Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
You download Potok (potok.now) for your system, Windows, macOS or Linux, launch it, sign in through the site and allow microphone access: without signing in and without the microphone dictation does not work. For the first 14 days access is full and free, with no card. After that you dictate text with the Ctrl+Space hotkey in any text field.
Typing a long text by hand takes a long time. Potok is a separate app for voice input: you install it once, and then you simply hold the hotkey and speak in any text field on the computer. If you need other ways to dictate besides Potok, there is a general overview, the overview of voice input methods.
Where installing Potok is needed most often
People install Potok when they need voice input not in one window but in any program on the computer: in email, a messenger, a document editor, a browser, a spreadsheet. One installation covers all these places at once: the text goes where the cursor is, whichever program you open. It is installed most often by those who type a lot of text in a day: emails, reports, replies in work chats, notes after meetings. Potok gives about 900 characters per minute by voice versus about 200 when typing. The recognition language is Russian and Russian mixed with English, and punctuation and capital letters are added automatically.
How to install Potok, step by step
- Download the Potok (potok.now) installer for your system: Windows, macOS (both Apple Silicon and Intel work) or Linux.
- Launch the app and sign in: sign-in happens on the site and the app picks it up by itself. Without signing in, dictation does not start.
- Allow the app microphone access in the system. Without this permission dictation does not work.
- In the Potok settings or in the app's tray icon menu, choose the microphone you need.
- If needed, change the hotkey: Ctrl+Space is set by default, but you can assign any other key, key combination or a side mouse button.
- Put the cursor in a text field of any app, hold the hotkey, say a phrase and release the key: the text appears where the cursor is.
- Use it for the first 14 days without limits and without attaching a card; after the trial period the free plan has a limit of 2500 words per week on one device.
| What is available | |
|---|---|
| Potok | hold the key, speak, release: the text lands in the field under the cursor |
Where Potok will not help after installation
Potok is a cloud service: recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. It works only on a computer: there are no versions for Android and iPhone. 2500 free words per week is little for someone who dictates from morning till evening; for that there is Pro with no limit. If a company forbids sending data to the cloud, only the business option with servers inside the company perimeter will do. If voice input does not start because of a corporate Windows policy, not because of Potok, the cause is different, and it is covered in the article voice input is unavailable: your organization manages voice services.
Frequently asked questions
No. For the first 14 days full access is open for free with no card attached; the limit of 2500 words per week on one device applies only after the trial period.
On Windows, macOS (any Mac, both Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux; for each system you install its own build of the app.
Voice input is the conversion of speech to text on the fly: the user speaks, and the program transcribes the sound with speech recognition technology (ASR) and inserts the resulting text into the active field, such as email, a messenger or a document. In Potok this works through a hotkey: hold it, speak, release, and the text is inserted.
Yes: Windows has built-in voice typing via Win+H (Russian only in Windows 11, Windows 10 has no Russian; it does not work without the internet), and the Mac has system dictation in the keyboard settings. Both are free.
Built-in system tools (Win+H in Windows, Dictation in macOS, Voice Typing in Google Docs, Gboard on Android), voice browser extensions, and specialized desktop and web services (Potok and similar) that work on top of any app via a hotkey.
Potok states about 900 characters per minute by voice versus about 200 when typing, roughly 4 times faster. This is the product's own estimate, not an independent measurement.
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.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows voice typing (Win+H) | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows 11 only | Microsoft cloud, does not work offline |
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
Primary sources: wisprflow.ai · support.microsoft.com