Linux Dictation Software: 14 Tools That Actually Run (2026)
Most "best dictation software" lists are written for Windows and Mac, then have Linux bolted on by someone who has never run it. This one is the other way round: every tool below ships a real Linux build, and the column that matters most is whether it works under Wayland, because that is where the majority of them quietly fall over.
We make one of these tools, so weigh the recommendations accordingly. We have tried to earn the read by being specific about where the others are better, and there are several readers below who should not pick ours.
TL;DR
- Want it to just work, no setup → Vibe Typer. One AppImage, native Wayland and X11, cloud-based.
- Want offline and easy → Vocalinux. One-command install, handles X11 and Wayland, whisper.cpp.
- Want offline, MIT-licensed, cross-platform → Handy. Local Whisper and Parakeet. Wayland needs help.
- Want hands-free control of the machine, not just typing → Talon. Note: X11 only on Linux.
- Want maximum control and enjoy assembling it → nerd-dictation.
- On Wayland and short on patience → Vibe Typer, Vocalinux or VOXD. Everything else needs work.
Why Linux dictation is harder than it should be
Dictation has two halves: turning speech into text, and getting that text into the app you are looking at. The first half is solved: Whisper made good transcription free. The second half is where Linux tools break.
On X11, any process can synthesise keystrokes into any window. That is what xdotool does, and it is why nearly every Linux dictation tool built before about 2022 assumed X11 and worked fine.
Wayland deliberately removed that. A Wayland client cannot inject input into another client; that was the entire point of the security model. So tools built on xdotool or XTestFakeKeyEvent do not degrade gracefully; they do nothing at all, usually without an error message. The workarounds are ydotool (needs a uinput daemon and often a reboot), dotool, or wtype (which does not work on GNOME, since GNOME does not implement the virtual-keyboard protocol).
That is why the honest column below is "Wayland," not "Linux." Ubuntu has defaulted to Wayland since 22.04 and Fedora since 25. If a tool advertises "Linux support" and means X11, a distro upgrade can silently break your dictation.
We wrote up how to test any tool for this in about five minutes: voice typing on Wayland, and why most tools break.
The comparison
| Tool | Wayland | X11 | Offline | Install | Licence | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vibe Typer | Native | Native | No | AppImage | Proprietary | Free tier, $8/mo |
| Vocalinux | Yes | Yes | Yes | One-line script | GPL-3.0 | Free |
| VOXD | Yes (via ydotool) | Yes | Yes | .deb / .rpm / .pkg | MIT | Free |
| Handy | Partial | Yes | Yes | AppImage | MIT | Free |
| nerd-dictation | Partial | Yes | Yes | pip + git + model | GPL-3.0 | Free |
| Talon | No | Yes | Yes | Installer / zip | Proprietary + Patreon | Free |
| OpenWhispr | Partial | Yes | Yes | Electron app | Open source | Free |
| Whispering | Partial | Yes | Yes | Desktop app | Open source | Free |
| Speech Note | Standalone | Standalone | Yes | Flatpak | Open source | Free |
| whisper.cpp | CLI only | CLI only | Yes | Build from source | MIT | Free |
| Blahst | Partial | Yes | Yes | Script | Open source | Free |
| Numen | Yes | n/a | Yes | Source | Open source | Free |
| VoiceKey | Partial | Yes | No | .deb | Proprietary | Paid |
| Browser dictation | n/a | n/a | No | None | n/a | Free |
"Standalone" means it transcribes into its own window rather than typing into whatever app you are using. "Partial" means it works but needs a helper (ydotool, dotool, wtype) and may misbehave on some compositors.
The tools
Vibe Typer
Ours. One portable AppImage: no repository, no dependencies, no models to download:
chmod +x VibeTyper.AppImage
./VibeTyper.AppImage
The reason it sits at the top of that table is the Wayland column. It implements the Wayland and X11 paths natively rather than shelling out to xdotool, picks the right one for your session, and migrates your settings across if you switch. That is unusual, and it is the most common reason people arrive here after something else stopped working.
Press a hotkey, talk, and text lands where your cursor is: terminals, editors, browsers, chat, email. Magic Formatter strips the ums, false starts and self-corrections on the way through rather than transcribing them faithfully. Select any text and say "make this shorter" to rewrite it in place. 99 languages with automatic detection and no per-language downloads.
The catch, stated plainly: it is cloud-based. Transcription runs on Groq with Cloudflare Workers AI as a fallback, and there is no local model. Audio is processed in memory and discarded, the backend keeps no server-side transcript cache at all, and nothing trains on your voice. But it needs a network connection, and "processed then discarded" is a different promise from "never leaves your machine." If you need the second one, take Vocalinux or Handy. Genuinely.
Free plan is 2,000 words and 20 AI operations a month, no card. Pro is $8/month billed annually, $10 month-to-month.
Best for: people who want dictation working in every app on day one and do not want to maintain it.
Vocalinux
The most polished offline option, and the only tool here built for Linux first rather than ported to it. One command, and the installer detects your hardware:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --interactive
Tested on Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 11+, Fedora 39+, Arch, openSUSE Tumbleweed, Manjaro and EndeavourOS. Works on both X11 and Wayland, which puts it in a very short list. Defaults to whisper.cpp with Vulkan for multi-vendor GPU support, and can also use Whisper, VOSK, or a remote API you control. No cloud, no telemetry, no account. GPL-3.0, no premium tier.
Best for: the offline-first reader who wants it to work without it becoming a project. If Vibe Typer's cloud dependency is what rules us out for you, start here.
VOXD
Local dictation that types straight into whatever window has focus, shipped as real distro packages rather than a script:
# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo dpkg -i voxd_*.deb
# Fedora
sudo rpm -i voxd-*.rpm
# Arch
sudo pacman -U voxd-*.pkg.tar.zst
whisper.cpp underneath with GGML models from 75MB to 2.9GB, 99+ languages, no GPU required. The author reports testing on Arch/Hyprland, Omarchy 3.0, Ubuntu 24.04 and 25.04, Fedora 42, Pop!_OS 22, Mint 22 and openSUSE Leap 15.6. Optional AI post-processing through llama.cpp or Ollama locally, or a cloud provider if you want one. MIT.
Wayland works but needs ydotool and a reboot; the setup script handles that for you.
Best for: tiling-WM users, and anyone who would rather have a real package than an AppImage.
Handy
The friendliest way into local Whisper. AppImage for Linux plus macOS and Windows builds, MIT licensed, actively developed.
Two model families: Whisper (Small through Large, GPU-accelerated where available) and Parakeet V3, which is CPU-optimised, auto-detects language, and runs around 5× real-time on mid-range hardware. That second option is the interesting one: it means usable offline dictation on a laptop with no discrete GPU.
Wayland is the weak spot. You will need wtype or dotool, you have to bind the hotkey in your desktop environment rather than in Handy, and the project's own documentation warns that some compositors treat Handy's overlay as the active window, which can land the pasted text in the wrong place.
Best for: offline dictation on X11, or on Wayland if you are willing to do the configuration.
nerd-dictation
The one everyone names first in Linux dictation threads, and still the most hackable. VOSK-backed, entirely offline, no daemon, and scriptable to a degree nothing else here matches: you can rewrite the output in Python before it is typed.
pip3 install vosk
git clone https://github.com/ideasman42/nerd-dictation.git
cd nerd-dictation
wget https://alphacephei.com/kaldi/models/vosk-model-small-en-us-0.15.zip
unzip vosk-model-small-en-us-0.15.zip && mv vosk-model-small-en-us-0.15 model
Needs Python 3.6+, an audio utility (parec, sox or pw-cat) and an input simulator. That last choice is the Wayland question: xdotool is the default and X11-only, while ydotool, dotool and wtype cover Wayland with the usual caveats.
Be honest with yourself about the trade. VOSK's small models are noticeably behind Whisper on accents and background noise, and there is no AI cleanup, so you get a faithful transcript, ums included. What you get back is total control and no dependency on anyone else's service. GPL-3.0.
Best for: people who want to own their stack and enjoy configuring it. Full breakdown of the trade in nerd-dictation vs Vibe Typer.
Talon Voice
The only tool here that does what Dragon does. Not just dictation: full voice control, noise control (clicking with a hiss or a pop), eye tracking for cursor position, and a Python-scriptable command grammar. The community command sets for editors and IDEs are mature and genuinely impressive.
Important caveat: Talon's Linux support is X11 only. If you are on Wayland this is not currently your tool, and it is the most-requested thing in its community.
Free, with an optional Patreon for early access and priority support. Steep learning curve: you are learning a command language, not installing an app.
Best for: hands-free computing. If RSI, injury or a mobility impairment means the keyboard itself is the problem, this is the serious answer and dictation-only tools are not a substitute.
OpenWhispr
An Electron desktop app that treats Linux as a first-class target, running Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet entirely on your machine with no internet required. Open source, 99+ languages, system-wide hotkey.
Best for: people who want a polished app experience with local processing, and don't mind an Electron footprint.
Whispering
Open source, local Whisper, cross-platform, with one of the more approachable interfaces in the category. A reasonable next stop if Handy does not suit you.
Speech Note
flatpak install flathub net.mkiol.SpeechNote
Fully offline speech-to-text, text-to-speech and machine translation, with strong multilingual coverage: Catalan, Czech, German, Danish, Spanish, Persian, French, Icelandic, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Tamil and Ukrainian among others. Optional GPU add-ons for AMD and NVIDIA.
One thing to be clear about: it is a standalone notes app, not a system-wide typing tool. You dictate into Speech Note and copy the text out. If the goal was to talk into Slack, this is the wrong shape.
Best for: offline transcription work and multilingual note-taking.
whisper.cpp
Not a dictation app, but a fast C++ inference engine for Whisper models, and the foundation several tools above are built on. If you are here to assemble something yourself, start here and expect to write your own hotkey handling, audio capture and text injection. MIT. We walk the whole pipeline in Whisper dictation on Linux.
Blahst, Numen, VoiceKey
Three smaller projects worth knowing about. Blahst sits on top of whisper.cpp to give you speech input in any field. Numen is voice control rather than dictation, designed for Wayland from the start, a lighter-weight answer to the problem Talon solves on X11. VoiceKey (formerly VoiceHotKey) is a paid .deb for Ubuntu, Debian and Mint.
Browser dictation
Chrome and Google Docs have had voice typing for years and it costs nothing. It also only works in a Chrome tab: not your terminal, not your editor, not Slack desktop, not your email client. Fine for a one-off long document. Not a workflow.
Who should choose what
"I want to stop typing so much and I don't want a project." Vibe Typer. Free tier, one file, works on both display protocols on day one.
"My audio must never leave this machine." Vocalinux if you want it to just work, Handy if you want MIT-licensed and cross-platform, nerd-dictation if you want to own every part of it. Not Vibe Typer, since it is cloud-based, and that is disqualifying for you.
"I'm on Wayland and tired of things silently not working."
Vibe Typer, Vocalinux or VOXD. Those three handle it without you assembling a ydotool setup first.
"I can't use a keyboard." Talon if you are on X11, Numen if you are on Wayland. Dictation-only tools do not solve this problem, ours included.
"I write in several languages." Vibe Typer (99 languages, automatic detection, no downloads) or Speech Note offline. Most VOSK-based tools need a separate model per language.
"I mostly dictate prompts to coding assistants." Any of them will type into a terminal, but see Claude Code, Cursor, OpenCode and dictating over SSH, because remote sessions are where most setups fall down.
"I'm on a specific distro." Ubuntu and Linux Mint have their own guides.
The tools that don't run on Linux at all
Worth recording, because most "best dictation app" roundups list these without mentioning the platform gap. Checked against the platform support each vendor publishes:
| Tool | Platforms the vendor lists | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wispr Flow | macOS, Windows, iPhone, Android, Chrome | wisprflow.ai |
| Superwhisper | macOS, Windows, iOS (Linux request pending) | superwhisper.com |
| Aqua Voice | macOS, Windows | aquavoice.com |
| Dragon Professional | Windows only; Wine and VMs explicitly unsupported | dragon.nuance.com |
| TypeWhisper | macOS and Windows stable; iOS alpha | typewhisper.com |
| Soniox Voice Typing | macOS, Windows, iOS, Android | soniox.com |
| SpeechPulse | Windows, macOS (Apple silicon) | speechpulse.com |
| PulseScribe | macOS, Windows; Linux on roadmap | pulsescribe.me |
| Talkativ | Windows | talkativ.app |
| DictaType | Windows | dictatype.com |
| Spokenly | macOS, iOS | spokenly.app |
| BetterDictation | macOS | betterdictation.com |
| Whispur | macOS | whispur.app |
| EdgeWhisper | macOS (Apple silicon) | edgewhisper.com |
| VoiceInk | macOS 14.4+ | VoiceInk |
Migrating from one of these? Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, Dragon and TypeWhisper have dedicated guides.
Installing Vibe Typer
- Download the AppImage from the downloads page.
chmod +x VibeTyper.AppImage- Run it and grant microphone access.
- Set a global hotkey.
- Click into any app and talk.
If a particular terminal handles inserted text oddly, see text insertion and paste preferences. Full overview at voice typing for Linux.
FAQ
What is the best dictation software for Linux?
For most people it is between Vibe Typer (no setup, works on Wayland and X11 immediately, cloud-based) and Vocalinux (offline, one-command install, also handles both display protocols). If you need hands-free control of the machine rather than just typing, Talon, but only on X11.
Is there free dictation software for Linux?
Yes, and several are genuinely good. Vocalinux, VOXD, Handy, nerd-dictation, Whispering and Speech Note are all free and open source. Vibe Typer has a free tier of 2,000 words a month.
What Linux dictation software works on Wayland?
Vibe Typer, Vocalinux and VOXD work on Wayland without extra assembly. Handy, nerd-dictation, OpenWhispr and Whispering can work with ydotool, dotool or wtype, with caveats depending on your compositor. Talon is X11 only.
Can I dictate on Linux without an internet connection?
Yes. Vocalinux, VOXD, Handy, nerd-dictation, Speech Note, OpenWhispr, Whispering and Talon all run locally. Vibe Typer does not; it is cloud-based.
Does dictation work in the terminal on Linux?
With a system-wide tool, yes: text goes wherever your cursor is, including terminals and editors. Browser-based dictation cannot do this. For remote work see dictating over SSH.
Which is more accurate, Whisper or VOSK?
Whisper, clearly, especially on accents and background noise. VOSK's advantage is that it is lightweight and runs comfortably on modest hardware. Most current tools have moved to Whisper or whisper.cpp; nerd-dictation is the main VOSK holdout.
What is the best dictation software for Ubuntu?
The same shortlist applies, but Ubuntu has defaulted to Wayland since 22.04, so that column matters more than usual. Details in the Ubuntu guide.
Try Vibe Typer free
Voice typing that works in every app on Linux, Windows, and macOS. Free to download: 2,000 words a month, no card.
