Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
People look for GigaType alternatives mainly because its price and free plan are not published anywhere, neither on the website nor in open sources. One option is Potok (potok.now): recognition on servers in Russia, payment by a Russian bank card in rubles, a free limit of 2500 words per week, numbers you can check in advance rather than after installing.
GigaType recognizes speech entirely on the device, on Sber's GigaAM neural network trained specifically for Russian, a strong claim for those looking for an offline option for Russian speech in particular. But then the uncertainty begins: neither the price, nor the terms of free use, nor how to pay for the program from Russia are stated on the developer's website. At this point some people search for “gigatype alternatives” to find a program with similar strengths but a clear price up front.
Why people look for GigaType alternatives
The main reason is the complete lack of open information about the price. GigaType's website has neither a free plan, nor paid plans, nor data on whether the program can be paid for with a Russian bank card directly. In the voice input market, where most competitors show the price on the first screen of the website, such secrecy is unusual and in itself a reason to look for a more transparent option.
The second reason is an unknown legal entity. Who the developer is, whom you sign a contract with when paying, where to turn for support: this information is not in open sources. For one-off personal use this is not critical, but for a long-term decision it is worth knowing whom you are dealing with.
The third reason is not about a shortcoming but about a benchmark: GigaType's recognition itself is offline, on a neural network made specifically for Russian rather than adapted to it later. This is a rare case on the market of local programs, and some users look for something equally tuned for Russian speech but with an open price and clear payment at first glance at the website.
| Service | Platforms | Free | Price | Payment from Russia | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed | Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly | Russian bank cards, rubles | cloud, servers in Russia; internet required |
| GigaType | Windows, macOS | free with no limits: open source under the MIT license (Copyright (c) 2026 Disrupt Builders), all features are available without payment | — | not needed: there are no paid plans | device (offline, Sber's GigaAM neural network) |
| Molvi | Windows, macOS | free forever, no accounts and no payment | — | not needed: the product is free; voluntary donations are accepted via Telegram Tribute or by card on the website, amounts are not fixed | device (offline; best quality on an NVIDIA GPU, otherwise a fast model on the CPU) |
| Win+H (Windows voice typing) | Windows | free, built into Windows 10 and Windows 11 | — | not disclosed | cloud (Azure Speech services, Microsoft) — an internet connection is required |
| SpeakFlow | Windows, Web | 30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever | 690 ₽/mo (Personal (unlimited)) | rubles directly | cloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed) |
| Wispr Flow | macOS, Windows, iOS, Android | 2000 words/week on desktop, 1000 words/week on mobile | $15/mo (Pro, monthly payment); $12/mo (Pro, when paid for a year ($144/year)) | there is no standard payment with a Russian card: on Windows/Mac/web payment is only in USD; per earlier data, from Russia it is actually possible to pay through an iOS subscription in the App Store, but the exact amount in rubles is not verified (not confirmed) | cloud (the data center country is not publicly disclosed) (not confirmed) |
| MacWhisper | macOS | A free version is available ("Free forever", limited functionality), Pro is paid | €64/one-time (Pro, one-time purchase through Gumroad, lifetime updates); $29.99/yr (Pro, App Store version ("Whisper Transcription"), subscription); $99.99/one-time (Pro, App Store version, one-time purchase) | not disclosed | on the device (offline) by default, with local Whisper models; there are optional cloud transcription providers, but not as the main mode |
| Aqua Voice | macOS, Windows, iOS | Starter: 1000 free words (Avalon model), no card required | $8/mo (Pro, billed yearly); $10/mo (Pro, monthly); $24/mo (Max, billed yearly) | unknown: the website shows payment in USD, and there is a separate purchase through the iOS App Store; acceptance of Russian cards is not confirmed (not confirmed) | cloud (own Avalon model; the country of the data center is not publicly disclosed) (not confirmed) |
| Dragon NaturallySpeaking | Windows | not disclosed | $699.99/one-time (Dragon Professional Individual v16, perpetual licence) | not disclosed | device (offline) — local acoustic engine (~8 GB neural network) after installation; internet is only needed to activate the licence |
| Lispr | Windows, macOS | 60 minutes of dictation per week for free; the key features (push-to-talk, translation, dictionary, local history) always stay free, without an account | $7.99/mo (Pro, monthly); $79/yr (Pro, yearly (from $44.90 with regional discounts)) | unknown (not confirmed) | cloud (USA; recognition is done by Groq, Inc.) |
| Glas (LidFly) | Windows, macOS | 0 ₽ — 2000 words per week free for life, no card and no email sign-up; the first 2 weeks have no word limit | — | rubles directly: payment via SBP; invoices for companies and sole proprietors | cloud (Russia) — the site says “Russian servers, works without a VPN” |
What to check in a replacement
- Whether the price and free plan are stated right on the program's website, not only after installation or contacting support; at the time of checking, GigaType states neither.
- Whether recognition runs on the device or goes to a server: for GigaType it is offline, but alternatives may differ, and this determines whether you need the internet for dictation at all.
- Whether a separate model for Russian is stated, or Russian comes as part of general multilingual recognition together with dozens of other languages without special tuning.
- Which platforms the program runs on: desktop only or the phone too, and whether this matches your set of devices.
- Whether the developer's legal entity and a way to pay directly from Russia without workarounds are stated; if this information is missing, as with GigaType, clarify it before paying, not after.
- Whether there is a trial and whether you can use it to judge the recognition quality of your own phrases rather than advertising examples from the developer's website.
- Whether there is a personal dictionary for names, brands and professional terms: without it, specialized vocabulary will have to be corrected by hand every time.
- How quickly the text appears in the field after you release the key: on long dictation the difference adds up over a day, and with offline programs it also depends on the power of the computer itself.
- Whether the program needs a modern graphics card for comfortable speed if recognition runs on the device: a weak laptop may cope noticeably more slowly than the website claims.
Check the first point before the others: if the price and terms are not published anywhere, further comparison on the other points may be premature. A similar review of an offline program is in the article Molvi voice input.
| Service | Platforms | Free | Price | Payment from Russia | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed | Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly | Russian bank cards, rubles | cloud, servers in Russia; internet required |
| GigaType | Windows, macOS | free with no limits: open source under the MIT license (Copyright (c) 2026 Disrupt Builders), all features are available without payment | — | not needed: there are no paid plans | device (offline, Sber's GigaAM neural network) |
| Molvi | Windows, macOS | free forever, no accounts and no payment | — | not needed: the product is free; voluntary donations are accepted via Telegram Tribute or by card on the website, amounts are not fixed | device (offline; best quality on an NVIDIA GPU, otherwise a fast model on the CPU) |
Where Potok will not replace GigaType
Potok will not replace GigaType where full offline operation is essential: GigaType recognizes speech on the device, while Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work at all without the internet. If the task is not to send sound anywhere outside the computer, GigaType is closer to the goal in this respect.
The second difference is that openness of terms cuts both ways unevenly: with Potok, the price, the free limit and the payment method are visible right on the website, and recognition quality is backed by its own test with the caveat that it is an internal measurement, not an independent check. With GigaType it is the opposite: the terms are closed, but the model for Russian is a specialized development rather than a general-purpose one. A similar competitor review is in the article GigaType or Potok.
Frequently asked questions
The developer's website does not publish the price, the free plan or the payment terms, and you cannot find them out in advance from open sources. Ask the developer directly before installing if this matters to you.
Yes, recognition runs right on the device, on Sber's GigaAM neural network trained specifically for Russian. The sound is not sent anywhere over the network.
GigaType alternatives. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For GigaType alternatives you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
GigaType alternatives. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For GigaType alternatives you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
GigaType alternatives. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For GigaType alternatives you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
GigaType alternatives. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For GigaType alternatives you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Check it in one evening
Install Potok, dictate what you usually type and compare. 14 days of full access, no card needed. Potok is a cloud service, so it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokOne subscription, two tools: dictation in any program on your computer and @potok_now_bot in Telegram, which transcribes voice messages, audio and video.
Primary sources: gigatype.app · support.microsoft.com