Dictanote: Dictanote is a browser-based, cross-device notes app with built-in real-time speech-to-text voice typing in 50+ languages, plus an AI assistant that transcribes and summarizes voice notes. Handy: Handy is a free, open-source, cross-platform push-to-talk app that transcribes your speech to text completely offline and pastes it into any text field. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Dictanote when students and writers drafting notes, articles, or book content hands-free by voice matters most, and Handy when privacy-sensitive voice-to-text where audio must stay on-device matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
Dictanote is a browser-based, cross-device notes app with built-in real-time speech-to-text voice typing in 50+ languages, plus an AI assistant that transcribes and summarizes voice notes.
Handy is a free, open-source, cross-platform push-to-talk app that transcribes your speech to text completely offline and pastes it into any text field.
Dictanote is a dictation-powered note-taking app that lets you write notes by speaking instead of typing. Its core voice-typing engine transcribes speech to text in real time across more than 50 languages and 80+ dialects, and supports voice commands for inserting punctuation, paragraphs, and symbols, as well as keyboard shortcuts for starting, stopping, and switching dictation languages. Notes sync across devices and can be organized into notebooks, with offline editing available (though live dictation needs connectivity). Its AI layer, AudioScribe, takes raw voice notes and rewrites them into clean, summarized text—automatically adding punctuation and stripping filler words, repetitions, and "umms." Users can choose summarization levels, apply custom writing styles (such as a business memo or to-do list), dictate in one language and output in another, and connect output to other apps via Zapier or webhooks. It targets writers, students, journalists, and professionals who prefer speaking over typing. Dictanote also offers a companion Chrome extension, Voice In, for dictating into other web apps.
Best suited for
Handy is a free, open-source desktop application that turns your voice into text completely offline, with no audio ever leaving your computer. You press a configurable keyboard shortcut, speak, and release (push-to-talk), or use a toggle mode to start and stop; Handy transcribes what you said and automatically pastes the result into whatever text field is active. Because it runs entirely on-device, it is built for privacy-conscious users who want dictation without cloud uploads or subscriptions. Under the hood it is built with Tauri (a Rust backend with a React/TypeScript frontend) and supports multiple local speech-recognition models, including OpenAI's Whisper variants with GPU acceleration and the CPU-friendly Parakeet V3 model with automatic language detection. Silero Voice Activity Detection filters out silence so only speech is processed. Handy runs on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows, and Linux, and is released under the MIT license. It positions itself as an accessible, extensible alternative to paid dictation tools, and is best suited for hands-free typing rather than recording multi-party meetings.
Best suited for
Dictanote is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Handy is open source (open source). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Dictanote | Handy |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Real-time speech-to-text voice typing in 50+ languages and 80+ dialects | Push-to-talk and toggle dictation modes with a configurable global keyboard shortcut |
| Standout feature | Voice commands for punctuation, paragraphs, symbols, and dictation control | Fully offline, on-device transcription with no cloud uploads |
| Team usage | Custom voice commands to automate text entry and correct errors | Multiple local speech models including Whisper (GPU-accelerated) and Parakeet V3 (CPU, auto language detection) |
| Integrations | AudioScribe AI assistant that transcribes and summarizes voice notes, removing filler words | Silero Voice Activity Detection to filter silence and process only speech |
| Languages & capture | Notebooks for organizing notes, with cloud sync across devices and offline editing | Automatically pastes transcribed text into any active application text field |
| Best-fit workflow | Multilingual AI output (dictate in one language, write in another) and Zapier/webhook integrations | Cross-platform desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux) built with Tauri |
Dictanote
Choose Dictanote if you need students and writers drafting notes, articles, or book content hands-free by voice — strengths include strong multilingual coverage with 50+ languages and 80+ dialects.
Handy
Choose Handy if you need hands-free dictation into emails, documents, chat apps, and code editors — strengths include completely free, open-source (mit) with no subscription or paywall.
Dictanote
Handy
It depends on your workflow. Dictanote is strong for students and writers drafting notes, articles, or book content hands-free by voice, while Handy is strong for hands-free dictation into emails, documents, chat apps, and code editors. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Dictanote is a free tier with paid upgrades and Handy is open source. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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