GUIDE
Offline dictation on Windows 11 without a subscription
You want to talk and have the words appear, without a monthly plan and without sending your voice to someone else's server. Windows has two built-in voice features, and they behave very differently. Here's which one works offline, how to fix the common "listening but nothing types" problem, and when a separate app is worth it.
Windows has two dictation features
| Voice typing (Win+H) | Voice access | |
|---|---|---|
| Internet needed | Yes. It uses Microsoft's online speech recognition | No, after a one-time language download |
| Start it | Press Windows key + H in any text box | Settings > Accessibility > Speech > Voice access |
| Languages | Many | English, Spanish, French and German |
| Also controls the PC by voice | No | Yes |
| Price | Included with Windows | Included with Windows 11 (22H2 and later) |
Set up Voice access for offline dictation
- Open Settings > Accessibility > Speech and turn on Voice access.
- Choose your language and accept the download. This step needs the internet once. After that, recognition runs on your PC.
- Optional: tick Start voice access after you sign in to your PC.
- Click into a text box, say "Voice access wake up" if it's sleeping, then speak. To type words that sound like commands, say "Type" first.
- Add names and jargon under Voice access settings > Add to vocabulary.
Fix: "Win+H says Listening but nothing happens"
- Check you're online. Voice typing doesn't work offline.
- Check the microphone: go to Settings > System > Sound > Input, speak, and watch the level bar.
- Check microphone permission: go to Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone and make sure Microphone access and Let desktop apps access your microphone are on.
- Check the speech setting: go to Settings > Privacy & security > Speech and make sure Online speech recognition is on. Voice typing needs it.
- Check the language: make sure your input language under Settings > Time & language > Language & region includes speech, and that its language features have finished downloading.
- Still stuck? Run Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters > Recording audio, then restart.
When the built-ins aren't enough
People usually look past them for one of these reasons:
- They want push-to-talk: hold a key, talk, release, and the text lands in whatever app has focus.
- Their language isn't covered by Voice access.
- They want to pick the speech model for speed versus accuracy on their own hardware.
- They need it fully local for privacy at work (clinical notes, client files), and Voice typing is online.
- They don't want another subscription. Many dictation tools charge monthly and process audio in the cloud.
What to check in any dictation app:
- Where your audio goes. Does recognition run on your PC, or is it uploaded?
- Does it need an account?
- One-time price or a subscription?
- Disk and CPU. Local models take disk space (a few hundred MB to several GB) and need a reasonably modern CPU.
Doing it with Solace Dictate
Disclosure: Solace Dictate is our product. SolaceSoftware makes and sells it.
Solace Dictate is a Windows tray app for push-to-talk speech-to-text, with speech models that run on your own PC.
What we checked in our Oct 10 setup trial:
- No account and no sign-in.
- 18 local speech models to choose from, from 33 MB to 845 MB. Each one is downloaded from the SolaceSoftware mirror and checked against a published SHA-256. Our test download matched.
- The only network traffic was that one-time model download. Optional AI text clean-up services are off by default, with no keys set.
- No updater: new builds come from the product page.
- Ran without admin rights on Windows 11.
From the product page (not yet tested by us): hold a hotkey, talk, and the words land in whatever window you were using. You can also start hidden or at login, show a live on-screen overlay, unload the model when idle to free memory, and choose how text is pasted.
Honest limits: We haven't tested dictation itself yet, because our trial didn't use a live microphone, so we make no accuracy claims. The app can't transcribe a recorded audio file. It's for live dictation only. The default hotkey is Ctrl+Space, which can clash with some keyboard-layout and editor shortcuts, so change it in settings if needed.
Before you buy: You need Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with current updates and a CPU that supports AVX2, plus Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime (built into Windows 11 and current Windows 10). You also need disk space for the models you choose. It's an unsigned ZIP, so on first launch click More info > Run anyway, then check the ZIP against the SHA-256 on the product page.
Price: $26.68 once, with 12 months of best-effort email support. No subscription, no automatic renewal.
Which route?
- Occasional dictation in English, Spanish, French or German, offline: Voice access, free and built in.
- Online is fine and you want it quick: Win+H voice typing.
- Push-to-talk into any app, local models you choose, one-time price: a local dictation app.
Get Solace Dictate, $26.68 once. Questions before you buy: solacesoftware@smilingface.cloud.
Questions: solacesoftware@smilingface.cloud.