# Dragon Professional

> Windows speech recognition for dictation and voice commands

Dragon Professional v16 is speech recognition software installed locally on a Windows PC, made by Nuance, which is now part of Microsoft. It types what you dictate into documents, spreadsheets and form-based reports, runs custom voice commands and macros, and can transcribe recorded audio from a single speaker. Organizations can manage licenses and shared vocabularies centrally through the Nuance Management Center.

- **Category:** Voice Dictation
- **Made by:** Nuance Communications (Microsoft)
- **Website:** https://dragon.nuance.com/en-us/dragon-professional
- **Runs on:** Windows
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 5, 2026

## Pricing

Dragon Professional is a paid product, starting at $685.99 per 1-user license (reseller CDW's advertised price).

- **Pricing model:** Paid
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 licensing | Custom | Group deployments managed through the Nuance Management Center, which assigns licenses and shares custom words and commands. Quoted by the Dragon sales team. |

Dragon Professional's own pricing page could not be read; these figures come from https://www.cdw.com/product/dragon-professional-v.-16-license-1-user/7771854 on Oct 5, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Dragon Professional before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Education volume license programs** (Education): 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. Source: https://dragon.nuance.com/en-us/education-solutions

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- 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

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## Works with

Microsoft Office, Citrix XenApp, Citrix XenDesktop, Nuance PowerMic 4

**Tags:** Dictation, Transcription

## Alternatives

- [Braina](https://toolgpa.com/tools/braina): Voice assistant and dictation software for Windows and macOS. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/braina-vs-dragon-professional)
- [Talon](https://toolgpa.com/tools/talon): Hands-free computer control by voice, eye tracking and noises. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dragon-professional-vs-talon)
- [Wispr Flow](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wispr-flow): Voice dictation that cleans up your speech in any app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dragon-professional-vs-wispr-flow)
- [Superwhisper](https://toolgpa.com/tools/superwhisper): Voice-to-text app with offline models and custom AI modes. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dragon-professional-vs-superwhisper)
- [Voice In](https://toolgpa.com/tools/voice-in): Speech-to-text extension for typing on websites in Chrome and Edge. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dragon-professional-vs-voice-in)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 5, 2026:

- https://dragon.nuance.com/en-us/dragon-professional
- https://dragon.nuance.com/en-us/dragon.html
- https://dragon.nuance.com/en-us/support-contact
- https://dragon.nuance.com/en-us/education-solutions
- https://dragon.nuance.com/shared/data-sheets/ds-dragon-professional-v16-en-us.pdf
- https://dragon.nuance.com/shared/data-sheets/fm-dragon-professional-v16-and-dragon-professional-anywhere-comparison-en-us.pdf
- https://www.cdw.com/product/dragon-professional-v.-16-license-1-user/7771854
- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/dragon-professional/learn-dragon-professional

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/dragon-professional
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).