TL;DR: If you want free dictation that tidies up your words by default, start with Infina. Infina is hands-free voice for Mac and Windows: you talk, and it types, sends and opens apps. Holding a key and talking instead is free and unlimited, with your words tidied up on your computer, and needs no card. On Windows, tidying up your words needs 16 GB of memory and 4+ cores. Every word you dictate is cleaned up: filler gone, punctuation fixed, your words kept. On a Mac, that is Tami 1, Infina's own AI that tidies up your text. Wispr Flow's free plan shows a weekly-limit notice at 2,000 words and blocks new dictations above 5,000, and Superwhisper's tidy-up is paid. Hands-free typing is the paid part: 2,000 free hands-free words, then $8.25/month billed yearly ($99); unlimited voice commands are free.
Most "free" dictation apps are free for transcription and paid for cleanup, or free for a few thousand words a week. Here is what each one really gives you without paying.
What a tidy-up is, and why free plans usually leave it out
Plain dictation types what you said. Every "um", every restart, every missing comma lands on the page.
A tidy-up runs the transcript through AI that gives you what you meant: filler words removed, stutters gone, punctuation and capitals fixed. Good cleanup does this without rephrasing your instruction or mangling a name.
Cleanup needs AI to run, which is why most apps put it behind a paywall or run it on their servers. That makes it the line to check on any free plan. Our wider roundup of paid and free tools is in dictation apps that tidy up your text.
The free options at a glance
| App | Free with tidy-up, no word limit | Tidy-up on the free plan | Free limit | Where it runs | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infina | Yes: no word limit, no card, no API key | Yes, on by default on Mac; on Windows PCs with 16 GB and 4+ cores | None on voice typing with a key | Your computer, by default | Mac, Windows |
| Wispr Flow | No: weekly word limit | Not stated | Weekly-limit notice at 2,000 words on desktop, blocks new dictations above 5,000 | Online only | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| Superwhisper | No: the tidy-up is paid | AI tidy-up listed under Pro | Unlimited Whisper transcription | Your computer | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| Handy | Partly: the tidy-up is experimental and off by default | Experimental, needs setup | None | Your computer | Mac, Windows, Linux |
| Apple Dictation | Partly: free, light cleanup on newer Macs only | Light: spelling, punctuation and capitals on macOS 27, M3 or newer | None | Your Mac | Mac |
| Windows voice typing | Partly: tidy-up on Copilot+ PCs only, in English | On Copilot+ PCs only, in English | None | Online, needs internet | Windows |
| Granola | Yes, Mac only (beta), needs internet | Yes, since October 29, 2026 | 20 minutes per dictation | Not stated | Mac |
(All checked on each vendor's own site on November 2, 2026.)
1. Infina: free voice typing with a key, tidied up, no word limit
Infina's voice typing with a key has no word limit. On a Mac, hold fn and talk; on Windows, hold Right Alt. Let go, and the text is typed into whatever app you are in: Slack, an email, a doc, a terminal. Your words are tidied up on a Mac, and on Windows PCs with 16 GB of memory and 4+ cores.
On a Mac, the tidy-up is done by Tami 1, Infina's own AI, running on your Mac. It is on by default for everyone, free plan included. It removes filler words and stutters and fixes punctuation and capitals, while keeping your words, names, code casing and the terms in your Dictionary. On Windows, dictations over 100 words, and dictations on smaller PCs, get a basic cleanup instead.
That last part matters if you dictate prompts to Claude Code, Codex or Cursor. You want them tidy, not rewritten. We explain how Tami 1 was built and tested in Infina's Tami 1.
The free plan also includes:
- Voice commands are free, with no limit. Turn on hands-free, no key needed, and say "open Slack", then "send it", back to back. On Windows, start with "open [app]" and "send it". See dictation apps with voice commands. Hands-free typing comes with 2,000 free words, one time, no card required.
- On your computer by default. On a Mac, transcription runs on the Apple Neural Engine, and it works offline once set up.
The honest limits: English on your computer, no phone app, and on Windows Infina needs at least 4 processor cores and 8 GB of memory (below that, dictating needs the Infina Unlimited option).
2. Wispr Flow: online dictation, weekly cap
Wispr Flow is the best-known cleanup app. Its free tier is measured by the week: on desktop, its docs say it shows a weekly-limit notice at 2,000 words and blocks new dictations above 5,000. Pro is $15 per user per month, or $12 per user per month billed annually.
Every dictation goes to its servers, so there is no offline mode, and its free plan does not clearly say whether the tidy-up is included. It does cover iPhone and Android, and 100+ languages.
The two free plans are compared row by row in Wispr Flow free vs Infina free.
3. Superwhisper: free transcription, cleanup on Pro
Superwhisper's free plan lists "Unlimited use of Whisper models" and runs on your computer. The AI that cleans and reshapes text, online and local, is listed under Pro (about $8.49 a month or $84.99 a year), and you can try Pro with 3,000 free words.
So on the free plan you get good raw transcription and do the tidying yourself. More in a free Superwhisper alternative.
4. Handy: free and open source, cleanup if you set it up
Handy is free, open source, fully offline, and runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. It does one job well: speech into the focused text box.
AI post-processing exists but is labelled experimental and needs setup. There are no voice commands. A strong pick if you like to tinker; more work than most people want for cleanup.
5. Apple Dictation and Windows voice typing: free, light cleanup at best
Both are built in and cost nothing.
Apple Dictation runs on your Mac for many languages and adds commas, periods and question marks automatically. On macOS 27 with an M3 or newer Mac and 12 GB of memory or more, it also fixes spelling and capitals, but it cannot open apps. Windows voice typing (Win+H) adds a tidy-up only on Copilot+ PCs, in English; on other PCs it has optional automatic punctuation and nothing more (both checked November 2, 2026).
Fine for a short note. Once you dictate every day, the light cleanup is what sends people looking.
Other free names worth knowing: OpenWhispr, FreeFlow, VoiceInk's open source build, and Granola's free voice typing (Mac only, beta since October 29, 2026, needs internet). Spokenly and FluidVoice also offer some free cleanup on a Mac, with conditions: Spokenly's cleanup, which runs on your Mac, is off until you turn it on, and FluidVoice's is an optional download (600 MB to under 1.5 GB).
The step beyond cleanup: hands-free
Every app above, including Infina's free mode, starts with a key. Infina's hands-free mode does not.
Sit back with lunch and say "type" plus your words, and they are typed, cleaned up. Say "send it" and Enter is pressed. Say "open Claude" and you are in the next app. Then go again. Three spoken words, nothing to configure, and your hands never touch the keyboard.
Unlimited voice commands are free; hands-free typing is the paid part: 2,000 free hands-free words, then $8.25/month billed yearly ($99) for Infina Unlimited, with unlimited hands-free words and a 7-day no-questions refund. See the pricing page.
How to choose
- You want free voice typing that tidies up your words on a Mac or a Windows PC with 16 GB and 4+ cores, with no limit: Infina.
- You dictate mostly on a phone, or in many languages: Wispr Flow's free tier.
- You want raw transcription and will tidy it yourself: Superwhisper's free plan or Apple Dictation.
- You want open source and do not mind setup: Handy.
On Windows specifically, our free dictation app for Windows guide goes further, and Mac users can compare more options in free dictation app for Mac.
FAQ
Is there a free dictation app that tidies up your words? Yes. Infina's voice typing with a key on Mac and Windows has no word limit and needs no card, with your words tidied up on your computer. On a Mac the tidy-up is done by Tami 1, Infina's own AI, on by default. On Windows, the tidy-up needs 16 GB of memory and 4+ cores. Most dictation apps cap free words or charge for the tidy-up: Wispr Flow's free plan shows a weekly-limit notice at 2,000 words and blocks new dictations above 5,000, and Superwhisper keeps the tidy-up for Pro.
Does free dictation with a tidy-up send my voice to a server? Not with Infina. Transcription and the tidy-up run on your computer by default. Apps that only run online, such as Wispr Flow, process every dictation on their servers.
Does Apple Dictation tidy up your words? Only lightly, on newer Macs. On macOS 27 with an M3 or newer Mac and 12 GB of memory or more, Apple Dictation fixes spelling, punctuation and capitals (checked November 2, 2026). Infina gives you a full tidy-up, free, when you hold a key and talk.
Is there a word limit on Infina's free tidy-up? No. Voice typing with a key, tidy-up included, has no word limit. The allowance applies to hands-free alone: 2,000 free hands-free words, one time, then Infina Unlimited at $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99.
Does the free tidy-up work on Windows? Yes. Hold Right Alt to dictate. On Windows, the tidy-up needs 16 GB of memory and 4+ cores. Dictations over 100 words, and dictations on smaller PCs, get a basic cleanup instead. Infina needs Windows 10 or 11 with at least 4 processor cores and 8 GB of memory; below that, dictating needs the Infina Unlimited option.
The bottom line
Free transcription is everywhere. A free tidy-up with no weekly cap is rarer: Wispr Flow shows a weekly-limit notice at 2,000 words and blocks new dictations above 5,000, Superwhisper charges for cleanup, and the free cleanups that do exist mostly come with conditions. With Infina, holding a key and talking is free and unlimited, and your words are tidied up on your computer by default, on Mac and on Windows PCs with 16 GB of memory and 4+ cores.
Download Infina free, hold fn (or Right Alt on Windows), and read back what you said, cleaned up. When you want the keyboard out of the loop entirely, try hands-free typing with 2,000 free words.