Speechnotes vs Voice Notebook (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Speechnotes and Voice Notebook share a 3.2 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on which platforms you need.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
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 Notebook
Browser speech-to-text with audio file transcription and phone apps
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 Notebook if
- Fits if you want free voice typing on a phone as well as in Chrome
- Works for people transcribing audio or video files without paying
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't use Chrome, as the web version works there only
- Watch out: the footer copyright reads 2011-2016, so it looks lightly maintained
- Not for you if you want offline dictation on anything but Android
- Tight if you want to save: saving texts and commands needs a registration
- Watch out: the iOS app shows ads, and iOS Premium is $5.99 with no period stated
How we grade them
| 3.2GPASpeechnotesVery good | 3.2GPAVoice NotebookVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AThe web service and the iOS and Android apps are free. The one price listed is iOS Premium at $5.99, with no billing period shown. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe dictation notepad and voice-typing extension are free with unlimited dictation. The cost is ads. | AFree outright, with ads on iOS. Saving texts and custom commands needs a free registration. |
| 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. | CVoice typing, audio and video transcription, voice commands and about 50 languages, but offline dictation is only on Android, with lower accuracy and language packs. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Open the page and talk, with nothing to set up. | BNo store rating on record: the App Store shows 89 ratings. Open the page and talk, with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Chrome extension and Android, with Google Drive, Gmail and Zapier. No desktop app. | BWeb, Chrome extension, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android, with YouTube transcription. No API on record. |
| Best for | a free dictation notepad in Chrome | free voice typing in Chrome and on your phone |
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 Notebook. How we grade
Where they differ
- Speechnotes also covers notes.
At a glance
| Speechnotes | Voice Notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $1.9 per month, paid once for a year with no auto-renewal | $5.99 (iOS Premium in-app purchase, billing period not shown) |
| Free plan | Online dictation notepad and the voice-typing Chrome extension, with unlimited dictation, editing and ads. | The web service and the iOS and Android apps are free; the iOS app shows ads. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Speechnotes | Voice Notebook |
| Price read from | speechnotes.co | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 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 Notebook
- The web version works only in Chrome.
- Saving texts, voice commands and custom languages needs a free registration.
- Offline dictation is described only for the Android app, with lower accuracy, and needs language packs.
- The site's footer copyright line reads 2011 to 2016, so it looks lightly maintained.
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 Notebook
- Voice typing in Chrome
- Press Start recording and speak; buttons insert punctuation, change letter case and undo the last sentence.
- Audio and video transcription
- It can transcribe a file from your computer, an HTML5 audio or video URL, or a YouTube clip.
- Dictate into any site or app
- A Chrome extension types into text fields on any site, and integration modules do the same in applications on Windows, Mac and Linux.
- Voice commands and custom terms
- Registered users can set voice commands, add custom languages and keep a table that maps spoken phrases to replacement text.
- Phone apps
- Android and iOS apps handle dictation and file transcription; the Android app can work offline once language packs are installed.
- About 50 languages
- The language menu lists roughly 50 speech languages, from Afrikaans to Vietnamese.
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 Notebook
Free$0
Web dictation and audio transcription, plus the free phone apps. The iOS app shows ads and caps transcribed file length.
iOS Premium$5.99
in-app purchase; the listing does not show a billing period
Removes ads, adds a no-sleep switch and Bluetooth support, lifts the transcribed file length limit and unlocks the dictionary Open button.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Speechnotes or Voice Notebook?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Speechnotes starts at $1.9 per month, paid once for a year with no auto-renewal, and Voice Notebook starts at $5.99 (iOS Premium in-app purchase, billing period not shown).
Which has a free plan, Speechnotes or Voice Notebook?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Speechnotes and Voice Notebook have a free plan.
Which platforms do Speechnotes and Voice Notebook run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Voice Notebook lists macOS, Windows, Linux and iOS apps. Both list a web app, an Android app and 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.