Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
People look for GigaType alternatives mainly because its price and free plan are not published anywhere, neither on the website nor in open sources. One option is Potok (potok.now): recognition on servers in Russia, payment by a Russian bank card in rubles, a free limit of 2500 words per week, numbers you can check in advance rather than after installing.
GigaType recognizes speech entirely on the device, on Sber's GigaAM neural network trained specifically for Russian, a strong claim for those looking for an offline option for Russian speech in particular. But then the uncertainty begins: neither the price, nor the terms of free use, nor how to pay for the program from Russia are stated on the developer's website. At this point some people search for “gigatype alternatives” to find a program with similar strengths but a clear price up front.
Why people look for GigaType alternatives
The main reason is the complete lack of open information about the price. GigaType's website has neither a free plan, nor paid plans, nor data on whether the program can be paid for with a Russian bank card directly. In the voice input market, where most competitors show the price on the first screen of the website, such secrecy is unusual and in itself a reason to look for a more transparent option.
The second reason is an unknown legal entity. Who the developer is, whom you sign a contract with when paying, where to turn for support: this information is not in open sources. For one-off personal use this is not critical, but for a long-term decision it is worth knowing whom you are dealing with.
The third reason is not about a shortcoming but about a benchmark: GigaType's recognition itself is offline, on a neural network made specifically for Russian rather than adapted to it later. This is a rare case on the market of local programs, and some users look for something equally tuned for Russian speech but with an open price and clear payment at first glance at the website.
| Service | Platforms | Free | Price | Payment from Russia | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed | Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly | Russian bank cards, rubles | cloud, servers in Russia; internet required |
| SpeakFlow | Windows, Web | 30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever | 690 ₽/mo (Personal (unlimited)) | rubles directly | cloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed) |
| Diktuy | Windows, macOS | 30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever | 239 ₽/mo (Profi (monthly equivalent when billed yearly)); 2870 ₽/yr (Profi (year, billed in full)); 479 ₽/mo (Max (monthly equivalent when billed yearly)) | rubles directly (not confirmed) | cloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed) |
| Talkpad | macOS, Windows, Android | 2500 words/week on desktop, 1500 words/week on mobile, free forever; plus a 14-day Pro trial | $6/mo (Pro (billed yearly, $72/yr)); $8/mo (Pro (monthly billing)) | unknown (not confirmed) | cloud (the legal entity is registered in Australia; the website is hosted on Cloudflare; the exact location of the ASR servers is not disclosed in the privacy policy) (not confirmed) |
| Voisty | Windows, macOS | 5 minutes of transcription (to judge the quality) | $6.7/mo (Pro); $67/yr (Pro (year)); $99/one-time (Lifetime) | Visa/Mastercard/Amex cards, PayPal; whether Russian cards are accepted is not stated (not confirmed) | device (offline, local models such as Whisper Large V3 Turbo / NVIDIA Parakeet) |
| WhispeRu | Windows | 7-day free trial (no card) | 290 ₽/mo (monthly license); 1990 ₽/yr (yearly license); 4990 ₽/one-time (lifetime license) | rubles directly (payment via YooKassa) | device (offline) |
| GigaType | Windows, macOS | free with no limits: open source under the MIT license (Copyright (c) 2026 Disrupt Builders), all features are available without payment | — | not needed: there are no paid plans | device (offline, Sber's GigaAM neural network) |
| Molvi | Windows, macOS | free forever, no accounts and no payment | — | not needed: the product is free; voluntary donations are accepted via Telegram Tribute or by card on the website, amounts are not fixed | device (offline; best quality on an NVIDIA GPU, otherwise a fast model on the CPU) |
| Lispr | Windows, macOS | 60 minutes of dictation per week for free; the key features (push-to-talk, translation, dictionary, local history) always stay free, without an account | $7.99/mo (Pro, monthly); $79/yr (Pro, yearly (from $44.90 with regional discounts)) | unknown (not confirmed) | cloud (USA; recognition is done by Groq, Inc.) |
| v2txt.ru | Windows, macOS | Start plan: 2000 words/week | 0 ₽/n/a (all of Pro is free until the end of 2026 (the regular Pro/Premium price after 2026 is not published on the website)) | rubles directly (Visa, Mastercard, Mir cards and T-Bank are accepted) | cloud (Russia) in online mode; offline mode processes on the device |
| Typeless | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | 8000 words per week (Free plan); new users get a 30-day Pro trial, then move to Free if they do not pay | $12/mo (Pro billed yearly (effectively $144/yr)); $30/mo (Pro billed monthly) | Visa/Mastercard cards; whether Russian cards are accepted is not stated | cloud (the server country is not officially disclosed; the privacy policy only says 'processed in real time on our cloud servers') (not confirmed) |
What to check in a replacement
- Whether the price and free plan are stated right on the program's website, not only after installation or contacting support; at the time of checking, GigaType states neither.
- Whether recognition runs on the device or goes to a server: for GigaType it is offline, but alternatives may differ, and this determines whether you need the internet for dictation at all.
- Whether a separate model for Russian is stated, or Russian comes as part of general multilingual recognition together with dozens of other languages without special tuning.
- Which platforms the program runs on: desktop only or the phone too, and whether this matches your set of devices.
- Whether the developer's legal entity and a way to pay directly from Russia without workarounds are stated; if this information is missing, as with GigaType, clarify it before paying, not after.
- Whether there is a trial and whether you can use it to judge the recognition quality of your own phrases rather than advertising examples from the developer's website.
- Whether there is a personal dictionary for names, brands and professional terms: without it, specialized vocabulary will have to be corrected by hand every time.
- How quickly the text appears in the field after you release the key: on long dictation the difference adds up over a day, and with offline programs it also depends on the power of the computer itself.
- Whether the program needs a modern graphics card for comfortable speed if recognition runs on the device: a weak laptop may cope noticeably more slowly than the website claims.
Check the first point before the others: if the price and terms are not published anywhere, further comparison on the other points may be premature. A similar review of an offline program is in the article Molvi voice input.
| Service | Platforms | Free | Price | Payment from Russia | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed | Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly | Russian bank cards, rubles | cloud, servers in Russia; internet required |
| GigaType | Windows, macOS | free with no limits: open source under the MIT license (Copyright (c) 2026 Disrupt Builders), all features are available without payment | — | not needed: there are no paid plans | device (offline, Sber's GigaAM neural network) |
Where Potok will not replace GigaType
Potok will not replace GigaType where full offline operation is essential: GigaType recognizes speech on the device, while Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work at all without the internet. If the task is not to send sound anywhere outside the computer, GigaType is closer to the goal in this respect.
The second difference is that openness of terms cuts both ways unevenly: with Potok, the price, the free limit and the payment method are visible right on the website, and recognition quality is backed by its own test with the caveat that it is an internal measurement, not an independent check. With GigaType it is the opposite: the terms are closed, but the model for Russian is a specialized development rather than a general-purpose one. A similar competitor review is in the article GigaType or Potok.
Frequently asked questions
The developer's website does not publish the price, the free plan or the payment terms, and you cannot find them out in advance from open sources. Ask the developer directly before installing if this matters to you.
Yes, recognition runs right on the device, on Sber's GigaAM neural network trained specifically for Russian. The sound is not sent anywhere over the network.
Only from the official website: potok.now/download. Installation is free, and then a 14-day trial with full access applies, without linking a card.
Potok has no separate browser extension: it is a desktop app that works on top of any window and input field, including the browser, not a separate plugin.
The potok.now website shows composite reviews that reflect typical user experience; in marketing materials they are not presented as reviews by specific named people.
No. Potok (potok.now) is a desktop app for voice text input on Windows, macOS and Linux: hold the hotkey, dictate, and the text is inserted into the active field. It has nothing to do with investment services or financial platforms with a similar name.
Check it in one evening
Install Potok, dictate what you usually type and compare. 14 days of full access, no card needed. Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokOne subscription, two tools: dictation in any program on your computer and @potok_now_bot in Telegram, which transcribes voice messages, audio and video.
Primary sources: gigatype.app · support.microsoft.com