1
Install from the Microsoft Store
Windows 10 or newer. Windows handles the microphone itself, so there are no accessibility settings to find and no permission dialogs to work through — the app works out of the box once it is installed.
Voice typing for Windows — dictate into any app
Press a hotkey, say the sentence, and the finished text appears where your cursor already is.
Word, Outlook, Teams, a browser field, VS Code, PowerShell — SayToType writes into the window you are already working in. It installs from the Microsoft Store and works straight after installation, with no permissions to grant.
Download for Windows
Free to start. Windows 10 or newer, from the Microsoft Store.
Installed and dictating in four steps
One of which is choosing a keyboard shortcut.
2
Pick your hotkey
The default is Ctrl+` — the backtick key, immediately left of the 1. If your keyboard layout or another program has claimed it, there are Shift+`, Alt+Z, Alt+X and Win+Alt+Space to switch to.
3
Speak into whatever is in front of you
Press the hotkey, talk, release. The text is inserted at the cursor in the app you are already in. Escape cancels the recording mid-sentence and writes nothing.
4
Build modes around your work
A mode fixes the recognition language, an optional language to translate into, and a prompt that shapes the output — dictating an email and dictating a code comment want different results from the same voice.
What it does on a PC
Dictation everywhere, plus the file transcription the desktop app carries.
Nothing to configure
No microphone permission dialog, no accessibility panel, no system settings trip. Windows handles it, so installation is the whole setup.
Types into any program
Insertion happens at the cursor wherever you are: Office, browsers, chat clients, editors, the terminal. There is no per-app integration to enable.
47 languages
Pin the language in a mode, or let it be detected. A mode can also carry an output language: when you stop recording, what you said is transcribed and then translated by a separate high-quality model before it reaches your cursor.
Five hotkey presets
Ctrl+`, Shift+`, Alt+Z, Alt+X or Win+Alt+Space — enough spread that one of them survives contact with the shortcuts you already use.
Bring your own API key
Connect OpenAI, Mistral AI, Deepgram or any OpenAI-compatible provider. Work run through your own key spends no minutes from your plan — you pay that provider at its own rates instead.
It also transcribes files
The same Windows app turns recordings you already have into transcripts with speaker labels, timestamps and SRT or VTT export.
Also on a Mac? See how dictation works on macOS — different hotkeys, two permissions, and offline models on Apple Silicon.
Questions about voice typing on Windows
Which versions of Windows does it run on?
Windows 10 or newer. The app installs from the Microsoft Store.
Do I have to grant it any permissions?
No. Windows handles microphone access automatically and no accessibility permission is needed, so the app works straight after installation. This is the one part of setup that differs from the Mac version, which does require two permissions.
What is the default hotkey, and can I change it?
Ctrl+` — the backtick key to the left of the 1. If that clashes with something, you can switch to Shift+`, Alt+Z, Alt+X or Win+Alt+Space.
Can it run offline on Windows?
No. On-device local models are available on Macs with Apple Silicon only. On Windows the options are SayToType Cloud or your own API key from a provider you choose.
How is this different from Windows Voice Typing?
SayToType adds custom modes with prompts that shape the output, translation into another language when you finish speaking, 47 recognition languages, the option of running on your own API key, and file transcription with speaker labels in the same app. Windows Voice Typing is built in and free, so for plain dictation in one language it may be all you need.
Is my speech stored anywhere?
Not by us. Speech is processed in real time, and nothing — neither the audio nor the text — is kept on our servers, on free plans included. Whatever the app saves stays on your own PC.
Start dictating on Windows
Windows 10 or newer, installed from the Microsoft Store and working the moment it lands.
Free to start — every account gets 50 minutes of cloud transcription a month at no cost, and no card is needed to sign up.