Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
Lynote is a web service for transcribing recordings and notes with AI: it transcribes audio, video and YouTube videos, and does not replace the keyboard with real-time dictation. Besides transcription it has an AI Detector and a Humanizer for working with text. Potok (potok.now) solves a different task, voice input with a hotkey straight into the active field, with a free limit of 2500 words per week.
Lynote is not a program for dictating text in real time but a web service for transcribing existing recordings: you upload audio, video or a YouTube link and get text. The website separately has an AI Detector, which checks text for signs of AI generation, and a Humanizer, which rewrites such text in more natural language. Everything works through a browser, and no installation is needed.
How Lynote works
Lynote's mechanism is transcription after the fact, not typing as you speak. The user uploads a finished file or a link (an audio recording, a video, a YouTube video), the service processes it in the cloud and returns a text transcript. This is a different process from dictation: there the text appears at once while you speak, here only after the recording has been made and uploaded.
The website states separately that content is processed on the service's servers and is not used for training models. This is a wording about data privacy, not about where the servers physically stand or in which country.
Besides transcription, Lynote has two tools with a different purpose: the AI Detector checks text for signs that it was written by AI, and the Humanizer rewrites such text so that it reads more naturally. Both functions work with finished text, not with voice, and are not directly related to the task of typing text by speech.
Support for more than a hundred languages is claimed, but the website says nothing separately about Russian, neither a confirmation nor an exclusion from the list. The pricing page also gives no exact limits on transcription for the free plan; only the limits for the Humanizer and the AI Detector are known.
| Lynote | Potok | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Lynote: Web (browser, all operating systems) | Potok: Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Free | Lynote: a free plan exists: Humanizer up to 300 words, AI Detector up to 500 words per check; transcription limits are not disclosed on the pricing page | Potok: Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed |
| Price | Lynote: — | Potok: Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly |
| Payment from Russia | Lynote: not disclosed | Potok: Russian bank cards, rubles |
| Where speech is recognized | Lynote: cloud processing (stated: content is processed on the service's servers and is not used to train models) | Potok: cloud; internet required |
| Russian language | Lynote: "100+ languages" is stated, Russian is not explicitly mentioned and not separately confirmed | Potok: primary language |
| Company | Lynote: not disclosed | Potok: Sole proprietor, Russia |
Sources: lynote.ai
Who Lynote suits
- Those who need to turn a recording of a meeting, lecture or interview into finished text.
- Those who work with YouTube videos and want a text version of the content without manual transcription.
- Those who need to check a text for signs of AI generation before publishing; for that there is a separate AI Detector tool.
- Those who want to rewrite AI-generated text in more natural language with the Humanizer.
- Those who like a browser service with no installation: it works on any operating system that has a browser.
- Those who are ready to use a service without prices published in advance: exact subscription amounts are shown on the website only after choosing a region or signing in to an account.
- Those for whom the privacy of a recording's content matters: the website states separately that the content is not used for training models.
Lynote limitations
The main limitation is its purpose. Lynote does not replace real-time dictation: text does not appear as you speak, only after a finished recording is uploaded and processed. For those looking specifically for typing by voice on the fly, this service will not fit at all; it is a different product category.
The limits of the free plan are not transparent: only the limits for the AI Detector and the Humanizer are known, and the limit on transcription itself is not given on the pricing page.
The prices of paid plans are also hidden behind a region selection form or signing in to an account. The exact amount cannot be found before this step, and all that is known is that with yearly payment the discount may reach a significant share of the monthly price.
The legal entity responsible for the service is not named on the website. For personal notes this rarely matters, but for a company planning to take out a subscription officially, it is worth clarifying this before paying, not after. Payment by a Russian card directly is not confirmed anywhere either: the payment method for users from Russia is not described separately on 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 |
| Lynote | Web (browser, all operating systems) | a free plan exists: Humanizer up to 300 words, AI Detector up to 500 words per check; transcription limits are not disclosed on the pricing page | — | not disclosed | cloud processing (stated: content is processed on the service's servers and is not used to train models) |
| WhispeRu | Windows | 7-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) |
When Potok is not a replacement for Lynote
Potok will not replace Lynote at all if the task is to transcribe an already recorded file: an interview, a lecture, a YouTube video. Potok recognizes only what you say right now and does not transcribe finished recordings; for that you need a service like Lynote.
Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet, just like Lynote's cloud processing.
Potok also has no tools like the AI Detector and the Humanizer: it inserts the recognized text without analyzing or rewriting anything already finished. A broader overview of dictation programs is in the section voice input programs, and a review of one more service is in the article whisperu.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, the sources for transcription listed on the website include audio, video and links to YouTube videos. The text is produced from an existing recording, not dictated anew.
No, Lynote transcribes already finished recordings and does not turn speech into text as the conversation goes. For typing by voice in real time you need a different tool, for example Potok.
What Lynote is and how it works. 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 What Lynote is and how it works you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
What Lynote is and how it works. 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 What Lynote is and how it works you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
What Lynote is and how it works. 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 What Lynote is and how it works you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
What Lynote is and how it works. 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 What Lynote is and how it works 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 PotokYou dictate in the app, and recordings and voice messages are transcribed by @potok_now_bot in Telegram. 60 minutes per month are free; the Potok subscription removes the limit in the bot and in the app.
Primary sources: lynote.ai · support.microsoft.com