Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
Voisty is a desktop app for Windows and macOS that recognizes speech right on the device, offline, with local models such as Whisper Large V3 Turbo and NVIDIA Parakeet. Only 5 minutes of transcription are free, to evaluate quality; after that comes a paid subscription or a one-time lifetime license. Potok (potok.now) works differently: it is a cloud service with a free limit of 2500 words per week.
Voisty is an app for Windows and macOS that turns voice into text right on the device, without contacting a server. The developer stresses offline processing: the audio does not leave the computer, and local models such as Whisper Large V3 Turbo and NVIDIA Parakeet recognize it.
How Voisty works
Voisty's basic mode is offline recognition: the app installs a local model on the computer and processes voice right there, without sending audio to a third-party server. Because of this, the program keeps working where there is no internet or the connection is unstable.
Only 5 minutes of transcription are free. That is enough to evaluate the accuracy and speed of recognition on your own texts, but not for everyday dictation. After that a paid plan is needed: a monthly subscription, a yearly subscription with a lower price per month, or a one-time lifetime license with no repeat payments.
The site states support for more than 90 languages, including Russian. But the developer does not publish separate data on how well the local models handle Russian speech specifically, with its stresses, terms and turns of phrase.
| Voisty | Potok | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Voisty: Windows, macOS | Potok: Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Free | Voisty: 5 minutes of transcription (to judge the quality) | Potok: Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed |
| Price | Voisty: $6.7/mo (Pro); $67/yr (Pro (year)); $99/one-time (Lifetime) | Potok: Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly |
| Payment from Russia | Voisty: Visa/Mastercard/Amex cards, PayPal; whether Russian cards are accepted is not stated (not confirmed) | Potok: Russian bank cards, rubles |
| Where speech is recognized | Voisty: device (offline, local models such as Whisper Large V3 Turbo / NVIDIA Parakeet) | Potok: cloud; internet required |
| Russian language | Voisty: Russian is in the list of 90+ supported languages, with no public data on quality for Russian specifically (not confirmed) | Potok: primary language |
| Company | Voisty: not disclosed | Potok: Sole proprietor, Russia |
Sources: voisty.com · voisty.com
Who it suits
Voisty is worth considering if:
- you need voice recognition without internet access, since the basic mode works fully locally;
- a free limit of 5 minutes only for a trial is fine with you, and after that a paid plan;
- a one-time lifetime license or a readiness to pay by subscription is closer to you than looking for a free alternative;
- it matters to work on both Windows and macOS in one app;
- the lack of confirmed data on the recognition quality of Russian speech specifically is not critical.
Limits for a user from Russia
There is no information in open data about the legal entity behind Voisty, and it was not possible to find it out through the site. According to the site, Visa, Mastercard and Amex cards and PayPal are accepted, but accepting cards issued in Russia is not stated separately. This is worth checking at the payment step, before confirming the purchase.
Since recognition runs locally, the program's operation does not depend on the availability of foreign servers. In that sense it is predictable regardless of geopolitical restrictions. But it is hard to check the quality of the result for Russian in advance: the site lists Russian among the supported languages but does not publish open data on its accuracy.
| 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 |
| Voisty | Windows, macOS | 5 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) |
| 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 Voisty
Potok will not replace Voisty for those who need a one-time purchase without monthly payments and work entirely without the internet: Voisty recognizes locally and offers a lifetime license, while Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet.
Potok also does not suit those who on principle do not want to send audio outside their device in any form. Voisty's local models are built for exactly that, and Potok has no such mode in any plan. A similar local tool is reviewed in the comparison with WhisperU, and other options are in the section voice input programs.
Frequently asked questions
Only 5 minutes of transcription are free, which is enough to evaluate recognition quality. For regular work you need a paid subscription, monthly or yearly, or a one-time lifetime license.
Yes, by default recognition runs locally on the device, with models such as Whisper Large V3 Turbo or NVIDIA Parakeet. Basic work does not require sending audio to a server.
What Voisty 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 Voisty 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 Voisty 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 Voisty 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 Voisty 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 Voisty 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 Voisty 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 Voisty is and how it works you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Try it on your own texts
Download Potok for Windows, macOS or Linux: full access for the first 14 days, no card needed. After that, 2500 words per week for free or Pro for 690 ₽ per month. 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: voisty.com · voisty.com