Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
The best voice input for Windows 11 is a choice between the built-in Win+H and a separate program. Win+H is turned on by a key combination right in the system and understands Russian only in Windows 11. Windows 10 does not have it. If you need a personal dictionary for terms or work without the internet, there are eight separate programs, including Potok (potok.now) with a free limit of 2500 words per week.
Windows 11 has built-in voice input that costs nothing and works right after pressing a key combination. It also has a limit: no personal dictionary, no settings for professional vocabulary, and Russian, which the system has known for a shorter time than English. The eight programs below solve exactly what the built-in option lacks, each in its own way.
What the system has without installing anything
Voice input in Windows 11 turns on without installing anything: the Win+H key combination opens a panel right over any text field: a document, a chat, a browser address bar. You press the combination, speak, and the text appears where the cursor was. Recording stops by pressing the same combination again or by closing the panel.
Recognition runs in the Microsoft cloud, so without an internet connection voice input does not work at all. This function has no offline mode. In the panel settings you can turn on automatic punctuation: commas and periods are placed by pauses and the intonation of speech, and not only by spoken commands such as “zapyataya” (comma) and “tochka” (period).
With Russian there is a fundamental difference between versions of the system. Russian in Windows voice input exists only in Windows 11. In Windows 10 this function does not understand Russian speech at all: according to Microsoft's help, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and Chinese are supported there. Those who are still on Windows 10 and look for voice input in Russian through built-in tools should go straight to separate programs: more in the article does Windows 10 support keyboard voice input in Russian.
Separately from Win+H, Windows 11 has Voice Access, which is control of the computer by voice: commands like “otkroy brauzer” (open the browser) or “prokruti vniz” (scroll down), not typing text. Voice Access has no Russian, and these two functions should not be confused: one inserts what you say, the other executes commands. The difference between Voice Access and an ordinary program is covered in the article Windows 11 Voice Access or a program.
The built-in option also has no personal dictionary: if you dictate specific terms, client names or technical abbreviations, recognition starts anew each time, with no way to explain to the system in advance how these words are spelled. For a one-off dictation of a short message this does not get in the way, but for daily work with professional vocabulary it becomes a noticeable limit.
Separate programs and how they differ
The eight programs in the selection below cover what Win+H lacks, but in different ways.
Some of them are cloud-based, like the built-in Win+H, only each is set up in its own way. SpeakFlow and Diktuy accept payment in rubles directly and work in Russian as the main language; Diktuy states an accuracy of 95–98% on clean Russian speech, which is the service's own figure and not an independent check. SpeakFlow has an unusual function: dictation in Russian with a translation into English inserted right into the input field. Talkpad is built differently: a multilingual automatic language detector without a separate model for Russian, but with an Android app in addition to Windows and macOS.
Another part works offline, that is, it solves the second problem of Win+H at once: the mandatory internet. WhispeRu recognizes speech entirely on the device, with no access to the network. GigaType is built on GigaAM, a neural network from Sber trained specifically for the Russian language, and also sends the audio nowhere. Molvi is free forever with no accounts and no payment, supports Russian and English with automatic detection and is accelerated on an NVIDIA video card if there is one. Voisty uses models like Whisper Large V3 Turbo or NVIDIA Parakeet and also processes audio locally.
A personal dictionary, which Win+H does not offer at all, exists in some of these programs but not in all of them at once: it is worth checking with the specific service and not assuming the function is standard by default. Lispr, for example, recognizes speech through the company Groq on servers in the USA, one more cloud option, but without an explicit specialization for Russian, though with free access to some functions without an account.
Potok has its own approach: the cloud, but the model is trained specifically for Russian speech and not for dozens of languages at once, aimed at names, terms and mixed Russian-English phrases. Response time is about 0.4 seconds, and the personal dictionary and dictation history live in an account tied not to one computer but to the user. A general list of programs and their comparison is in the section voice input programs.
| 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) |
Where Potok is not the best option
Potok is not the best option if what the system already has is enough for you: for one-off short messages or notes the built-in Win+H is free and needs no installation at all. There is no point in paying for a separate program for such a volume of dictation.
Potok will not fit either where you need to work without the internet: it is always cloud-based, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet, unlike programs such as Molvi, GigaType, Voisty or WhispeRu, which compute right on the device.
The Potok free plan: 2500 words per week on one device. For someone who dictates all working day this limit will not be enough, and here it is worth looking at the Pro plan with no limits right away, or at the local options that are free forever, like Molvi.
Potok also has no mobile versions: the client is only for Windows, macOS and Linux, so this program will not suit those who need voice input specifically on a phone.
Frequently asked questions
Press Win+H in any text field, the voice input panel opens, then just speak, and the text appears where the cursor was. The internet is needed: recognition runs in the Microsoft cloud.
No, Windows 10 built-in voice input does not support Russian: according to Microsoft's help, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and Chinese are available there. For Russian you need either a move to Windows 11 or a separate program.
It depends on whether the computer is managed by an organization: an administrator can turn off speech services centrally with a group policy, and then you cannot turn voice input on yourself and need to contact the IT department. If there are no such restrictions, Windows voice input opens with the ordinary Win+H shortcut in a text field.
Press Win+H in any text field and the built-in dictation panel opens; for controlling the computer by voice there is a separate Windows Speech Recognition feature (Win+Ctrl+S).
Microsoft names typical causes: the microphone is not selected as the input device, apps have no access to the microphone, or the current language is not supported by voice input. To check: Settings → System → Sound → Input; Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone; the input language (Win+Space). Voice input also does not work if “Online speech recognition” is turned off in Settings → Privacy & security → Speech.
Voice Access is a system feature for controlling the computer and entering text by voice, but it officially does not support Russian (the list of supported languages is English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese, Japanese, Italian). Potok is built specifically for Russian speech and works as a separate app over any program.
If you want to compare for yourself
Take one of your own tasks and dictate it in Potok. The first 14 days have no limits and need no card. Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokYou dictate in the app, and recordings and voice messages are transcribed by @potok_now_bot in Telegram. 60 minutes per month are free; the Potok subscription removes the limit in the bot and in the app.
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 · support.microsoft.com · support.apple.com