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The polish of the cloud.
The privacy of your desk.

Built-in dictation is private but writes down every “um”. Cloud dictation writes beautifully but sends your voice away. Kudu does the writing on your computer.

KuduBuilt-in dictationCloud dictation apps
Your voice stays on your computer
Partly
—
Works offline
Partly
—
Removes “um”, “uh” and repeats
—
Applies “no wait” corrections
—
Formats for the app you’re in
—
Learns your names and terms
Partly
Rewrite selected text by voice
—
Partly
Account required
None
None
Usually
Price
Free
Included
Usually a subscription
Source code
Open (MIT)
Closed
Closed

“Built-in” is the dictation that comes with your operating system; “cloud” is apps that transcribe on a server. Features vary by product and version.

Head to head

Say it messy

Pause, restart, change your mind. Kudu writes the version you meant, not the one you said.

Keep it private

Meetings, medical notes, legal drafts: dictate anything without wondering where it went.

Pay nothing

No trial, no tiers, no seat licences. It’s free because it runs on hardware you already own.