Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
Potok (potok.now) downloads and installs for free: the first 14 days give full access without a card, then a free limit of 2500 words per week on one device remains. It is not the only voice input program with a free start, since several other services offer similar terms, but Potok's limit is higher than most direct analogues.
People who search for "download voice input for free" usually want not an advertising text but a sober answer: which program is really free, and where being free is only the first step before a paid subscription. This review covers eight programs, including Potok, and gives an honest opinion on who each one suits without paying.
| 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 criteria were used to choose the programs in the list
The list includes programs that you can install and run without payment right now, not only join a waiting list or request a demo from a manager. The second condition is a working version for Windows or macOS: mobile apps and web extensions without a desktop program are not included in the review. The third is open terms of free access: either a permanent limit on time or words, or a trial period of fixed length without hidden extra charges at the start.
What stands behind each row of the table
- SpeakFlow (Windows, Web) gives 30 minutes of dictation per month for free forever. That is enough for short notes but not for a whole working day.
- Diktuy (Windows, macOS) is also limited to 30 minutes of dictation per month without payment, but it works on both desktop platforms.
- Talkpad (Windows, macOS, Android) is more generous: 2500 words per week on desktop and 1500 words per week on mobile, free forever, plus a separate trial period with full access.
- Voisty gives only 5 minutes of free transcription. That is enough to evaluate recognition quality but not for regular dictation without payment.
- WhispeRu is a Windows-only program with a 7-day trial period without a card, and after that it does not work without payment.
- Molvi stands out from all of them: it is free forever, with no accounts and no payment, and it recognizes speech on the device.
- Lispr gives 60 minutes of dictation per week for free, and some features such as push-to-talk and local history stay free always, without an account.
- v2txt.ru on the Start plan gives 2000 words per week without payment and specializes in the Russian language.
- Potok gives 14 days of full access without a card, and then a free limit of 2500 words per week on one device. You can read more about the experience of using it in the honest review of half a year with voice input.
Who suits what
- Those who dictate rarely and briefly, a note or a couple of messages a day, will be fine with the limit of SpeakFlow, Diktuy or Voisty: there is no point in spending time on a subscription.
- Those who write a lot of text every day but are not ready to pay right away will do best with the option that has the most generous free limit: Talkpad and Potok give 2500 words per week, and v2txt.ru gives 2000 words.
- Those for whom it is essential that audio does not go to a server should look at Molvi (fully free) or at offline programs such as WhispeRu, which has only 7 days of free access, after which payment is needed.
- Those who first want to check the quality of Russian speech recognition with no time limits at the start will like the 14-day trial period: with Potok it gives full access without a card, not a cut-down version from the very beginning.
Where Potok does not fit
Potok is a cloud service; recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. So for dictation on the road without a network or in a room without Wi-Fi you need a program that processes audio on the device itself, for example Molvi or WhispeRu.
After the trial period, Potok's free limit is 2500 words per week on one device. For those who dictate every day and a lot, this may not be enough, and then the choice is between a paid subscription and a program with a wider free limit such as Talkpad.
Frequently asked questions
No, a card is not required for installation and the first 14 days of full access. After the trial period, a free limit of 2500 words per week on one device remains without payment. A card is needed only when you switch to Pro with no limits.
A trial period is temporary full access that ends after a few days. The free version works with no time limit but with a permanent restriction, for example on the number of words per week or minutes per month, as with most programs in this review.
Yes, at many services yearly payment is cheaper than monthly. Potok Pro costs 690 ₽ per month when paid monthly or 5999 ₽ per year, which is 499 ₽ per month. Wispr Flow costs $15 per month when paid monthly or $144 per year ($12 per month).
The range is wide: from fully free built-in tools (Win+H in Windows, macOS dictation) to paid subscriptions at specialized services. For example, Diktuy costs from 239 ₽ per month when paid yearly (2870 ₽ per year), and WhispeRu 290 ₽ per month. Potok has a free plan of 2500 words per week and Pro for 690 ₽ per month (499 ₽ per month when paid yearly).
2500 words per week is on average about 350 words per day on one device, which is enough for short messaging. For someone who dictates all day (a lot of text, documents), the limit is small, and then it is worth looking at Pro with no word limit.
Free plans of voice input services are usually limited by words or minutes per week or month (Potok has 2500 words per week). The built-in system tools are free without a limit: Win+H in Windows and macOS Dictation.
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