole economy of the race.”

3 Voice Transcription Suites Tested

It’s surprising how free voice recognitionThe Best List-Making Apps for Voice CommandsThe Best List-Making Apps for Voice CommandsMany free productivity tools support voice to text for lists. We'll show you the best list-making apps with voice recognition and commands you must try.Read More tests performed against paid software. But at the end of the day, the most accurate app is Dragon Naturally Speaking. However, both Google Voice Typing and Windows Speech Recognition cost nothing and deliver over 90 percent accuracy. But each has its own strengths and weaknesses and you might prefer one over the other.

H.P. Lovecraft (Fiction Writing Test)

Lovecraft loved writing in long, unbroken, parenthetically dense prose. While all three suites do a great job of accurately transcribing Lovecraft’s vocalized text, DNS comes out ahead of its competitors. It includes both capitalization and punctuation (which is completely insane).

DNS: DNS only dropped a single word from the text. Overall, it scored 107 correct out of 108 words. It nailed several long, non-stop sentences as well.

WSR: Windows did a very good job — but not amazing — of transcribing Lovecraft. It got around 97 of around 108 words correct. While that falls short of both GDVT and DNS, it’s still good for a free speech to text program that doesn’t require online access.

GDVT: I’m not sure what happened becau

Voice Text Mac For Word