Is Speechnotes really free?

Yes — Speechnotes' dictation notepad is free to use (ad-supported), with a $1.90/month ad-free option and a separate $0.10/minute file-transcription service. The trade-off is that it's an online web app using Google and Microsoft cloud recognition. Blabb's free tier is 2,000 words a day in any Windows app, with cleanup, on your PC.

Can Speechnotes type into Word or my other apps?

Only through its Chrome extension, into web forms — its main notepad keeps text in the browser. It can't dictate into native Windows apps like Word, Outlook, or Teams, and it can't reach a locked-down RDP/Citrix/VDI session. Blabb types at the cursor in whatever Windows app has focus.

Does Speechnotes work offline?

No — Speechnotes is an online web app, and its recognition happens in the cloud. Blabb runs recognition and cleanup on your PC; a verified subscription keeps dictating for 30 days without reaching the licence server.

Blabb vs Speechnotes
Free online, or on your PC

Speechnotes is the free online dictation notepad millions use — open a tab, talk, get text. It's hard to beat for free, and it's honest about what it is: a web app that's online only, with recognition in the cloud. Blabb is dictation that runs on your PC and types into any Windows app. As of July 2026 — check Speechnotes' current pricing and privacy pages before deciding.

Speechnotes

FREE / $1.90 MO

Blabb

ONE COFFEE / MONTH

Where your audio goes

The cloud — Speechnotes uses Google and Microsoft speech engines

✓This PC — audio and transcripts are never uploaded

Types into

Its web notepad, and web forms via a Chrome extension

✓Any Windows app with a text cursor

Offline

No — it's an online web app

✓Dictation runs on-device; the subscription re-checks online at least every 30 days‡

AI cleanup (fillers, grammar)

Verbatim transcription with punctuation commands

✓Removes fillers, fixes grammar, converts spoken numbers to digits

Specialist vocabulary

Not a built-in feature

Medical (48,133 terms) and Legal (13,004 terms) vocabulary plans — on-device, USD $9.99/mo each

Locked-down RDP, Citrix, VDI

No — it's a browser tab online

✓Types straight in†

Price

✓Free with ads; $1.90/mo ad-free; file transcription $0.10/min

✕Blabb Free: 2,000 words a day, no card. Unlimited: USD $4.99/mo, USD $49.99/yr, or $99 once

Platforms

✓Web, Android, and an iOS sister app

✕Windows 11 (x64) only — and deeply

Sign-up

None needed for the free notepad

A Polar checkout and a licence key you paste into Settings

† NOT INTO ELEVATED/ADMIN WINDOWS — A WINDOWS LIMIT, NOT BLABB'S. ‡ AN ALREADY-VERIFIED SUBSCRIPTION KEEPS DICTATING FOR 30 DAYS WITHOUT REACHING THE LICENCE SERVER. FEATURE AND PRICING CLAIMS FOR SPEECHNOTES SOURCED FROM ITS OWN PUBLIC SITE, JULY 2026 — VERIFY CURRENT DETAILS BEFORE DECIDING.

01The honest read

Free online, or on the whole PC

Use Speechnotes if…

You want to jot notes by voice in a browser tab, free, and you're fine with the audio going to Google or Microsoft. For a quick notepad or transcribing a recording at $0.10/minute, Speechnotes is a genuinely good, cheap option.

Choose Blabb if…

You want the cleaned-up text to land in Word, an email, a ticket, or a desktop app — not a web notepad you copy out of — or you need it to work offline, on-device, and inside a locked-down session. Blabb types at your cursor wherever it is.

On price and privacy

Speechnotes wins on price — free, or $1.90/month ad-free. Blabb is USD $4.99/month (or $99 once). The gap buys a different category: a web notepad with cloud recognition versus system-wide dictation that runs on your PC with AI cleanup and works offline. Free-and-online versus on-device-and-anywhere.

Anywhere you type. Offline. On your PC.

Free tier, 2,000 words a day. Models included in the download.

Get Blabb free See everything Blabb does

FREE TIER 2,000 WORDS/DAY · 14-DAY UNLIMITED TRIAL IN-APP · CANCEL ANY TIME