Speech recognition software has come a long way in recent years. The software transforms spoken words into a machine-readable format by capturing audio through a microphone. Speech recognition, or automatic speech recognition (ASR), enables AI-powered systems to accurately detect and interpret human speech, converting it into written text. By removing the need for manual typing, this technology simplifies numerous tasks. It also opens doors to hands-free communication and enhances the accessibility of digital devices for people with mobility challenges.
The core function of speech recognition is to comprehend and transcribe spoken language, rather than distinguish between individual speakers. It uses applications, including virtual assistants, dictation tools, and automated transcription services. Today, there are many great options available, both for personal and professional use. Here are 20 of the best speech recognition software programs.
1. Dragon Professional
Dragon Professional is a speech recognition software program that is ideal for professionals who need to dictate documents, emails, and other text. The software performs two primary tasks: it converts spoken words into text as you speak and transcribes recorded speech into text. This software refines document creation by allowing users to dictate, edit, and format content efficiently using voice commands. Supporting over 60 languages, it integrates with various business sectors, including finance, education, and healthcare.
2. Amazon Transcribe
Amazon Transcribe offers a fully managed automatic speech recognition (ASR) service, enabling developers to integrate speech-to-text functionality into their applications easily. Primarily intended for everyday users, it uses the same technology that powers Alexa. It excels at processing short audio, such as commands and responses, and delivering accurate transcriptions for common scenarios. The service can also understand and transcribe spoken words in multiple languages.
3. Microsoft Azure Speech-to-Text
You can transcribe up to five hours of audio for free and create one custom voice model each month with Microsoft Azure Speech to Text. The free plan allows just one concurrent audio request at a time. Azure supports numerous languages and dialects and can be trained with custom speech recognition models to better understand a user’s speaking style, background noise, and vocabulary.
4. Rev AI
Rev.ai delivers speech recognition and transcription services, enabling high-accuracy audio-to-text conversion. With this API, developers can efficiently transcribe interviews, meetings, or any audio content using its advanced speech-to-text features.
5. AssemblyAI
AssemblyAI provides streaming speech-to-text solutions using a model trained on 12.5 million hours of multilingual audio data. It supports more than 99 languages. In addition, AssemblyAI delivers a Speech Understanding service, offering features like sensitive data removal, context-based text segmentation, and entity recognition for identifying names of individuals, organizations, and other important entities.
6. Deepgram
Deepgram offers a speech recognition service with APIs that convert spoken language into written text. It uses advanced deep learning models to manage complex audio environments and diverse accents, providing transcription in English and multiple other languages. In addition to transcribing audio, Deepgram enables apps to use text-to-speech features, allowing them to “speak” to users.
7. IBM Watson Speech to Text
IBM Watson Speech to Text provides a transcription and speech recognition tool designed to enhance customer self-service, support speech analytics, and assist agents. Key features include pre-trained speech models, word filtering, audio diagnostics, model training, low-latency transcription, and fine-tuning capabilities.
8. Otter.ai
Otter.ai is a speech-to-text software that converts audio into shareable transcripts and audio files. It proves helpful in various situations, such as lectures, meetings, brainstorming sessions, and transcribing pre-recorded multimedia. You can access Otter through a phone or computer app, and while recording, it displays the text quickly. Additionally, the app allows you to play back audio from any point simply by clicking on the corresponding section of the transcript.
9. Krisp
Krisp, an audio processing software, filters out background noise during calls, helping professionals achieve clearer and more polished conversations. It works with any microphone or headphone and integrates with multiple communication platforms. The software also provides audio transcriptions and meeting notes based on the user’s subscription plan. By using machine learning algorithms, Krisp analyzes audio signals, isolates speech from background noise, and outputs clean, noise-free audio.
10. Airgram
Airgram automatically records and transcribes meetings, ensuring accurate documentation of discussions and decisions. It enables users to create action items and integrates with calendar and video conferencing tools, simplifying the entire meeting process. Many see Airgram as an assistant, as it not only records and transcribes but also generates notes, summaries, action lists, and chapters.
11. Sonix
Sonix combines AI and machine learning to generate transcripts and translate content with remarkable accuracy. It uses AI analysis tools to extract additional informational value from your audio and video files. By detecting the tone and sentiment of speakers, Sonix’s sentiment analysis reveals emotional insights, while its thematic analysis highlights key themes, making the content easier to understand.
12. Speechnotes
Speechnotes stands out as one of the simplest and most user-friendly dictation apps available. This web-based note-taking tool offers impressive functionality despite its simplicity. It allows you to record your voice and turn it into written text, similar to the dictation or voice-to-text features found in basic word-processing programs. It even handles punctuation automatically, adding to its convenience.
13. Braina
Braina serves as a virtual assistant and speech-to-text dictation application. This intelligent program answers your questions and fulfills your requests by allowing you to input commands directly. For example, you can instruct it to launch applications or play music.
14. Apple Dictation
Apple Dictation’s simplicity makes it a standout among speech-to-text options. Easily accessible across all Apple devices, it offers straightforward transcription. Although it may not be a special tool for speech recognition, it’s a dependable choice for quick dictation. Apple Dictation is free, supports over 60 languages, and integrates easily with the Apple applications.
15. Happy Scribe
Happy Scribe’s vast language support, capable of transcribing content in over 100 languages. The software primarily offers highly accurate, though expensive, human transcription rather than relying solely on AI. Their platform boasts a vast network of transcribers who provide some precise transcriptions.
16. Dictanote
Dictanote is a notes application that integrates speech-to-text functionality, allowing you to voice type your notes in over 50 languages. It features a user-friendly, notebook-style organization for your files, making it simple to manage your notes. You can opt for the dedicated app rather than using the web version, ensuring a smoother experience. The app boasts impressive speech-to-text accuracy, and best of all, you can use dictation entirely free of charge.
17. Descript
Descript’s editor software embeds its speech recognition software, making it one of the best free options for creators. You can either upload an existing video or record a new one directly in the software to create a project, and the audio-text feature will automatically add the words to your script.
18. Accuro
Accuro provides a variety of speech-to-text services through a secure online platform. Customers can choose from outsourced transcription, proofread speech recognition, or a simple rough draft to find the best service for each audio file. Accuro’s AI speech recognition engine automatically transforms audio into text by using special dictionaries, ensuring that terminology is accurately typed.
19. Speechmatics
Speechmatics accurately transcribes speech into text for various languages and accents, helping businesses manage multilingual audio content. The software can handle a wide range of audio qualities and performs well in different environments. With its user-friendly API and impressive accuracy, Speechmatics consistently delivers high-quality transcripts, even for challenging accents and dialects.
20. Rythmex
Rythmex serves as a speech recognition software for transcribing recorded interviews and transforming them into articles or blog posts. This tool meets the needs of journalists, researchers, and content creators who regularly have audio interviews. With its automated transcription feature, Rythmex efficiently converts audio files into text. The transcripts also come with time stamps, allowing users to easily reference specific segments of the interview.
The best speech recognition software depends on your specific needs. Are you a student looking to transcribe lectures? A business owner needing to analyze customer calls? Or maybe a writer hoping to dictate your next novel? Whatever your goals, there’s a speech recognition tool out there that can help you achieve them.