Dragon Professional vs Voice In

Dragon Professional

• Professionals who dictate long documents on a Windows PC
• People who need to control a computer entirely by voice
• Organizations that want central control of dictation licenses

Voice In

• People who do most of their writing in web apps inside Chrome or Edge
• Dictating into web-based email, help desk and CRM tools
• Users who want voice shortcuts for text they type repeatedly

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.

Voice In

• It works only inside Chrome and Edge: not in desktop apps such as Word, and not in Firefox, Brave or Vivaldi.
• The free version is capped at 60 minutes a day and stops listening after 20 seconds of silence; Advanced Mode and custom voice commands need Plus.
• It needs an internet connection and does not work offline.
• Dictanote says it has never offered a HIPAA business associate agreement, because speech recognition is done by the browser.

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.

Voice In

Dictation in web text boxes

Place the cursor in a text box, right-click and choose Start Recording, and speech is typed in real time. The site lists Gmail, Google Docs, Outlook on the web, WhatsApp and ChatGPT among supported sites.

Advanced Mode

A Plus feature that inserts text with a different strategy, so dictation works on sites with complex editors such as Notion, Slack, Salesforce, Zendesk and HubSpot.

Custom voice commands

With Plus, a spoken phrase can insert saved text such as a signature, or run an action such as pressing Tab, switching the dictation language or opening a URL.

AI Transforms

Select dictated text and apply the built-in Polish style or one custom prompt of your own. Only the selected text is sent to an AI model, and Dictanote says it is not stored.

Dictation Box and multi-tab dictation

Plus adds a small box on the page to dictate into before copying text across, and keeps dictation running when you switch tabs. In the free version it stops on a tab change.

Transcription by the browser

Voice In uses the speech-to-text API built into Chrome or Edge. Dictanote states that no audio or transcript is sent to its own servers.

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.

Voice In

• Free$0

  Up to 60 minutes of dictation a day in 50+ languages on popular sites such as Gmail, Google Docs and WhatsApp, with built-in punctuation commands.

• Voice In Plus (Yearly)$59.99

  per year (about $5 per month)

  Unlimited dictation, Advanced Mode, AI Transforms and custom voice commands. Shown against a crossed-out $119.88, which is twelve months at the monthly price.

• Voice In Plus (Monthly)$9.99

  per month, billed monthly

  The same Plus features billed month to month. Plus is licensed per user and works on every computer where you sign in.

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.

Voice In

• Annual discount

  Save 50% with yearly billing

  Voice In Plus costs $59.99 a year against $9.99 a month, which the pricing page presents as a 50% saving on the $119.88 that twelve monthly payments would cost.

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime Plus for $149.99, listed until October 10th

  The pricing page offers a one-time $149.99 payment for all Plus features and future plan updates for life. It labels the offer as limited in time and available until October 10th.

• Other savings

  $5 in credits for each referral

  The referral program gives $5 in credits each time someone signs up through your link. Credits can pay for a Voice In Plus upgrade or go toward renewals.