To dictate for free in a computer browser you have Speechnotes, a website with no sign-up for Chrome and Edge, and Google Docs Voice typing, free with a Google account. Dictate in Word for the web exists, but Microsoft doesn't make clear whether it is free. None of them documents that your voice stays on your computer.
The free options, compared in a table
Five tools let you dictate in the browser without installing any program. The criteria: browser, price, Spanish, connection, where the text stays and the limitation that weighs most. The data come from their websites and official help pages, checked on 22 October 2026; the Speechnotes price is in dollars. We are talking about the computer browser, not the phone.
| Speechnotes | Google Docs | Word for the web | Dictation.io | SpeechTexter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browser | Chrome or Edge | Chrome, Edge and Safari | Not specified; you must be signed in | Chrome; not on iPhone or iPad | Chrome on a computer; not on iPhone or iPad |
| Price | Free and unlimited with ads; without ads, $1.90 a month paying for a year | Free with a Google account | Free with a Microsoft account according to the 2020 announcement; the current help asks for Microsoft 365 | Its website publishes no price | Free, with ads |
| Spanish | Yes, with colon and semicolon by voice | Yes; six punctuation commands | Yes; automatic punctuation and the ¿ and ¡ marks by voice | Yes, plus Catalan, Basque and Galician | Yes, among more than 70 languages |
| Needs internet | Yes: the voice is sent to Google | The help doesn't say: the browser decides | Yes, a reliable connection | Yes | Yes: the voice goes to Google servers |
| Where the text stays | In the browser; exports to .txt, .doc or Google Drive | In Google Drive, with autosave | In OneDrive, with autosave | In the browser; “Publish” uploads it to GitHub Gist | In the browser cache, with autosave; downloads .doc or .txt |
| Main limitation | You dictate in its notepad and copy the text | Editing commands only in English | Unclear whether it is free with your account | Only one tab can dictate at a time | Autosave not advised on shared computers |
Speechnotes: what it is, whether it is free and where it keeps the text
Speechnotes is a web notepad for dictation, free and with no sign-up. It has existed since 2015, according to its Spanish page, and its quick-start guide asks for Chrome or Edge on a computer; on tablets and phones it warns that it may fail with some devices.
The free plan lets you dictate without limits, with ads. Removing the ads costs $1.90 a month, but it is paid in one go for a year and does not renew automatically (price at 22 October 2026).
What you dictate moves from a provisional area into the text when you press Enter, say a punctuation mark or pause, and you can correct with the keyboard without turning off the microphone. In Spanish it understands commands such as «punto» (full stop), «coma» (comma), «dos puntos» (colon), «punto y coma» (semicolon) and «nueva línea» (new line), and it capitalises the start of each sentence.
Where it is saved: notes are saved automatically in the browser's storage, on your computer, and never reach its servers. You don't need an account, but you can't see them from another computer either: for that, export to Google Drive, to .txt or to Word (.doc). Speechnotes itself recommends exporting anything important, because it does not guarantee the continuity of the service.
Where Speechnotes wins: you use it with no account and no limit, it understands more Spanish punctuation commands than Google Docs and it exports to Word. It also has a Chrome extension for dictating into forms on other websites.
Google Docs Voice typing
Voice typing is Google Docs dictation and it opens from Tools, Voice typing. Google says anyone with a Google account can create documents in Docs. The feature works in the latest versions of Chrome, Edge and Safari, and supports Spanish from Spain and around twenty variants from other countries.
The difference from Speechnotes is where the text ends up: in a document that Google saves automatically while you type online and that you can open from any computer. On the downside, in Spanish it only understands six punctuation commands, and the commands for editing or formatting only work in English. The step by step and what to do if the microphone doesn't appear are in the guide to voice typing in Google Docs.
As for your voice, Google explains that it is the browser that controls the transcription and decides how what you say is processed.
Where Google Docs wins: the dictation is already in a document saved in the cloud, ready to share or keep editing.
Dictate in Word for the web: is it free?
Dictate in Word for the web requires a Microsoft account, and Microsoft contradicts itself on whether you have to pay. In August 2020 it announced on its blog that dictating with voice commands in Word for the web was free when signed in with a Microsoft account. Its current help, however, says in the troubleshooting section that if you don't see the button, you should check that you have an active Microsoft 365 subscription. Both pages are still published. The practical thing is to open a document in Word for the web with your account and see whether Dictate appears on the Home tab.
If you have it, Spanish (Spain) and Spanish (Mexico) are among its supported languages, not among the preview ones. Automatic punctuation is turned on in the settings gear and, by voice, it also understands the opening marks (¿ and ¡), the colon, the semicolon and the angle quotes. It needs a reliable connection, and the document is saved automatically in OneDrive. Microsoft says the service stores neither the audio nor the transcribed text, and that your voice is sent to it only to give you back the text.
Where Word for the web wins: the ¿ and ¡ marks and the «» quotes by voice, automatic punctuation and a result that is already a Word document.
Other dictation websites: Dictation.io and SpeechTexter
Dictation.io and SpeechTexter are web notepads like Speechnotes, but on a computer they only work in Chrome.
Dictation.io is not compatible with iPhone or iPad, according to its help. It saves notes in the browser and sends your voice to Google's servers through Chrome, so it does not work offline. Watch out for its “Publish” button: it uploads the text to GitHub Gist with a secret address that anyone who knows it can open. Where Dictation.io wins: its list of languages includes Catalan, Basque and Galician.
SpeechTexter presents itself as a free app, with ads, for more than 70 languages, with no sign-up or installation. Its privacy policy says it does not store what you dictate, that your voice is processed on Google servers and that, with autosave on, the text stays in the browser cache; the website itself advises against this on shared computers. Where SpeechTexter wins: it lets you create your own voice commands for marks or phrases you repeat often.
Where your voice goes when you dictate on a website
None of these five tools documents that your voice is transcribed on your own computer. MDN's documentation on the browsers' speech API explains that, in browsers such as Chrome, recognition uses an engine on a server: the audio travels to an online service and that is why it does not work offline. The API also allows on-device recognition if the page requests it and a language pack is installed, but none of these websites says it does so.
One by one: Speechnotes, Dictation.io and SpeechTexter point to Google's speech services; Word for the web sends your voice to Microsoft; and Google Docs leaves the decision to the browser. The text is another matter: on the three dictation websites it stays in your browser, and in Docs and Word, in your cloud account.
For a to-do list it makes no difference. If you dictate a brief with a client's name, it matters who receives the audio, under what contract and whether they keep it. The questions worth asking any tool before using it with client information are in client confidentiality and the GDPR when using AI in a law firm.
When a free website is enough, and what to use when it isn't
A free dictation website is enough for notes, ideas and short drafts with no third-party data. For that, Speechnotes or Google Docs do the job and cost nothing. They fall short in three cases:
- Long texts with names and acronyms. None of them documents a dictionary where you can teach it the names of the parties or your jargon, so the same mistakes come back every time you dictate.
- Dictating where you work. Except for the Speechnotes extension, they all dictate only on their own page: for email, desktop Word or the firm's case management software, you have to copy and paste.
- Client information. In all five, your voice leaves your computer for Google or Microsoft services, or for wherever the browser decides.
Without a browser there are two routes. The first is system dictation, which types into any program. On Windows it opens with Win+H and, according to Microsoft, uses online recognition and needs internet (we cover it in voice typing in Windows 11). On a Mac, Apple explains that in the Keyboard settings you can check whether dictation is processed on the device or goes to its servers (the steps, in how to turn on dictation on a Mac). The second route is a desktop app that transcribes your voice on your computer.
With ablalo you dictate in Spanish in any program with a keyboard shortcut, browser included, and the text appears where the cursor is. Your voice is transcribed on your own computer and the audio is not uploaded to any server. It punctuates Spanish without you saying the marks, removes filler words and recognises more than 30,000 Spanish legal terms out of the box, with your own dictionary for names and acronyms. It is not free: it has no free plan, and you can try it for 14 days without a card.
In short
Free online voice dictation is done with websites such as Speechnotes or with Google Docs dictation. Speechnotes works in Chrome and Edge with no account and no limit and keeps notes in the browser; Google Docs asks for a Google account and leaves the text in Drive. Dictate in Word for the web requires a Microsoft account, and Microsoft doesn't make clear whether it is free. Dictation.io and SpeechTexter only work in Chrome. All of them are fine for notes and drafts, and none documents that your voice stays on your computer: to dictate about clients, you are better off with a tool that transcribes on the computer.
Sources: Speechnotes, dictation quick-start guide, privacy policy, pricing, premium version, home page and Spanish page (in Spanish); Google, type and edit with your voice, create, view or download a file and Google Docs; Microsoft, Dictate your documents in Word for the web, save a copy of a Word for the web document, announcement of voice commands in Word (25 August 2020) and voice typing in Windows; Apple, Dictate messages and documents on Mac; Dictation.io, home page and frequently asked questions; SpeechTexter, home page and privacy policy; MDN, Using the Web Speech API, including on-device recognition. Checked on 22 October 2026; prices and terms may change.
Frequently asked questions
Which free online voice dictation works well in Spanish?
Speechnotes and Google Docs Voice typing work in Spanish from Spain and are free. Speechnotes doesn't ask for an account and understands more punctuation commands; Google Docs keeps the text saved in your Drive.
Is Speechnotes free?
Yes. Speechnotes dictation is free and unlimited, with ads. Removing the ads costs $1.90 a month, charged in one payment for a year and with no automatic renewal (price at 22 October 2026).
Is there free online voice dictation without signing up?
Yes. Speechnotes and SpeechTexter say there is no need to sign up or install anything: you open the website in Chrome, allow the microphone and speak. Google Docs and Word for the web ask you to sign in.
Can you dictate for free in Word online?
Microsoft announced in 2020 that dictating in Word for the web was free with a Microsoft account, but its current help asks for an active Microsoft 365 subscription if the button doesn't appear. Open a document with your account and check whether Dictate is on the Home tab.
Does Google have online voice dictation?
Yes, inside Google Docs: Tools, Voice typing, in Chrome, Edge or Safari and with a Google account. We explain it step by step in voice typing in Google Docs.
Does online voice dictation work without internet?
Generally, no. Speechnotes, Dictation.io and SpeechTexter send your voice to Google services, and Word for the web needs a reliable connection. To dictate offline you need dictation that processes your voice on the computer itself.