Dragon Naturally Speaking vs Windows 11 Voice access
- Feb 28
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 2
When it comes to software that will convert your speech to text, two of the biggest products available are:
Dragon Naturally Speaking (Dragon)
Windows 11 Voice access (Voice access).
But how do Dragon and Voice access for Windows compare in terms of features and usability?
As someone who's used both, I wanted to share my experience to help you decide which tool might best fit your needs.
Dragon and Voice access are both owned by Microsoft
Dont let the names fool you. Both products are now owned by Microsoft, so will be designed to work best with the Windows Operating System.
Dragon Naturally Speaking was first released in 1997 by Dragon Systems; acquired by Nuance Communications in 2010; and then by Microsoft in 2021.
Windows 11 Voice access is a relatively new addition to the speech to text assistive technology landscape. It was introduced as part of Windows 11, which launched in October 2021 and replaces its much poorer relation 'Speech Recognition'. As it's developed and owned by Microsoft, Voice access is designed to integrate seamlessly with all Office apps like Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. This reflects Microsoft’s growing focus on built-in assistive features.
In my experience it also works very well with non-Microsoft products like Google Chrome.
Software requirements
Dragon requires installing a programme onto your computer, and operates on a paid-for licence basis. It is designed for Windows, rather than masOS, so if you use Apple products this may not be the best option for you.
Voice access is already part of Windows 11, so there's nothing additional to install or pay for. You simply enable the functionality from the Settings menu. If you don't have Windows 11, you may be able to upgrade for free at Microsoft.com.
Cost
Dragon offer a range of options (Home, Professional, and Legal). The legal version is 'pre-trained' with vocabulary for legal terms and formatting for citations. Prices ranging from anywhere between £150-£500. Prices vary as its distributed through resellers. This buys you a licence that you can use on one desktop device.
Voice access is free with the Windows Operating System.
Ease of use
Using either Dragon or Voice access will involve a learning curve on the part of the end user.
Dragon training is widely available (usually for a paid fee).
Although Microsoft doesn't provide formal training for Voice access resources are available online. As a Voice access user myself I've created a free of charge, comprehensive set of training videos to help you master the commands. The link to the training is at the bottom of this page.
I found the commands used across both Dragon and Voice access to be incredibly similar (probably because Microsoft acquired Dragon with a view to developing Voice access as the native Windows 11 solution).
The technology is constantly being developed and with advances in AI is getting really smart at recognising conversational variations in speech commands. In other words, if you get a command slightly wrong, it's getting smarter at second guessing what you mean.
Functionality
In my opinion, functionality is the main differentiator between Dragon Naturally Speaking and Voice access.
Dragon was originally developed as a Voice recognition solution. For me, it's ability to help navigate the computer interface and operate applications always plays second fiddle to Voice access in this area.
Voice access seems to manage both dictation and navigation with comparative ease. Since getting to grips with it I've hardly used my Dragon licence.
Dragon, however, may be slightly better at 'learning' words and phrases from a specific document as you work in it.
Customisation
Both Dragon and Voice access allow you to create custom voice commands and vocabulary tailored to specific industries or personal needs. For example I've set up a command and called it 'Add my email', which adds my email address into a form field automatically.
Support
If you're planning to use Voice recognition software in the workplace, your digital accessibility colleagues will probably be most familiar with Dragon (in the UK at least). This is just because it's been around for longer, and they may have a licencing agreement already in place. If this is the case, they may have also been trained on the software, so will be able to help whilst you get up to speed with the commands.
For Voice access, you can use the free training videos on this website. Microsoft also have an active support community that you can turn to with questions.
Which is right for you?
Choosing between Dragon Naturally Speaking and Windows 11 Voice Access depends on what you need it to do, your Operating System, and budget.
If you want immediate, free access and use Windows, you can start using Voice access today. No installation or licence needed.
If you're accessing support in your workplace, they may offer Dragon, along with a team to support you. If this is the route you're going down, you could still benefit from getting started straight away with Voice access training because the commands are very similar.