Voice dictation for Windows.
Your audio stays on your computer.
Windows Voice Typing sends your audio to Microsoft's servers. VoicePrivate processes everything locally using an on-device AI model. No cloud upload. Works offline. No Microsoft account required.
5,000 words free. No credit card. No Microsoft account.
Windows has built-in dictation.
It routes your audio through Microsoft.
Windows Voice Typing (Win+H) and Windows Speech Recognition are free and convenient. They are also cloud-dependent. When you activate Voice Typing, your audio is sent to Microsoft's servers for processing. Microsoft uses this data to improve speech recognition services. Their privacy documentation confirms this and gives you limited control over what is retained.
For most casual use, that is an acceptable trade-off. For professionals who dictate client information, patient notes, legal drafts, or financial documents, it is not. Sending sensitive professional content through Microsoft's infrastructure creates a data exposure vector that most users don't think about until they need to.
VoicePrivate is built for the Windows users who need dictation that actually stays local. The AI model runs on your own CPU. No audio leaves your machine during transcription. No Microsoft account is involved. It works the same whether you're connected to the internet or not.
Microsoft cloud processing
- → You press Win+H and start speaking
- → Audio sent to Microsoft Azure Speech Services
- → Transcription processed on Microsoft's servers
- → Text returned and typed into your app
- → Audio data used to improve Microsoft's speech models
On-device, local processing
- → You press Ctrl+Shift+Space and start speaking
- → Audio processed by on-device AI model (your CPU)
- → Transcription runs locally with no internet call
- → Text typed directly into any Windows app
- → Your audio never leaves your computer. Ever.
Want to verify? Turn off your internet connection and open VoicePrivate. It works identically. How the architecture works →
Windows compatibility
Runs on any modern Windows machine. No exotic dependencies.
Windows users who need dictation that stays local
Clinical documentation on Windows workstations
Hospital systems and outpatient clinics often run Windows-only IT environments. VoicePrivate dictates clinical notes directly into web-based EHRs (Epic Hyperspace, Cerner, Athenahealth) without routing patient audio through any cloud service. The Healthcare Edition includes a 74,000-term medical dictionary and is priced at $34.99/mo.
Client intake, drafting, and case notes
Attorneys dictating client communications or case notes cannot use tools that upload audio to third-party servers. VoicePrivate runs locally, which means no cloud custody issue over privileged content. The Legal Edition includes legal terminology and works with any Windows-based practice management software. Priced at $24.99/mo.
Home office without a reliable connection
Cloud dictation tools break when your internet does. VoicePrivate continues working in airplane mode, on a VPN, behind a restrictive firewall, or anywhere else a Windows laptop goes. The AI model is local, so transcription performance doesn't depend on your connection quality.
Air-gapped or restricted networks
Organizations with network restrictions often can't use cloud-based productivity tools at all. VoicePrivate makes no outbound connections during operation. It can be deployed on isolated machines, government networks, or enterprise environments where cloud tools are blocked or prohibited.
Beyond what Dragon or Windows Speech Recognition offers
Dragon Professional for Windows is expensive and requires active maintenance. Windows Speech Recognition is accurate for general use but doesn't do file transcription, doesn't have professional vocabulary editions, and doesn't offer speaker diarization. VoicePrivate covers those gaps at a fraction of the cost.
VoicePrivate vs. Windows dictation options
The built-in alternatives are good for general tasks. They stop short in ways that matter.
| What matters | VoicePrivate | Windows Voice Typing | Dragon Professional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audio processing location | ✓ On your device (local AI) | ✗ Microsoft cloud servers | ✓ Local (mostly) |
| Works offline | ✓ Fully offline | ✗ Requires internet | ✓ Mostly offline |
| Microsoft account required | ✓ No account | ✗ Windows account required | ✓ No |
| File transcription | ✓ Audio & video files | ✗ Live input only | ✓ Yes (paid feature) |
| Professional vocabulary editions | ✓ Healthcare, Legal, Finance, Insurance | ✗ General only | ✓ Medical & Legal (separate SKUs) |
| Speaker diarization | ✓ Yes (paid plans) | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Searchable transcription history | ✓ Yes | ✗ No history | ✓ Yes |
| Export formats | ✓ .txt, .json, .md, .srt, .vtt | ✗ Types into app only | ✓ Limited |
| Price | From $9.99/mo | Free | $699 one-time (Standard) $500+/yr (Professional) |
Professional editions for regulated industries
Same local-processing architecture. Vocabulary and features tuned for your field.
All editions are the same base application. Professional vocabulary is the primary differentiator, not feature restrictions.
Simple pricing. No surprise charges.
One machine per license. 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Live dictation into any Windows app
- File transcription (audio and video)
- Speaker diarization
- Custom vocabulary
- Searchable transcription history
- Export to .txt, .json, .md, .srt, .vtt
- 100% offline, no Microsoft cloud
- Works on Windows 10 and Windows 11
5,000 words free. No credit card. No Microsoft account.
Need Healthcare, Legal, Finance, or Insurance edition? See all pricing →
Common questions
Does VoicePrivate send audio to Microsoft?
No. VoicePrivate processes audio entirely on your device using a local AI model (Whisper-based). Nothing is sent to Microsoft, Amazon, Google, or any other server during transcription. This is provable: you can run it with your internet connection disabled and it works identically.
How does the hotkey work on Windows?
The default hotkey for toggling recording in VoicePrivate on Windows is Ctrl+Shift+Space. It works system-wide, so you can activate dictation from any app without switching focus. The hotkey is configurable in settings.
Does it work in any Windows application?
Yes. VoicePrivate types text directly into wherever your cursor is, system-wide. This includes Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Outlook, Word, Notepad, VS Code, Slack, Teams, and any web-based application running in a browser. If you can type into it, VoicePrivate can dictate into it.
Will it work without an internet connection?
After the initial model download on first launch, VoicePrivate requires no internet connection. You can dictate in airplane mode, on isolated networks, behind firewalls, or anywhere else without any impact on performance or functionality.
Is the Healthcare Edition HIPAA-compliant on Windows?
VoicePrivate's architecture is designed to minimize data exposure: patient audio never leaves your device, which removes the cloud data custody risk that most cloud scribes carry. Because VoicePrivate never receives or processes protected health information on its servers, no Business Associate Agreement is required. Whether your specific setup meets your organization's HIPAA requirements is something to verify with your compliance team, but the architecture removes the cloud exposure vector entirely.
Voice dictation for Windows that doesn't involve Microsoft.
5,000 words free. No credit card. Download and transcribe your first file in under five minutes.
Also available for Mac. Professional editions: Healthcare, Legal, Finance, Insurance.