Dictation is now free forever: the 2.1 update

This is the largest update in the product's history, and the shortest honest summary is one sentence: dictation became free forever, and only the AI assistant is paid. Below is what changed and why I did it. The obvious conflict of interest first: I built the app, and this text touches its prices. Read accordingly.

What is free now

Voice typing, whole and entire: 25 languages, punctuation where it belongs, working in any Windows window — from Word to a search box. No word cap, no "15 minutes left this month", no account. And — this one matters to me personally — no reminders inside your text. Older versions of the free mode would occasionally append a purchase note right into what you dictated. It was an honest attempt to stay visible and a dishonest way to treat someone else's document. In 2.1 it is gone for good: your text is yours alone.

The recognition model still runs locally. Your voice does not leave the machine — pull the network cable and check.

What is paid, and why there

One thing remains paid — the AI assistant. That is the part where you select text and say what to do with it: "translate to English", "cut it in half", "format as a business letter", "explain in simple words". Plus the offline chat that can read its answers aloud, and AI clean-up of dictation — raw speech turned into tidy prose.

Why draw the line there? Because dictation is input — a basic capability, like a keyboard. Charging monthly for a keyboard always felt wrong to me. The assistant is a large language model working on your hardware, the thing this product was built to sell. The free week starts the moment you switch the assistant on in the settings — not at install. Your seven days do not burn while the model downloads.

Prices after the trial: €12 a month, €99 a year, or €199 once and forever. Everything local, no account; cancelling takes two clicks.

Don't buy the assistant if…

…all you need is dictation. Seriously. The free tier is not a shop window and not a demo: it is complete, unlimited voice typing, and if your workflow is "dictate the letter, fix it by hand", there is nothing here you should pay for. The assistant earns its money when you regularly edit, translate or rewrite text — and want to do it by voice without sending your documents to a cloud.

And the reverse holds: if the text you work with belongs to clients or an employer, a local assistant pays for itself not in speed but in the contract never leaving your machine.

FAQ

Will my installed copy update by itself?

Yes — within a minute or two of launching, the app picks up 2.1 and restarts. Nothing to click.

I have a subscription at the old price — what changes?

Nothing: existing subscriptions keep their terms. The new price applies to new purchases only.

What happens when the free week ends?

The app returns to the free tier by itself: dictation keeps working as if nothing happened, the assistant waits for a licence.