10 Best Voice to Text Apps for Android in 2026 (7 Free)
For most people, the best free voice to text app for Android is Gboard: tap the microphone on the keyboard and talk, in any app. If you'd rather your voice never left the phone, use FUTO Voice Input; for a lecture or a recording you already have, use a recorder that transcribes. Below are 10 options in three groups: voice typing, the recorders built into Pixel and Galaxy phones, and one tool for long recordings. Seven are free, though they do different jobs; Wispr Flow has a limited free tier.
- Most phones: Gboard voice typing, free.
- On a Galaxy: the Samsung Keyboard has its own voice input, and you can switch it to Google Voice Typing.
- Offline and private: FUTO Voice Input does all the work on the phone. One-time $9.99 on Google Play.
- Dictating long messages into any app: Wispr Flow, which drops the "um"s as you talk.
- Recording on a Pixel or a Galaxy: Google Recorder or Samsung Voice Recorder, both free.
- A lecture or a meeting that runs an hour: HypeScribe, in your phone's browser.
Speech to text apps for Android compared
We checked what each app does on a phone today against its developer's help pages, Google Play listing and pricing page, in October 2026. Apps you can no longer buy, like Dragon Anywhere, are left out. On an iPhone? See our voice to text apps for iPhone.
What is the best free voice to text app for Android?
Gboard, Google's keyboard. It's free and works in any app where you can type. To dictate:
- Tap a text field so the keyboard opens.
- At the top of the keyboard, tap the microphone.
- When you see "Speak now," talk. Say "period," "comma," "question mark" or "new paragraph" for punctuation.
On a Pixel 6 or newer, advanced voice typing adds the punctuation for you and keeps what you say on the phone. It covers English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. What Gboard can't do is transcribe a recording you already have; for that, see the recorders below.
On a Galaxy, the Samsung Keyboard has its own voice input. In the keyboard's settings, under Voice input, you choose between Samsung voice input and Google Voice Typing, so you can try both without installing anything. It only exists on Galaxy phones, and if it already works for you, you don't need another app.
Dictation apps for Android: talk, and the text lands where you type
Like Gboard, these type what you say into other apps; Speechnotes is the exception and writes into its own notepad.
Microsoft SwiftKey
If you already type with SwiftKey, its voice button keeps the keyboard on screen while you dictate, so you can fix a word without switching modes. The catch is language: Microsoft's help page says voice to text supports English only. If you dictate in anything else, Gboard is the safer choice.
FUTO Voice Input
FUTO Voice Input is for people who don't want their voice going to a server. Recognition runs on the phone, the Play listing says recordings are never saved or sent anywhere, and the app only goes online when you download an optional model. It plugs into keyboards and apps that support Android's standard voice input.
The models are fine-tuned versions of OpenAI's Whisper. FUTO itself says many languages aren't well supported, so test yours before relying on it. A license is a one-time $9.99 on Google Play.
Wispr Flow
Wispr Flow puts a floating bubble over the keyboard you already use. You talk, and it writes into whatever app is open, from WhatsApp to Gmail to ChatGPT. It removes filler words and handles it when you correct yourself mid-sentence, which matters more for a long message than for "on my way."
It handles 100+ languages and needs Android 13 or newer. Skip it if you often dictate without a connection or don't want to grant accessibility permission, which it needs to insert text (otherwise it copies the text to the clipboard). Free use on mobile is "limited weekly use," with no exact number published; Pro is $15 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly.
Speechnotes
Speechnotes is a free dictation app that writes into its own notepad rather than a keyboard. It keeps listening when you pause to think, so it suits drafts and long notes. It uses Android's built-in Google speech recognizer, works offline (better when connected) and is free with a small ad banner. The trade-off: it isn't a keyboard, so you copy the text into the app where it's going.
If you write a lot by voice, see our list of dictation software for writers.
Which voice to text app works offline?
- FUTO Voice Input: fully offline.
- Live Transcribe: offline for languages you download, on Android 12 or later.
- Speechnotes: supports offline, works better online.
- SwiftKey: only in legacy mode, through the offline recognition settings in the Google app.
- Wispr Flow: no, it needs a connection.
- Gboard: Google doesn't say for standard voice typing. Advanced voice typing on a Pixel 6+ keeps your speech on the phone.
Built into your phone: recorders and live captions
If you want the whole conversation rather than a sentence, start with what your phone already has.
Google Recorder (Pixel)
If you have a Pixel, Recorder is the free answer for lectures and interviews. It transcribes on the phone as you record, in 15 languages on a Pixel 6 or later, and one recording can run up to 18 hours. Newer models get more: speaker labels from the Pixel 6 (US English only) and summaries from the Pixel 8. It isn't available on other brands.
Samsung Voice Recorder (Galaxy)
On select Galaxy phones and tablets with One UI 6.1 or later, Transcript Assist turns recordings into text, then summarizes or translates them. It works on files from Samsung's own apps (Voice Recorder, Phone, Notes and Interpreter), and each file has to be under 3 hours. Summaries need internet and a Samsung Account. Samsung lists 22 supported languages, and the basic Galaxy AI features are free.
Live Transcribe
Live Transcribe captions the conversation around you in real time, in over 80 languages and dialects. Google built it with Gallaudet University for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, so it's made for following a conversation, not for keeping one: transcripts are saved for up to three days, and only if you turn saving on. Free on Android 12 and later.
Which transcription app works for a lecture or a meeting?
For a lecture or a meeting you want more than text on the screen: the audio kept, the speakers split, timestamps so you can find a quote later. The built-in recorders do part of that, but only on a Pixel or a Galaxy, and Samsung's only on files from its own apps. If you have another phone, a file that came from somewhere else (a Zoom recording, a voice memo someone sent you), or you want to work with the text afterwards, use a separate tool.
HypeScribe
HypeScribe transcribes long recordings in your phone's browser. There's no Android app; the mobile site has the same features as the desktop version.
- Record with the phone's microphone. Put the phone on the desk in a lecture or an in-person meeting and tap record. Keep the tab open: the audio is saved as you go, and if the tab closes, HypeScribe offers to recover the unfinished recording.
- Upload a file from the phone. MP3, M4A, WAV, MP4 and other common audio and video formats, up to 2 GB per file (5 GB on Ultra), with no limit on length.
You can also paste a link from YouTube, Zoom or Google Drive, or, on the Pro and Ultra plans, send the notetaker to a Zoom, Meet or Teams call. Either way you get the transcript with speakers and timestamps in 99+ languages, an overview, action items and an AI assistant you can ask about the recording, with export to DOCX, PDF, SRT and more.
Plans are monthly and count files, not minutes: Starter is $6.99 a month for 30 recordings of any length, so a three-hour lecture uses the same one credit as a voice memo. Pro is $7.99 and Ultra $12.99.
When not to use it: for typing a text message by voice. HypeScribe doesn't put text into other apps; Gboard does. For more on recording classes, see our guide to apps for recording lectures, and for calls, the one on recording meetings.
Dictating on a computer too?
If you also write on a Mac or a Windows PC, look at Voice OS. It types into whatever app your cursor is in, matches the style of that app and works in over 100 languages. It isn't on Android yet: its site lists the mobile version as coming soon.
Wispr Flow also runs on Mac and Windows if you'd rather use one app everywhere. For what's built in, see our guides to dictation on a Mac and free speech-to-text programs.
FAQ
Is there a free speech to text app for Android?
Yes. Voice typing in Gboard and in the Samsung Keyboard is free, and so are Google Recorder on Pixel, Samsung Voice Recorder transcription on Galaxy, Live Transcribe and Speechnotes (with an ad banner).
Can Android transcribe an audio recording?
On a Pixel, Recorder transcribes while it records. On a Galaxy, Transcript Assist handles recordings from Samsung's own apps under 3 hours. For a file from somewhere else, or a longer one, upload it to a transcription service such as HypeScribe in your browser.
Can I record a whole lecture with voice typing?
Use a recorder that transcribes instead, so you keep the audio and the timestamps: Recorder on a Pixel, Voice Recorder on a Galaxy, or HypeScribe in the browser on any phone.
Which option is the most private?
FUTO Voice Input: recognition happens on the phone and, per its Play listing, recordings are never saved or sent. On a Pixel 6 or newer, Gboard's advanced voice typing also keeps your speech on the device.
Long recordings
Transcribe a long recording from your phone
Open HypeScribe in your phone's browser, record the lecture or upload the file, and come back to a searchable transcript and a summary of what was said.
