Speechnotes vs Voice In (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Speechnotes grades higher than Voice In: 3.2 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Speechnotes grades higher on value for money, the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Speechnotes
Free online dictation notepad with a voice-typing extension
Voice In
Speech-to-text extension for typing on websites in Chrome and Edge
Which one is for you
Pick Speechnotes if
- Fits if you want free dictation into a notepad in Chrome
- Works for people who want to push transcripts to Drive or Zapier
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't use Chrome, as the notepad works there only
- Not for you if you want ads gone without paying: they stay on the free version
- Watch out: Premium is paid once for a year and you must renew by hand
- Not for you if you want file transcription included: it costs $0.10 a minute
- Watch out: the iOS app, TextHear, is a sister app with its own pricing aimed at people with hearing impairment
Pick Voice In if
- Fits if most of your writing happens in web apps inside Chrome or Edge
- Works for people who can get by on an hour of dictation a day for free
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you write in Word or other desktop apps, because it only works inside the browser
- Not for you if you use Firefox, Brave or Vivaldi, or need to dictate offline, as it supports neither
- Tight if you're staying free and work in Notion or Slack, since those need Advanced Mode on Plus
- Watch out: the free version stops listening after 20 seconds of silence and when you change tab
- Watch out: Dictanote has never offered a HIPAA business associate agreement, and the Plus trial is 5 days
How we grade them
| 3.2GPASpeechnotesVery good | 2.6GPAVoice InGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APremium is $1.90 a month, billed once for a year, which is under 60% of the category's cheapest quarter. It doesn't auto-renew. | BPlus works out at about $5 a month on the $59.99 yearly plan, inside the lowest quarter for this category, which starts at $7. Month to month it's $9.99, so take the year. You're paying for browser-only dictation where rivals type into every app. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe dictation notepad and voice-typing extension are free with unlimited dictation. The cost is ads. | BFree gives you 60 minutes of dictation a day in 50+ languages on sites like Gmail, Google Docs and WhatsApp, with punctuation commands. One person could get by on that. It stops listening after 20 seconds of silence, and when you change tab. |
| Features | CDictation notepad, voice-typing extension, Android app, API, webhooks and Zapier, but the dictation works only in Chrome and file transcription is a separate paid service. | CIt types by voice into web text boxes and does that job fully, with Advanced Mode for awkward editors, your own voice commands and a Polish style. But it's a smaller job than the category's: no desktop apps, no file transcription, and the recognition is the browser's own, not theirs. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Open the page and talk, with nothing to set up. | BNo store rating on record, as it's a browser extension, and there's nothing to set up: add it to Chrome, put the cursor in a text box, right-click and choose Start Recording. That's the whole thing. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Chrome extension and Android, with Google Drive, Gmail and Zapier. No desktop app. | CChrome and Edge, and that's your lot. Not Firefox, Brave or Vivaldi, not desktop apps, no phone app and no API. The Gmail and Salesforce names are sites it types into, not things it connects to. |
| Best for | a free dictation notepad in Chrome | dictating into websites in Chrome or Edge |
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: Speechnotes and Voice In. How we grade
Price against what you get
Speechnotes starts at $1.90 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Voice In starts at $5 a month and scores 2.3.
Speechnotes scores higher and starts $3.10 a month lower. Of the other voice dictation apps on the chart, none scores higher than Speechnotes for less, and 1 scores higher than Voice In for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Speechnotes also covers transcription and notes.
At a glance
| Speechnotes | Voice In | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $1.9 per month, paid once for a year with no auto-renewal | $5 per month, billed yearly at $59.99 ($9.99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Online dictation notepad and the voice-typing Chrome extension, with unlimited dictation, editing and ads. | Free extension: up to 60 minutes of dictation a day on sites such as Gmail, Google Docs and WhatsApp, with built-in punctuation commands. Listening stops after 20 seconds of silence. |
| Free trial | None listed | 5-day free trial of Voice In Plus; paid plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. |
| Web | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Speechnotes | Dictanote Inc |
| Price read from | speechnotes.co | dictanote.co |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Speechnotes
- The dictation notepad works in Chrome only, according to the vendor.
- Premium is paid once for a year and must be renewed by hand; it does not renew by itself.
- The iOS app, TextHear, is a sister app with its own pricing and is aimed at people with hearing impairment.
- File transcription is a separate pay-as-you-go service; speaker labeling is stated for English.
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.
Key features
Speechnotes
- Dictation notepad
- A browser notepad for speaking notes, with spoken commands for punctuation and new lines, auto-save and export to .txt, .doc or Google Drive.
- Voice typing extension
- A Chrome extension that dictates into forms and text boxes across the web, Gmail included.
- File transcription
- Uploaded recordings and YouTube links are transcribed with timestamps, and captions can be exported as .srt files.
- API, webhooks and Zapier
- The transcription service accepts files by POST request and sends results to your server, and connects to Zapier.
- Android app
- A notepad app for Android that uses the same voice-driven note-taking approach.
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.
Plans
Speechnotes
Dictation - Free$0
Online dictation notepad and voice-typing Chrome extension, supported by ads.
Dictation - Premium$1.9
per month, billed once for 1 year, no auto-renewal
No ads, commercial use, extra security and developer support.
Transcription$0.1
per minute, pay as you go
File transcription with timestamps, captions export, API, webhooks and Zapier.
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.
Ways to pay less
Speechnotes
No public discounts listed.
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, one payment
The pricing page offers a one-time $149.99 payment for all Plus features and future plan updates for life. It is labelled limited in time; on November 9, 2026 it said available until November 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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Speechnotes or Voice In?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Speechnotes is cheaper to start with: $1.90 a month, against $5 a month for Voice In. Speechnotes starts at $1.9 per month, paid once for a year with no auto-renewal, and Voice In starts at $5 per month, billed yearly at $59.99 ($9.99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Speechnotes or Voice In?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Speechnotes and Voice In have a free plan.
Which platforms do Speechnotes and Voice In run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Speechnotes lists a web app and an Android app. Both list a browser extension. 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.