A free Dragon alternative for Windows and Mac.
Is Noted a good Dragon alternative?
Noted is a free Dragon alternative for Windows and Mac that turns speech into text on your computer, works without internet once you’re signed in and the voice is downloaded, and also records both sides of your calls for meeting notes. Like Dragon, whose page offers “live speech-to-text” (product page), Noted types where your cursor is, in the app you’re using, and lets you add your own names and terms. Dragon is the better pick if you run your PC by voice, transcribe recordings, or need an edition built for law firms or the police. Both are below.
At a glance
| Noted | Dragon Professional | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac (macOS 13 or later, on Apple silicon and Intel) and Windows (Windows 10, version 1903 or later, 64-bit). | “Dragon Professional (Windows)” (product page). Supported systems: Windows 11 (64-bit), Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit) and Windows Server 2016, 2019 and 2022 (release notes). |
| Dictation in any app | Free, with no word limit, in 35 languages. Hold ⌃ Shift Space on a Mac or Ctrl Alt Space on Windows. | Yes: “live speech-to-text”, “optimized for Windows 11 and backwards-compatible to Windows 10” (product page). |
| Where speech becomes text | On your computer. Audio never leaves it. | Dragon Professional installs on your PC; its requirements list 12 GB of free disk space (release notes). Dragon Professional Anywhere is “cloud‑hosted speech recognition” (Anywhere page). |
| Works without internet | Yes, on Mac and Windows. Once you’re signed in and the voice is downloaded, dictation, recording and transcripts need no connection. AI meeting notes, Polish, Ask, Live Answers and screen answers need one. | Not stated on the pages we read. Its activation steps “assume you have an internet connection available” (release notes). |
| Your own words | Yes. Add names and terms to the Dictionary one at a time, or accept the offer to remember a word you just corrected. No list import. | Yes, with a Vocabulary Center that can “Export custom word and phrase list” to a text file (release notes). Dragon Legal adds “a built-in legal vocabulary” (Legal page). |
| Run the PC by voice | No. Noted types what you say; it has no voice commands for the PC. | Yes: “custom voice commands”, “macros to automate multi‑step workflows by voice” (product page), and “MouseGrid supports multiple monitors (up to 3)” (release notes). |
| Meeting notes | Yes, on Mac and Windows. Noted records your microphone and your computer’s audio, so both sides of the call are in the transcript. Recording and transcripts have no limit; AI meeting notes have a generous monthly quota on Free and are unlimited on Pro. | No meeting notes on the pages we read. It transcribes “another single speaker”, and for client meetings suggests you “Pair Dragon with a digital recorder” to capture your own insights “to be transcribed by Dragon later” (product page). |
| Transcribe audio files | No. Noted records calls as they happen; it doesn’t import audio files. | Yes: “transcribe audio files or voice files of another single speaker”, and the “Auto Transcribe Folder Agent (ATFA)” for batches (product page). |
| Asking about your notes | Ask answers from your notes and your documents in Knowledge, with sources. Free, and unlimited on Pro. Live Answers (Pro) answer a question on your call as it’s asked. | Not stated on the pages we read (product page). |
| Phone app | No. Noted’s downloads are for Mac and Windows. | Dragon Anywhere Mobile, “Available on Android and iOS (US & Canada)”, a subscription with “continuous cloud dictation” (Mobile page). |
| Team features | None. | The Nuance Management Center, to “deploy, manage, and share custom words, commands, and auto-texts”, with volume licensing (product page). |
| Trying it | Create a free account and keep the Free plan as long as you like. | “You can launch Dragon in Trial mode five times. After five launches, you must activate Dragon to continue using the product.” (release notes) |
| Pricing | Free, and Pro (your first month or two of Pro are free); see Noted’s pricing. | The product page shows no price; its button is “Contact us” (product page). Anywhere has “subscription‑based pricing” (Anywhere page). |
Weighing more apps? Noted, Wispr Flow, Granola, Otter and Superwhisper side by side.
Where is Dragon better?
- Running the PC by voice. Dragon has “custom voice commands” and “macros to automate multi‑step workflows by voice” (product page), and “MouseGrid supports multiple monitors (up to 3)” (release notes). If you can’t use a keyboard or mouse, this is the job that matters, and Noted doesn’t do it.
- Recordings you already have. Dragon can “transcribe audio files or voice files of another single speaker”, and its Auto Transcribe Folder Agent works through a folder of them (product page). Noted records calls as they happen and doesn’t import audio files.
- Editions for professions, and more places to run it. Dragon Legal has “a built-in legal vocabulary” and there is a Law Enforcement edition (Legal page), and the Nuance Management Center lets an organisation share “custom words, commands, and auto-texts” across users (product page). Noted has no team features. Dragon also lists Windows Server 2016, 2019 and 2022 and 32-bit Windows 10 (release notes), and Dragon Anywhere Mobile is a phone app for “Android and iOS (US & Canada)” (Mobile page). Noted needs Windows 10, version 1903 or later, 64-bit, or a Mac.
Where is Noted better?
- Both sides of your calls. On Mac and Windows, Noted records your microphone and your computer’s audio on Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Slack huddles, turns them into a transcript on your computer, and writes the notes and to-dos when you hang up. Recording and transcripts have no limit on Free. Dragon’s page says it transcribes “another single speaker”, and for client meetings suggests you “Pair Dragon with a digital recorder” (product page).
- A free plan, not a trial. Dictation is free with no word limit, for as long as you use Noted. Dragon’s release notes say “You can launch Dragon in Trial mode five times. After five launches, you must activate Dragon to continue using the product.” (release notes).
- The same app on a Mac. Noted runs on Mac and Windows, with the same Dictionary habits and a shortcut on each. Dragon’s supported systems are Windows only (release notes); what happened to Dragon for Mac is in our Mac guide.
Also in Noted, not counted as a difference. Speech becomes text on your computer, and audio never leaves it. Once you’re signed in and the voice is downloaded, dictation, recording and transcripts work without internet; tested by hand by our founder on Mac and Windows, November 2026. Dragon Professional also installs on your PC, and the Nuance pages we read don’t say whether it needs a connection to turn speech into text; we have not tried Dragon without one, so we don’t count it. Ask answers from your meeting notes and the documents you add to Knowledge, with sources, free; on Pro, Live Answers answer a question on your call as it’s asked. The Nuance pages we read don’t mention anything like it, which is not the same as saying Dragon can’t, so we don’t count it either. Polish turns rambling speech into clean writing (Free includes Polish within a monthly limit; it is a cloud step, so it needs a connection), and dictation also works in the terminals Dictate into Claude Code and Cursor lists.
Privacy, layer by layer
Where speech becomes text
Dictation, recording and transcripts are free forever; speech becomes text on your computer.
What cloud features send
Cloud features, such as Polish (dictation cleanup), AI meeting notes and Ask, send the text they need to our AI providers.
Where your notes are kept
Your notes stay on your computer, unless you share a note by link; Noted has no other cloud copy of them. Audio never leaves your computer. It isn’t kept after your note is written, unless you turn on Keep audio for 7 days.
More detail: how meeting notes work without a bot and how Noted’s Dictionary fixes names and jargon.
How do I switch from Dragon?
- In Dragon, export your words: Vocabulary Center, then Export custom word and phrase list (release notes). You get a text file of the names and terms you added.
- Download Noted for Mac or for Windows, open it and create your free account. Turn Dragon’s microphone off while you try Noted, so one voice doesn’t feed two apps.
- Open the text file and add the words you use most to Noted’s Dictionary. There is no import, so start with the names you say every week.
- Click into any text box, hold ⌃ Shift Space on a Mac or Ctrl Alt Space on Windows, talk, and let go. Dictate a real paragraph of your own work, not a test sentence.
- On your next call on Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or a Slack huddle, click Start meeting in Noted, or press ⌘ Shift N on a Mac or Ctrl Alt G on Windows. Tell people you’re taking notes, as you would with any recording.
If you use Dragon’s commands or MouseGrid to run your PC, keep Dragon for that.
FAQ
Is Noted free?
Yes. Dictation, recording and transcripts are free forever; speech becomes text on your computer. Free includes a generous monthly quota of AI meeting notes and Polish, reset on the 1st (UTC). Pro makes AI meeting notes, Polish and Ask unlimited, and adds Live Answers and screen answers.
Does Noted work without internet?
Yes, on Mac and Windows. Once you’re signed in and the voice is downloaded, dictation, recording and transcripts need no connection. AI meeting notes, Polish, Ask, Live Answers and screen answers need one.
Can Noted control my PC by voice?
No. Noted types what you say into the app you’re in, and records and notes your calls. It has no voice commands for opening apps or clicking.
Can Noted transcribe an audio file?
No. Noted records calls as they happen, on Mac and Windows; it doesn’t import audio files.
Does Noted work on Windows?
Yes. Noted runs on Mac (macOS 13 or later, on Apple silicon and Intel) and Windows (Windows 10, version 1903 or later, 64-bit).
Is Noted on iPhone or Android?
No. Noted’s downloads are for Mac and Windows.
Sources
Nuance’s own pages for Dragon. Checked 15 November 2026.
- dragon.nuance.com: Dragon Professional (Windows)
- nuance.com: Dragon Professional 16 release notes (no date shown)
- dragon.nuance.com: Dragon Professional Anywhere
- dragon.nuance.com: Dragon Legal
- dragon.nuance.com: Dragon Anywhere Mobile
Noted’s features were tested by hand by our founder on Mac and Windows, November 2026.
Noted is not affiliated with Dragon. The name is used only to identify the product compared.