Does Microsoft Dictate process my voice in the cloud?

Yes. Microsoft's own support page says "your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft" for recognition, and lists "a reliable internet connection" as a requirement — Dictate does not work offline. The same page states the Dictate service "does not store your audio data or transcribed text"; Microsoft's broader privacy statement, however, describes using voice data to "develop and improve speech recognition accuracy," so read its current terms for the full picture. Blabb runs speech recognition and AI cleanup entirely on your PC; no audio or transcript is uploaded. Blabb does contact one server, for the licence check — a verified subscription keeps dictating for 30 days without reaching it.

Can Microsoft Dictate type into apps other than Word, Outlook, or PowerPoint?

No — Dictate is a feature inside the Office apps (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote), not a system-wide dictation tool. It can't type into a browser field, a terminal, a ticketing app, a desktop EHR, or a locked-down RDP/Citrix/VDI session. Blabb types at the cursor in whatever Windows app has focus, using one of four input methods you set globally or per app — so it works even where clipboard paste is blocked (not into elevated/admin windows, which Windows itself walls off).

How do the prices compare?

Microsoft Dictate is included with a Microsoft 365 subscription — Microsoft 365 Personal is about $9.99/month or $99.99/year on its own pricing page, so if you already subscribe, Dictate costs nothing extra. Blabb Free gives you 2,000 words a day, forever, with no card and no subscription of any kind; Unlimited dictation is USD $4.99/month, USD $49.99/year, or USD $99 once for a lifetime licence, with a 14-day free trial on subscriptions. If you already own M365, Dictate is the cheaper path; if you don't, Blabb's standalone price is lower.

Blabb vs Microsoft Dictate
On your PC, not just in Word

Microsoft Dictate is the button already sitting in Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote — included with a Microsoft 365 subscription, on Windows, Mac, the web, and your phone. It's genuinely convenient if you live in Office, and its in-document voice commands are deep. Two things are worth knowing: Microsoft's own page says your speech "will be sent to Microsoft" for cloud recognition (the service says it doesn't store it), and Dictate only works inside Office apps. Blabb runs on your PC and types into any app. As of August 2026 — check Microsoft's current support and privacy pages before deciding.

Microsoft Dictate

INCL. M365

Blabb

ONE COFFEE / MONTH

Where your audio goes

Microsoft's cloud — its page says speech "will be sent to Microsoft" and the service doesn't store audio/transcripts; Microsoft's broader privacy statement describes using voice data to improve speech recognition

✓This PC — audio and transcripts are never uploaded

Types into

Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote — Office apps only

✓Any Windows app with a text cursor

Offline

No — Microsoft lists "a reliable internet connection" as a requirement

✓Dictation runs on-device; the subscription re-checks online at least every 30 days‡

AI cleanup (fillers, grammar)

Auto-punctuation (some languages) and a "filter sensitive phrases" mask; no filler removal or grammar rewriting

✓Removes fillers, fixes grammar, converts spoken numbers to digits

Spoken formatting

✓Voice commands for punctuation, bold/italic/underline, lists, and editing — rich, inside Word

✓Layout, lists, punctuation, and symbols by voice — "new line", "bullet point", "question mark", "at sign"

Specialist vocabulary

Not a documented feature

Medical (48,133 terms) and Legal (13,004 terms) vocabulary plans — on-device, USD $9.99/mo each, not included with standard Blabb

Locked-down RDP, Citrix, VDI

An in-Office feature that needs M365 sign-in and the cloud — not built for typing into arbitrary remote windows

✓Types straight in†

Price

Included with Microsoft 365 (Personal ~$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr) — or already yours if you subscribe

Blabb Free: 2,000 words a day, no card. Unlimited: USD $4.99/mo, USD $49.99/yr, or $99 once — 14-day free trial

Self-correction while talking

✓"Delete that", "delete last N words", and "undo" voice commands

✓Spoken retractions ("scratch that", "make that", "correction") and self-corrections drop the false start automatically

Platforms

✓Windows, Mac, web, iPhone, Android — wherever Office runs, in 20+ fully supported languages

✕Windows 11 (x64) only — and deeply

History

Not documented as a dictation-history feature

✓Encrypted local history — your original words beside the final text, copy or delete any entry

Sign-in

A Microsoft 365 subscription and a Microsoft account

A Polar checkout and a licence key you paste into Settings

† NOT INTO ELEVATED/ADMIN WINDOWS — A WINDOWS LIMIT, NOT BLABB'S. ‡ AN ALREADY-VERIFIED SUBSCRIPTION KEEPS DICTATING FOR 30 DAYS WITHOUT REACHING THE LICENCE SERVER. FEATURE AND PRICING CLAIMS FOR MICROSOFT DICTATE SOURCED FROM MICROSOFT'S OWN SUPPORT AND PRIVACY PAGES, AUGUST 2026 — VERIFY CURRENT DETAILS BEFORE DECIDING.

01The honest read

In any app. On your PC.

Use Microsoft Dictate if…

You already have a Microsoft 365 subscription and you dictate mostly inside Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, or OneNote — Dictate is already sitting there, no install. It covers 20+ languages, runs on Mac, web, and phone as well as Windows, and its in-document voice commands (bold, italic, lists, comments, "delete last N words") are genuinely deep. Its "filter sensitive phrases" option even masks likely-sensitive text with asterisks. If Office is your whole writing life and your content can transit Microsoft's cloud, it's a strong, free-to-you choice.

Choose Blabb if…

Your words can't leave your machine — NDA work, client data, health information — or you dictate into anything other than Office: a terminal, a browser field, a ticketing tool, a desktop EHR. Blabb types at your cursor wherever it is, runs offline on your PC, and its AI cleanup removes fillers, fixes grammar, and converts "twenty three" to "23" rather than just punctuating. Work in medicine or law? The Medical (48,133 terms) and Legal (13,004 terms) vocabulary plans run on-device. And in a locked-down Citrix/RDP/VDI session, Blabb types where an in-Office, cloud-bound feature can't reach.

On price and privacy

Dictate is included with Microsoft 365 (Personal ~$9.99/month or $99.99/year) — already yours if you subscribe. Blabb is USD $4.99/month (or $99 once) with a 2,000-words-a-day free tier that needs no subscription at all. The bigger gap is architectural: Microsoft sends your speech to its cloud for recognition (the service says it doesn't store audio/transcripts; Microsoft's broader privacy statement describes using voice data to improve speech recognition), while Blabb keeps recognition and cleanup on your PC and sends nothing but the licence check. Bundled-and-cloud versus standalone-and-on-device.

Talk into any app. Not just Office. On your PC.

Free tier, 2,000 words a day. Models included in the download.

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FREE TIER 2,000 WORDS/DAY · 14-DAY UNLIMITED TRIAL IN-APP · CANCEL ANY TIME