In workplaces, efficiency is vital. The quicker you work, the quicker you produce results and get success. However, it may consume a lot of time to type down your brainstormed ideas on your notepad. This wastes your time on something that can be automatically done through software.
Speech-to-text software allows you to speak instead of type, improving your efficiency at work. This is especially useful for busy professionals who think faster than they can type.
Speech-to-text software is a speech-recognition software that turns spoken words into typed-out words. It identifies human speech through the microphone, analyzes it, and displays it on the screen.
It is important to have the best speech-to-text software working for you. There is a good deal of software, free and paid, available for use on both desktops and mobile devices. In this article, we will introduce you to the best speech-to-text software of 2021.
Converse Smartly
Converse Smartly is free software that can quickly convert audible words to typed-out text with great accuracy. It can even catchwords from conferences, team meetings, and interviews to convert them to text, enabling organizations to work smarter and faster.
The app uses advanced speech recognition technology and is regarded as one of the best speech-to-text software.
The app can perform speech analysis, text analysis, and perform sentiment analysis. In addition to that, it can spot keywords, detect multiple speakers, and identify key themes during speech.
Pros: Great accuracy, advanced speech recognition technology, can perform various analyses, spot keywords, detect themes during speech.
Cons: None.
Dragon Anywhere
Dragon Anywhere is a Nuance product for Android and iOS devices. Later, it also developed an app for PC users, so you get the same excellent features on the desktop software. The only difference noticed, though, was that there was a slight lag in the words appearing on the screen.
Dragon Anywhere is a paid software and it has timely subscriptions with no one-off purchase that may not please everyone. This software has a powerful voice recognition of the same quality for both desktops and mobile devices. Moreover, Nuance offers a 7-day free trial for users to test it out before making a subscription.
Pros: High-quality speech recognition, fully functional mobile app, syncs with desktop software.
Cons: Slight lag in the desktop software, paid.
Microsoft Dictate
Created by Microsoft Garage, Microsoft Dictate is a feature-rich app with advanced speech recognition technology.
Microsoft Dictate is a Microsoft Office add-on and works very well with PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook. It comes with Microsoft 365, though if you do not have it, you can install it from the Microsoft Store. After installation, you can access it from the ‘Dictation’ tab in the top right of the Ribbon toolbar.
This software offers features like visual feedback to process and checks the speech input. It also auto-translates the dictation in more than 60 languages.
Microsoft Dictate works with Office versions 13 and above. For windows, it works with versions 8.1 and above. The only drawback is that this software is compatible with Windows desktops only and does not have mobile phone software.
Pros: Advanced speech recognition technology, works well with PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook, has features like visual feedback, quick translation in 60+ languages, compatible with Office 13 and above and Windows 8.1 and above.
Cons: Compatible only with windows desktop, no mobile software.
Google Docs Voice Typing
Many writers work on Google Docs every day, and it has become an integral part of the lives of many content writers.
If you need a powerful and free dictation tool while working on other Google products such as Gmail and Google Drive, then Google Voice Typing is just the right speech-to-text software.
You can make use of over 100 voice commands to edit and format your document in almost every way possible, for example making bullet points, moving your cursor to different parts of your document, and italicizing or bolding text.
To use this amazing software, all you have to do is click on ‘Tools’ and then on ‘Voice Typing’, and you are good to go.
Pros: Free, 100+ voice commands, compatible with any device with Google Chrome, easy to use.
Cons: Does not have mobile software.
Conclusion
Recently, there has been an increase in the use of such speech-to-text software, and more software is now available, both free and paid. It has become to go-to tool for many people as it has increased writing speed and, consequently, productivity. Even if you don’t feel the need for such software, it is important to prevent any stress created from typing continuously for extended periods of time.
