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HoldToType vs Dragon Professional
Dragon is the professional's dictation program: decades old, offline, expensive, and able to run the whole PC by voice. HoldToType is free and offline too, and it stops at typing what you say. Here is where each one is worth its price.
Updated · Vitalii Yemets
Who each one is for
Dragon suits you if
you dictate long documents all day in one of its six languages, you want to control Windows and Office by voice with commands and macros, your employer pays for the licence, and you value a product with a company and support behind it.
HoldToType suits you if
you want offline dictation without paying about $700, you write in a language Dragon does not sell, you want to choose the speech model, or you like to read the code of what listens to your microphone.
Side by side
Free
About $700 once, per computer
None
A licence key and activation
Yes
Yes
Nowhere
Stays on the computer
Windows 10 and 11
Windows 10 and 11
99 with Whisper; narrow models for 25 European languages and Russian
Six: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch
Nine open models to choose from, or your own
Nuance's own engine
Yes, with Nemotron 3.5
Yes
No
Yes: commands, macros, Office
Yes
Yes
Text commands
Text and application commands
A local model with your prompts
Built-in formatting and auto-text
Into 7 languages
No
No
Yes, folders of audio files
MIT
No
Yes, a folder
No
Dragon details from dragon.nuance.com and resellers' listings, read on 9 September 2026; prices vary by reseller.
What you give up when you switch
- Voice control. Dragon opens programs, clicks, formats and runs macros by voice. HoldToType types and nothing else.
- Long dictation. Dragon is built for pages at a time, with correction by voice. HoldToType is built for a sentence or a paragraph, then release.
- Transcribing recordings. Dragon turns audio files into text; HoldToType only listens live.
- Support and a manual. A company answers Dragon's phone. HoldToType has one developer and a GitHub issues page.
What you get
- The price. Nothing, forever, against about $700 for one computer.
- Languages. Six in Dragon; 99 with Whisper here, with faster narrow models for 25 European languages and for Russian, Ukrainian and Polish among them.
- A choice of model. Dragon has one engine. HoldToType lets you pick from nine and add your own.
- Open code. You can read what listens to the microphone and build the exe yourself.
- Translation into seven languages, and live text with Nemotron 3.5.
- No activation, no licence key, no computer limit. Copy the folder to as many machines as you like.
How to move from Dragon to HoldToType
- Install from the download section; the wizard downloads a speech model for your language.
- Dragon listens continuously; HoldToType listens while you hold Ctrl+Win. Try a few sentences to get the rhythm, then change the keys under Shortcuts if you want.
- Move your vocabulary: open Dragon's vocabulary editor, then type your names and terms into the dictionary. Text commands become replacements or voice commands.
- For punctuation and tone, turn on post-processing with the built-in prompts.
- Keep Dragon for voice control if you need it; the two do not conflict, and your licence stays yours.
Questions
Is HoldToType as accurate as Dragon?
On everyday speech with a good microphone the open models are close to Dragon's 99% claim. Dragon still wins after weeks of training on your voice and on long formal dictation; HoldToType wins on names you put in the dictionary and on languages Dragon does not have.
Can HoldToType control Windows by voice?
No. It types what you say at the caret and takes text commands such as new line. For control by voice, Windows 11 has Voice Access, free.
Does either one need the internet?
No. Both run on the computer. HoldToType goes online only to download a model or check for updates, when you press the button.
What about Dragon on the phone?
Dragon Anywhere is a separate subscription for iPhone and Android and works through Nuance's cloud. HoldToType has no phone version at all; it is a Windows program and nothing else.
Can I try Dragon before paying?
Nuance sells Dragon Professional without a free trial on its own store; resellers sometimes offer one. HoldToType is free, so trying it costs a download and a minute.
Try it before you pay for Dragon
Free to install and to keep. If Dragon's voice control is what you need, you will know within a day; if dictation is, you already have it.