Best Voice Recognition Software

Dragon NaturallySpeaking wins, hands down

Nuance claims a 99 percent accuracy rate for Dragon NaturallySpeaking, though reviews say 97 percent is probably closer to reality. Reviewers are especially enamored of the fact that version 10 achieves such a high accuracy rate without completing the training modules; with training, accuracy improves and the program becomes more intuitive the more you use it.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 is available in six different editions, all of which contain a headset in addition to the software. The editions are Standard (*Est. $45), Preferred (*Est. $85), Preferred Wireless (*Est. $155), Preferred Mobile (*Est. $185), Professional (*Est. $720), Medical (*Est. $1,150) and Legal (*Est. $1,140). The two least expensive versions are suitable for most users. All versions use the same speech recognition engine, with differences in features and extended functionality. Rebates for Dragon voice recognition software are frequent, as are repackaged iterations of different versions directed at user groups such as students and retailers.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard edition is designed for personal use, and you can dictate into web browsers, AOL Instant Messenger, MS Word and WordPerfect. However, the Standard edition lacks the other versions' highly regarded streamlined editing and system commands. These streamlined commands let users simply tell the computer to search the web, rather than go through the more tedious process of opening the web browser in one step, dictating the search string in another and then commanding the program to search in yet a third. Similar time savings can be found in editorial functions, which can be formatted in all editions higher than Standard using a single command, as opposed to the more laborious process of highlighting text in one step and formatting in another.

The Preferred edition also adds compatibility with Microsoft Excel, as well as support for digital audio recorders. With a compatible device, you can dictate into a recorder or MP3 player, download the recording to your computer and have Dragon transcribe it into text. Very limited macro creation tools are included in the Preferred version. Macros let you create combined functions that can be executed by a single command.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional adds support for MS Outlook, PowerPoint and Lotus Notes. The Professional edition also provides complete hands-free use of a PC, including mouse control by voice. The Medical and Legal editions allow professionals in those fields to streamline the transcription process, thereby saving time and money. Each comes with expanded vocabularies specific to those professions. The Medical version can be used with any of "nearly 80" different specialties and subspecialties. Some specialty modules for other types of professions can be purchased for the Professional edition.

Bluetooth support is included in NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred and above, and Nuance offers bundles that include a Bluetooth headset. However, critics who have looked at Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred Wireless (*Est. $155) or Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Professional Wireless (*Est. $850) say that the Bluetooth headset offered isn't the best for speech recognition. For example, Simon Williams of TrustedReviews.com reports digging out the old, wired headset that came with version 9 and using that instead, with much better results.
High-quality third-party headset microphones can also be used with NaturallySpeaking.

While no other speech recognition program does any better, user reviews for Dragon NaturallySpeaking aren't impressive at first glance. One reason is that the move from 32-bit to 64-bit operating systems caused tons of headaches for NaturallySpeaking users, as the software's maker was slow to release a 64-bit version. That's since been rectified, but the complaints at Amazon.com and elsewhere live on. The now available upgrade to a 64-bit version is free for registered owners of NaturallySpeaking 10.

Nuance's technical support policies also draw their share of brickbats. The company provides unlimited technical support for 90 days for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10, but there's no toll-free telephone number. After that, Nuance charges $19.95 for each technical support incident that's addressed by phone, and $9.95 for those handled by email. Support for older versions is on a pay-by-incident basis only. As tough as all of that is, it's an improvement over the company's previous policy, which provided free support for only the first problem encountered -- something that elicited a lot of unhappy user feedback.

For Windows users, few other current stand-alone speech recognition programs draw much in the way of positive recognition. We did see a small amount of critical attention for e-Speaking (*Est. $14 after 30-day free trial). Unlike other shareware speech recognition programs, e-Speaking offers web browsing, system commands and voice editing as well as basic dictation. TopTenReviews.com gives e-Speaking its Bronze award, placing third behind Dragon NaturallySpeaking and MacSpeech Dictate (see below). Review Lecia Monsen explains that e-Speaking is a fair enough program but is overshadowed by outstanding competition from Dragon. Monsen reports 92 percent accuracy and adds that e-Speaking is burdened by a difficult user interface and sluggish response times. That leads her to say that e-Speaking is functional, but disappointing. However, a user review on SharedReviews.com says that e-Speaking is a good budget alternative. A high-quality microphone is recommended to improve accuracy. E-Speaking works with Windows 2000, XP and Vista.

Talking Desktop (*Est. $80) is another option, but it performs terribly in TopTenReviews.com's tests. Lecia Monsen reports very poor accuracy, lack of features and "unbearable" response times. It comes in fourth in the site's list of best voice recognition programs, but this seems to reflect the lack of other options and not the quality of the software.

We did not find any professional or user reviews of Say-Now 3.8.13 (*Est. $14 after 30-day free trial), a shareware program that is available from many download sites. Say-Now is just a dictating program.

Speech recognition for Mac users

None of the programs discussed above run on the Macintosh operating system. For Mac users, MacSpeech Dictate 1.5 (*Est. $150) is less richly featured than NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred, according to the reviews we read. That said, most assessments find it's a solid performer, achieving 98 percent accuracy in TopTenReviews.com's tests and impressing Macworld's reviewer with its out-of-the-box accuracy and speed. Version 1.5, released in June 2009, is based on Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10; initial reports are that it is significantly faster and more accurate than previous versions.

Although Dictate uses the Dragon engine, reviews say its interface is Mac-oriented and easy to use. Dictate lacks some of the advanced features seen in Dragon's NaturallySpeaking 10, such as intuitive voice-controlled editing, and also seems to have a bigger learning curve. The program has its share of unhappy users, but many others are pleased, and the consensus is that Dictate is a radical improvement over iListen, the previous MacSpeech program. Users report a number of bugs, many of which have been addressed via a free upgrade (version 1.5.2) that's available to owners of version 1.5.