Dragon Professional vs Philips SpeechLive (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Philips SpeechLive grades higher than Dragon Professional: 2.2 against 1.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Philips SpeechLive grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dragon Professional
Windows speech recognition for dictation and voice commands
Philips SpeechLive
Cloud dictation and speech recognition for legal and health teams
Which one is for you
Pick Dragon Professional if
- Fits if you need to control a Windows PC entirely by voice, menus and mouse included
- Works for organizations that want licenses and shared vocabularies managed from one console
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on a Mac or a phone, because it's Windows only
- Pricey if you only want to talk instead of type, at $685.99 from a reseller with no trial first
- Not for you if your recordings have several speakers, since file transcription is built for one voice
- Watch out: Dragon's own site lists no price and sends buyers to a sales line, so $685.99 is one reseller's figure
- Watch out: you need an internet connection to activate it and to move a voice profile between PCs
Pick Philips SpeechLive if
- Fits if you dictate legal or medical documents and use Philips hardware
- Works for teams that pass dictation to typists in a workflow
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you buy for yourself: every plan is per user, billed yearly, excluding tax
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there isn't one after the two-week trial
- Watch out: the AI Assistant plans are $54 for 2026, then $76.80 from 2027
- Watch out: typed transcription is billed per minute from a prepaid balance, from $1.39 a minute
- Not for you if you have an Intel Mac, which uses a legacy version
How we grade them
| 1.4GPADragon ProfessionalWeak | 2.2GPAPhilips SpeechLiveFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DReseller CDW advertises one licence at $685.99. One-time prices in this category run from $7 to $39, and the middle subscription is $8.33 a month, so that's about seven years of renting something else. Dragon's own site publishes no price. | DWorkflow is $21.90 a user a month on yearly billing, excluding tax, past the category's dearest-tenth line of $19.99. Legal and Health plans run from $47.80 to $103. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free at all: no free plan and no trial in the listing, so you buy before you've said a word to it. At $685.99 that's a lot of faith. | CA two-week free trial with all Enterprise features and no credit card, for up to 10 users and 200 minutes each. No free plan. |
| Features | BDictation into documents, spreadsheets and forms, custom commands, a Macro Recorder, shareable vocabulary lists, single-speaker file transcription, and a mouse grid and spoken menus that drive the PC with no hands. No gap in the core job. | BDictation workflow, speech recognition at the cursor, AI drafts, clinical notes and hardware support. Nothing in the listing is missing from the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and this is software you set up: vocabularies and word lists to import, commands and macros to record, a voice profile to move between PCs, and an internet connection needed to activate it. | CNo store rating on record. It has accounts, hardware and a workflow to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | DOne operating system: Windows 10, 11 and Windows Server, with no Mac version and no phone app. It does work with Microsoft Office, Citrix and Nuance's PowerMic 4. | BWeb, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and a browser extension, with Philips SpeechMike and its device connector. No API or wider integration list. |
| Best for | running a Windows PC entirely by voice | professional dictation for legal and health work |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Dragon Professional and Philips SpeechLive. How we grade
Where they differ
- Philips SpeechLive also covers clinical notes.
At a glance
| Dragon Professional | Philips SpeechLive | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $685.99 per 1-user license (reseller CDW's advertised price) | $21.90 per user / month, billed annually, excl. tax |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Two-week free trial with all Enterprise features, no credit card, up to 10 users and 200 speech recognition minutes per user |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Nuance Communications (Microsoft) | Speech Processing Solutions |
| Price read from | cdw.com (not the vendor's own page) | speechlive.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dragon Professional
- Windows only: it runs on Windows 10 and 11 and Windows Server 2016, 2019 and 2022. There is no Mac version.
- The Dragon site publishes no price and directs orders to a sales phone line; the figure recorded here is one reseller's advertised price.
- File transcription is built for one speaker's voice at a time, not for recordings with several speakers.
- An internet connection is required to download and activate the product, and moving a voice profile between PCs also needs one.
Philips SpeechLive
- No free plan; all prices are per user, billed annually, and exclude tax.
- The AI Assistant plans are shown at an introductory $54.00 for 2026, rising to $76.80 from 2027.
- The desktop app is listed for Windows and Apple Silicon Macs; Intel Macs use a legacy version.
- Typed transcription is billed per minute from a prepaid balance, from $1.39 per minute for English.
Key features
Dragon Professional
- Dictation into Windows applications
- Types what you say into documents, spreadsheets, presentations and form-based reports. The speech engine adapts to the speaker's voice, accent and surroundings while dictating.
- Custom voice commands and macros
- Step-by-Step and Auto-text commands launch applications or insert boilerplate text and signatures, and a Macro Recorder captures keystrokes and mouse clicks to replay by voice.
- Audio file transcription
- Transcribes recorded notes or audio files from a single speaker into text, and the Auto Transcribe Folder Agent works through batches of recordings.
- Vocabulary management
- Add custom words and word lists, import or export industry terminology, edit word properties and share the results with other users.
- Hands-free computer control
- Accessibility commands open applications, navigate menus and position the cursor by voice using a mouse grid that works across multiple monitors.
- Nuance Management Center
- In group deployments, administrators track usage, reassign licenses and distribute custom words, commands and auto-texts from one console.
Philips SpeechLive
- Dictation workflow
- Authors record on a phone app, in a browser or by uploading a file, and the dictation can be assigned to a typist or team with task tracking.
- Speech recognition at the cursor
- The Direct plans use a desktop app that types into supported Windows and macOS applications and supports voice commands for navigation, editing and formatting.
- AI document drafts
- The AI Assistant plans turn dictation into structured documents from system or custom templates, and the draft can be edited with plain-language instructions.
- Clinical notes
- The Health AI Assistant plan generates clinical notes from consultations, with specialty templates.
- Human transcription service
- Typed transcripts can be bought from a prepaid balance, at $1.39 per minute for English with a 24-hour turnaround.
- Hardware support
- A Chrome or Edge extension and a native host app connect Philips SpeechMike microphones and foot controls to the web app.
Plans
Dragon Professional
Dragon Professional v16 (1 user)$685.99
per 1-user download license, as advertised by reseller CDW
Single-user Windows license, not a subscription. The Dragon site lists no price and sends buyers to its sales line, so this is a reseller's figure.
Volume licensingCustom
Group deployments managed through the Nuance Management Center, which assigns licenses and shares custom words and commands. Quoted by the Dragon sales team.
Philips SpeechLive
Workflow$21.90
per user / month, billed annually, excl. tax
Records and routes dictations: mobile app and file upload, browser recorder, task assignment and tracking, and links to third-party software.
Legal Direct / Professional Direct$47.80
per user / month, billed annually, excl. tax
Workflow plus speech recognition at the cursor in supported desktop apps, with voice commands and custom vocabulary. Unlimited under fair use.
Legal / Professional AI Assistant$76.80
per user / month, billed annually, excl. tax, from 2027
Direct plan plus unlimited AI-drafted documents from templates, natural-language editing, and PDFs or images as extra sources. The page shows an introductory $54.00 for 2026.
Health AI Assistant$103.00
per user / month, billed annually, excl. tax
Workflow plus unlimited AI-generated clinical notes from consultations, with specialty templates.
Ways to pay less
Dragon Professional
- Education
Education volume license programs
Qualified K-12 and higher-education organizations can buy through the Open License Program, which carries education discounts. A K-12 School License covers up to 250 school computers at one site.
Philips SpeechLive
- Other savings
Introductory 2026 price on the AI Assistant plans
The Legal and Professional AI Assistant bundles are listed at $54.00 per user per month, billed annually, for 2026, then $76.80 from 2027.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dragon Professional or Philips SpeechLive?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Dragon Professional starts at $685.99 per 1-user license (reseller CDW's advertised price), and Philips SpeechLive starts at $21.90 per user / month, billed annually, excl. tax.
Which has a free plan, Dragon Professional or Philips SpeechLive?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Dragon Professional nor Philips SpeechLive has a free plan. Philips SpeechLive has a free trial.
Which platforms do Dragon Professional and Philips SpeechLive run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Philips SpeechLive lists a web app, macOS, iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list a Windows app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.