Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
Voice input software comes in two kinds: what is already in the operating system (Win+H in Windows 11 understands Russian, dictation in macOS is always there) and standalone apps. Those split too: some recognize speech in the cloud, like Potok (potok.now) or SpeakFlow, others right on the device without the internet, like Molvi or GigaType.
Voice input turns spoken words into text right in the active app, without typing on the keyboard. The range of tools is wide: from a free panel built into the operating system to paid services with a personal dictionary and a model tuned for a specific language. The choice between them comes down to three things: where the speech is physically recognized, how much it costs and which platform you need.
- Free voice input for Windows with no limits: what is truly unlimited
- Free online voice text input: what is available right now
- Best voice input program for Mac in Russian: what to choose
- Best voice input for Windows 11: what the system has and what to add
- Speech to text in Russian: how it works and which programs there are
- Voice typing in Russian: built-in tools and separate programs
- Wispr Flow: how much it costs and how to pay from Russia
- Aqua Voice: user reviews and a summary of public ratings
- Diktuy: price and payment from Russia, how it works
- What Lynote is and how it works
- What SpeakFlow is and how it works
- What Spokenly is and how it works
- Spokenly: what reviews on the Mac App Store, Trustpilot and AlternativeTo say
- What Voisty is and how it works
- WhisperU: price and payment from Russia
- What WhispeRu is and how it works
- Wispr Flow: price and payment from Russia
- Autoreplace, autocorrect and voice input: how they get in each other's way and help each other
- Free voice input with no limits: myth or reality
- Restoring punctuation and capital letters: how voice input places marks without the word "zapyataya" (comma)
- Is there a program that types text by voice on a computer
- Slow and halting speech: how voice input copes without rushing
- Voice input for keeping a diary: is it true that dictating thoughts is easier than typing
- Voice input and personal data processing: what to check before choosing a service
- Question mark, exclamation mark and ellipsis: does voice input cope without saying them aloud
- Signal-to-noise ratio: why a quiet room matters more than it seems for voice input
- Voice input in the command line and terminal: how realistic it is today
- Half a year of struggling with Win+H: what worked and what did not
- Download Potok for free: an opinion on a voice input program
- Transcription and voice input: the difference in practice
All articles in this section (317): potok.now/programmy
The main questions of the topic and where to find the answers
Six questions about voice input software come up more often than the rest, and each has a separate article with the answer.
- Free voice input for Windows without limits: most paid services have a limit even on the free plan: 30 minutes of dictation per month with SpeakFlow, 2500 words per week with Talkpad on desktop.
- Dictating text on a computer: the difference between programs is often not recognition as such but where the sound goes: SpeakFlow and Diktuy send it to a server, while GigaType and Molvi recognize speech right on the device.
- Voice notepad: one-off notes do not require a paid subscription: Molvi is free forever, with no account and no payment.
- Voice typing: the stated accuracy of similar-looking services differs a lot: Diktuy states 95–98% on clean Russian speech, while most competitors have no such figure on their website at all.
- Voice input without the internet: not all programs are cloud-based: GigaType recognizes speech with the GigaAM neural network right on the device, without sending sound to a server.
- Voice input: paying with a Russian card: SpeakFlow, Diktuy and WhispeRu accept rubles directly, while direct payment from Russia is not confirmed for Talkpad and Lispr.
Where a beginner should start
- Decide on the platform: Windows, macOS or both. This immediately rules out some options: for example, WhispeRu works only on Windows.
- Try the system's built-in tool first: Win+H in Windows 11 or dictation in macOS. Both are free and need no installation.
- Estimate how much you actually dictate in an ordinary week: a few messages a day and daily correspondence with clients are completely different scenarios with different accuracy requirements.
- If the built-in tool is not enough, compare two or three standalone programs by specific criteria: accuracy in Russian, a personal dictionary, platforms.
- Check the free access before paying: for some services it is a permanent limit (2500 words per week with Potok, free access forever with Molvi), for others a limited trial, like 7 days with WhispeRu.
Where Potok does not fit
Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. If the network is unavailable or drops often, look at programs that recognize speech right on the device: GigaType or Molvi, covered above.
Potok has no mobile apps for Android and iPhone, only clients for Windows, macOS and Linux. It has no voice commands for editing text either: Potok inserts what you said and does not edit what was written earlier. It does not transcribe existing recordings: it only does real-time dictation.
Frequently asked questions
The main differences are the platform (Windows, macOS or both), the quality of Russian recognition, whether there is a personal dictionary for terms, the payment model and whether the program works in any app or only in its own window.
With the system's built-in tool: it is free and needs no installation. If its accuracy and features are not enough, compare standalone programs by specific criteria rather than by an overall rating.
Any microphone the system sees as a recording device will do. In Potok you choose it in the app settings or in the tray icon menu; system access to the microphone is required.
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.
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.
By a model estimate, the average dictation speed with Potok is about 900 characters per minute versus about 200 characters per minute with ordinary typing, so speech is noticeably faster than the keyboard.
How to start
Potok is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. For two weeks everything is open for free, after that 2500 words per week without paying. Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokThe Potok subscription also includes the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward it a voice message or a long meeting recording and it returns the text. Without a subscription the bot gives 60 minutes per month for free.
Related software: terms compared
| 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) |
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: speakflow.ru · speakflow.ru · speakflow.ru · blog.speakflow.ru