Apps

Voice input: CRM

Mark Vesyoly · founder of Potok · ~9 min

Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.

Voice input in CRMs and task trackers like Asana, HubSpot or ClickUp works through a third-party tool: the system itself cannot recognize speech, and you need a program that listens to the microphone and inserts text into the input field. With Potok (potok.now) it is enough to hold Ctrl+Space and release: the text appears in the active CRM field with a response time of about 0.4 seconds.

Neither Asana, nor HubSpot, nor ClickUp can recognize voice by itself: dictation appears in them only through a third-party program or a built-in tool of the operating system. The difference between the services is not in the dictation itself but in where exactly the text is inserted: into a comment, a task card or a deal field.

All articles in this section, in Russian (43): potok.now/prilozheniya/crm

The main questions of the topic and where to find the answer

Prices and terms are taken from the services' official websites.
ServicePlatformsFreePricePayment from RussiaWhere speech is recognized
PotokWindows, macOS, LinuxFree: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card neededPro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearlyRussian bank cards, rublescloud, servers in Russia; internet required
SpeakFlowWindows, Web30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever690 ₽/mo (Personal (unlimited))rubles directlycloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed)
DiktuyWindows, macOS30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever239 ₽/mo (Profi (monthly equivalent when billed yearly)); 2870 ₽/yr (Profi (year, billed in full)); 479 ₽/mo (Max (monthly equivalent when billed yearly))rubles directly (not confirmed)cloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed)
TalkpadmacOS, Windows, Android2500 words/week on desktop, 1500 words/week on mobile, free forever; plus a 14-day Pro trial$6/mo (Pro (billed yearly, $72/yr)); $8/mo (Pro (monthly billing))unknown (not confirmed)cloud (the legal entity is registered in Australia; the website is hosted on Cloudflare; the exact location of the ASR servers is not disclosed in the privacy policy) (not confirmed)

Where a beginner should start

  1. Decide where you type most often in your CRM (in deal cards, task comments or emails) and start trying dictation with that field.
  2. Install a voice input program and give it access to the microphone in the system settings: without the permission, recognition will not start.
  3. Check the activation hotkey: for Potok (potok.now) it is a held Ctrl+Space, and other programs have their own key combinations.
  4. Dictate a couple of sentences into a test field, and not straight into a live deal card. This makes it easier to notice what needs correcting in pronunciation or speech speed.
  5. After a week, compare by hand how many corrections you had to make after dictation. This will make it clear whether it is worth switching to voice input for good.

Where Potok does not fit

Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet, which is critical in a CRM kept in offline mode. Potok also has no voice commands for controlling the interface, such as “otkroy sdelku” (open the deal) or “postav dedlayn” (set a deadline): it only inserts the dictated text into the field where the cursor is, and the rest has to be done by hand.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a separate voice input integration with each CRM?

No: voice input programs usually work at the operating system level: hold the hotkey, dictate, and the text is inserted into the field where the cursor is. No special setup for Asana, HubSpot or any other CRM is required.

Voice input: what to do and what to check?

Voice input. 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 Voice input you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Voice input: how Potok differs from built-in dictation?

Voice input. 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 Voice input you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Voice input: does recognition work without an internet connection?

Voice input. 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 Voice input you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Voice input: how much it costs and what the free plan includes?

Voice input. 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 Voice input 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 Potok

Existing recordings are transcribed by Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: send a file or a YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram or TikTok link and the text arrives in the chat. The Potok subscription removes the limit in the bot too.

Related software: terms compared

Terms are taken from the services' official websites.
ServicePlatformsFreePricePayment from RussiaWhere speech is recognized
PotokWindows, macOS, LinuxFree: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card neededPro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearlyRussian bank cards, rublescloud, servers in Russia; internet required
SpeakFlowWindows, Web30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever690 ₽/mo (Personal (unlimited))rubles directlycloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed)
DiktuyWindows, macOS30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever239 ₽/mo (Profi (monthly equivalent when billed yearly)); 2870 ₽/yr (Profi (year, billed in full)); 479 ₽/mo (Max (monthly equivalent when billed yearly))rubles directly (not confirmed)cloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed)
TalkpadmacOS, Windows, Android2500 words/week on desktop, 1500 words/week on mobile, free forever; plus a 14-day Pro trial$6/mo (Pro (billed yearly, $72/yr)); $8/mo (Pro (monthly billing))unknown (not confirmed)cloud (the legal entity is registered in Australia; the website is hosted on Cloudflare; the exact location of the ASR servers is not disclosed in the privacy policy) (not confirmed)
VoistyWindows, macOS5 minutes of transcription (to judge the quality)$6.7/mo (Pro); $67/yr (Pro (year)); $99/one-time (Lifetime)Visa/Mastercard/Amex cards, PayPal; whether Russian cards are accepted is not stated (not confirmed)device (offline, local models such as Whisper Large V3 Turbo / NVIDIA Parakeet)
WhispeRuWindows7-day free trial (no card)290 ₽/mo (monthly license); 1990 ₽/yr (yearly license); 4990 ₽/one-time (lifetime license)rubles directly (payment via YooKassa)device (offline)
GigaTypeWindows, macOSfree 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 plansdevice (offline, Sber's GigaAM neural network)
MolviWindows, macOSfree 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 fixeddevice (offline; best quality on an NVIDIA GPU, otherwise a fast model on the CPU)

Primary sources: speakflow.ru · speakflow.ru · speakflow.ru · blog.speakflow.ru

Mark Vesyoly — founder of Potok. Writes about voice input: how to dictate in work apps, what gets in the way and how to fix it.
© Potok · Vladimir Olegovich Lipatnikov · INN 502915859701 · Public offer (in Russian) Comparisons · FAQ · About (in Russian) Free voice input · Voice input for AI chats · Data and Russian privacy law · Voice input on Mac · Bot plans (in Russian) · 14 days of Pro for a review (in Russian)