Dictation apps for iPhone, compared

By Hendrik Kleinwächter · Facts checked on October 22, 2026

Hendrik runs Allonsy GmbH, which makes Cerebro Keyboard, one of the 11 apps below. We don’t rank them: Apple’s built-in dictation comes first, the rest are in alphabetical order, and every fact links to its source.

Apple Dictation is free, built into every iPhone and works offline in many languages. The 10 apps compared with it add AI cleanup, rewriting or translation, and they differ mainly in four ways: how much you can dictate for free, whether you need an account, whether they work offline, and which other devices they run on. The table shows those facts side by side; the notes below it say how each app works on iPhone.

11 ways to dictate on iPhone (prices and ratings from the US App Store, October 2026)
App	Free on iPhone	Paid plans	Account	Offline	Also on	Needs	Ratings (US)
Apple Dictation	Free, built in	Included with iOS	No	Yes, in many languages	iPad, Mac	—	—
Aqua Voice	Your first 1,000 words	$12.99/month · $119.00/year	Required	No: cloud dictation needs internet	Mac, Windows, Android	iOS 17.0+	4.4 (99)
Cerebro Keyboard	20 transcriptions a month	$5.99/month · $47.99/year	No	No	iPhone only	iOS 17.0+	No ratings yet
Gboard	Free	No in-app purchases	No	No: voice is sent to Google	iPad, Android	iOS 12.0+	4.1 (60,461)
Grammarly	Dictation is free	from $17.99/month · $83.99/year	Required	No	iPad	iOS 17.4+	4.7 (226,890)
Laxis	300 minutes a month, shared with meeting notes	$15.99/month · $119.99/year	Required	No	Mac, Windows, Android	iOS 16.0+	4.8 (172)
Spokenly	Unlimited with on-device models	from $9.99/month · $49.99/6 months	No	Yes, with on-device models	iPad, Mac, Windows, Linux	iOS 16.4+	4.4 (65)
Superwhisper	Unlimited with on-device models	$8.49/month · $84.99/year · $249.99 once	No	Yes, with on-device models	Mac, Windows, Android	iOS 26.0+	4.4 (846)
Typeless	Weekly word limit (number not published)	$30.00/month · $143.99/year	Required	No	Mac, Windows, Linux, Android	iOS 16.1+	4.5 (767)
Willow	2,000 words a week; unlimited on a smaller model	$15.00/month · $143.99/year	Sign-in with Google, Apple or email	Yes, with Pro	Mac, Windows	iOS 18.0+	4.6 (1,069)
Wispr Flow	550 words a week, then slower; 750 at most	$15.00/month · $143.99/year	Required	No	Mac, Windows, Android	iOS 18.3+	4.8 (17,833)

Paid plans: what the App Store charges for each app’s main paid plan, described in its section below. “From” means the App Store lists that plan at more than one price.
Offline: whether it can turn speech into text without an internet connection.
Needs: the iOS version the App Store requires. Ratings: average and number of ratings in the US App Store.

How we compared

Who’s in it: Apple’s built-in dictation, plus every iPhone app we found whose own keyboard types what you say into other apps and that had at least 50 ratings in the US App Store on October 22, 2026. Cerebro Keyboard is in because it’s ours; it has no US ratings yet.
Left out: keyboards with fewer US ratings, such as Yaps, dictate., Voicy and VoiceInk, and apps that don’t type into other apps through a keyboard, such as the note taker Speakwise and Google AI Edge Eloquent, whose keyboard is “coming soon”.
What we checked: each app’s App Store page and its maker’s website and help pages, on October 22, 2026. Prices are the App Store’s in-app purchase prices; some makers charge less on their website.
What we didn’t: we haven’t tested accuracy, so we don’t claim any app transcribes better than another. Most have a free plan or trial, so try two with the same message.
Spotted a mistake? Email info@allonsygmbh.com and we’ll correct it.

Apple Dictation

Apple

Part of Apple’s own keyboard: tap the microphone key and speak, and the keyboard stays open, so you can type and talk in turn. In many languages it runs on the iPhone without an internet connection. It adds punctuation automatically in supported languages and stops after 30 seconds of silence. Rewriting is a separate step: on iPhones with Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro and later), Writing Tools rewrite selected text as Friendly, Professional or Concise.

Pick it if you want free dictation that’s already on your iPhone, works offline in many languages and lets you type and talk in the same keyboard.

Website Cerebro Keyboard vs Apple Dictation

Aqua Voice

Aqua Voice, Inc.

Its keyboard opens the Aqua app when it needs to start a microphone session; while the session lasts, you dictate from the keyboard. To change text, you select it, tap Edit and say what should change, for example “translate this to Japanese”. It understands 49 languages with automatic detection. One subscription covers Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and Aqua’s website sells it for less than the App Store ($10 a month, or $8 a month billed yearly, in the US). Transcripts may be stored to improve the product unless you turn on Privacy Mode.

Pick it if you want to correct or translate text by saying what to change, with one account on Mac, Windows and Android too.

Website App Store

Cerebro Keyboard

Allonsy GmbH · our app

Made by us in Hamburg. Tap the orb and speak; the first time, the Cerebro app opens for a moment to start the microphone, which then stays ready for 10 minutes after each dictation. Your recording goes through our server in Germany and OpenRouter to OpenAI for transcription, outside the EU, and is deleted afterwards; transcriptions are stored only on your iPhone. AI modes (Claude by Anthropic) can rewrite what you said in a tone you pick or translate it into one of 30 languages before it’s inserted. The app is in 11 languages.

Pick it if you only dictate on iPhone, don’t want an account, and want your words rewritten in a tone you pick or translated as you speak.

Website App Store

Gboard

Google LLC

Google’s keyboard. Its iPhone help describes voice typing: tap the microphone and speak when “Speak now” appears, and your voice is sent to Google for transcription. The app in the App Store dates from May 2, 2022, and Google’s newer voice features, such as advanced voice typing, are for Pixel phones only.

Pick it if you already type with Gboard and want voice typing in it, with nothing to pay and no account.

Website App Store

Grammarly

Superhuman Platform Inc.

Grammarly’s keyboard added speech-to-text in June 2026, free for all users at launch. Tapping the microphone briefly shows a Grammarly screen; on iOS 26 you then swipe back to your app yourself, unless you turn on Background Microphone. Grammarly says your audio goes to OpenAI’s Whisper, isn’t stored and isn’t used for training, and the transcript comes back without filler words and with punctuation. The paid plan, Pro, adds tone rewrites and more AI prompts. Grammarly’s apps for Mac, Windows and Android don’t have dictation yet.

Pick it if you already use Grammarly to check your writing and want dictation in the same keyboard.

Website App Store

Laxis

Laxis, Inc.

An AI meeting assistant whose iPhone keyboard also dictates. The first time, or after the microphone has been idle, Laxis briefly opens its app to turn on the microphone; you choose how long it stays ready (5 minutes, an hour, or until you turn it off). Polish mode cleans up the text in a tone you choose. Translate and Agent modes need Premium, which also raises the limit to 2,000 minutes a month; Business is unlimited. New accounts get 14 days of Premium.

Pick it if you also want meeting notes and transcripts in the same app and account.

Website App Store

Spokenly

Vadim Akhmerov (LLP Inviral Tech)

A dictation app by an indie developer whose iPhone keyboard works in other apps. It’s free and unlimited with on-device models, or with your own OpenAI, Deepgram or Groq API keys, and Local Only Mode keeps audio on the iPhone. Pro adds Spokenly’s cloud models and AI processing; modes with your own instructions handle cleanup and translation. Its website also sells Pro by the year and a one-time Local+ license, which the App Store doesn’t.

Pick it if you want unlimited dictation on the iPhone itself for free, or want to use your own API keys.

Website App Store

Superwhisper

SuperUltra, Inc.

Its keyboard starts a dictation by opening the Superwhisper app; since iOS 26.4 you swipe back to your app yourself. Dictation is free and unlimited with on-device Whisper models, which work best on iPhone 15 and newer. Pro adds cloud models and AI modes for tone and formatting (these need an internet connection), and one Pro license covers Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. It needs iOS 26.

Pick it if you want dictation that works without an internet connection, and the same app on a Mac or Windows PC.

Website App Store

Typeless

Simply LLC

Sometimes its keyboard opens the Typeless app for a moment to get microphone access; a Picture in Picture option lets you skip that switch. It removes filler words and repetitions, adapts its tone to the app you’re in, translates when you hold Speak and swipe up, and edits selected text by voice. Audio is processed in the cloud and discarded after transcription, and Typeless says dictation data is never used for training. Its pricing page doesn’t say how many words the free plan includes.

Pick it if you want to translate or edit by voice inside the keyboard, with one account on Mac, Windows, Linux and Android too.

Website App Store

Willow

Willow Care Inc.

The first time, its keyboard takes you into the Willow app to start a background microphone session; after that you dictate from the keyboard in any app until the session ends or times out. It formats your text, matches your style in different apps, and its Scribe tool drafts messages or edits selected text from spoken instructions. Willow lists offline dictation as a Pro feature and says its offline mode works on Mac and iOS; otherwise speech is processed in the cloud. Willow’s pages differ on the free plan: its help center lists 2,000 words a week plus unlimited use of a smaller model, its pricing page only the unlimited smaller model. An Android app is “coming soon”.

Pick it if you want a background microphone session and spoken drafting in the keyboard, with apps for Mac and Windows too.

Website App Store

Wispr Flow

Wispr AI, Inc.

From other apps, its keyboard opens the Flow app to record; in many apps Flow then switches you back automatically, otherwise you swipe back. It stays ready in the background for 5 minutes by default, a time you can change. It removes filler words, adds punctuation and formats the text, with styles per kind of app (styles work in English). Speech is transcribed in the cloud; storing your dictations on Wispr’s servers and using them to improve its models are on by default, and you can turn both off. The free limits are Wispr’s figures for iPhone; desktop has its own.

Pick it if you also dictate on a Mac, Windows PC or Android phone and want the same app and account everywhere.

Website App Store Cerebro Keyboard vs Wispr Flow

Questions about dictation apps for iPhone

Which dictation app is best for iPhone?

It depends on what you need, and since we make Cerebro Keyboard, we don’t rank them. Apple Dictation is free, built in and works offline in many languages. Superwhisper and Spokenly dictate offline with on-device models for free. Wispr Flow, Willow, Typeless, Superwhisper, Aqua Voice, Laxis and Spokenly also run on Mac and Windows. Grammarly and Gboard add dictation to their existing keyboards. Cerebro Keyboard is iPhone-only, needs no account and rewrites or translates as you speak.

Why does a dictation keyboard open its app on iPhone?

iOS doesn’t let keyboards use the microphone, so a third-party keyboard has to start recording in its own app. Most of the apps here switch to their app for a moment, at least for the first dictation, and several then keep the microphone ready in the background, so later dictations start right in the keyboard. Wispr Flow says it switches you back automatically in many apps; Superwhisper, Grammarly, Laxis and Cerebro Keyboard have you swipe or tap back yourself. Apple Dictation is part of iOS and doesn’t need this.

Which dictation apps work offline on iPhone?

Apple Dictation, in many languages, and Superwhisper and Spokenly with on-device models, for free. Willow lists offline dictation as a Pro feature. The others send your speech to the cloud and need an internet connection.

Which dictation apps work without an account?

Apple Dictation, Gboard, Spokenly, Superwhisper and Cerebro Keyboard. Wispr Flow, Typeless, Aqua Voice, Grammarly and Laxis need one, and Willow signs you in with Google, Apple or email.

How much do dictation apps for iPhone cost?

Apple Dictation and Gboard are free, and so is Grammarly’s dictation. The others have a free plan or allowance and sell monthly plans in the App Store for $5.99 to $30.00 (US, October 2026); yearly plans cost less per month, and some apps charge less on their website. Cerebro Pro is $5.99 a month or $47.99 a year.

Can I use more than one dictation keyboard?

Yes. You can add several keyboards in Settings and switch between them with the globe key, and Apple Dictation stays available in Apple’s keyboard. Most of the apps here have a free plan or allowance, so you can compare them with your own voice.

Try Cerebro Keyboard free

20 transcriptions every month, no account needed.

Download on the App Store

Sources

Facts checked on October 22, 2026

Apple Dictation

Aqua Voice

Cerebro Keyboard

Gboard

Grammarly

Laxis

Spokenly

Superwhisper

Typeless

Willow

Wispr Flow

Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Intelligence are trademarks of Apple Inc., and Gboard is a trademark of Google LLC. Aqua Voice, Grammarly, Laxis, Spokenly, Superwhisper, Typeless, Willow and Wispr Flow belong to their makers. Cerebro Keyboard is made by Allonsy GmbH, which isn’t affiliated with any of them. Prices and features change; if something here is out of date, email info@allonsygmbh.com and we’ll fix it.

Also compared: Cerebro Keyboard vs Apple Dictation Cerebro Keyboard vs Wispr Flow