Alternatives

The best Daily Dictation alternatives in 2026

Updated: October 2, 2026

We make Typeflu, one of the apps below, so weigh this accordingly. We checked prices on 2 October 2026, and we say when another app is the better choice.

Daily Dictation is hard to beat on price: the website is free and has more than 1,000 English dictation exercises, with sections for IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC. If it works for you, keep using it. People look for alternatives for a few reasons: the interface and instructions are English only, there is no course that tells you what to do next, the free iOS app has ads, or they want something beyond typing what they hear, like speaking or a different language. Here are six apps that solve one of those problems, ranked by how well they fit someone coming from Daily Dictation.

The picks

1. 1 YouType

   Best for

   The same listen-and-type method, with an Arabic or Spanish interface

   Price

   Free during Early Access; after launch $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year

   How you practise

   Listen and type English sentences, in three difficulty levels

   YouType is the closest thing to Daily Dictation with a different interface language. You listen and type English sentences word by word, with three levels: Easy shows the full sentence, Medium keeps first-letter cues, and Hard is audio only. The interface comes in Arabic, Spanish, English and Chinese, and word lookups give US and UK audio with IPA. A mistake notebook, a scheduled-review notebook, daily check-ins and leaderboards keep you going. The catch: it is in Early Access, so content size and stability are still unknown, and it will become paid when it launches. It also works best with a physical keyboard, and we found no phone apps.
   Visit site: YouType ↗

2. 2 Typeflu Made by us

   Best for

   Arabic speakers who want a structured course, with explanations in Arabic

   Price

   Free plan; Pro €7.50 a month or €49 a year in Europe, local prices elsewhere, half price in many countries

   How you practise

   Type real sentences from audio, corrected letter by letter

   Typeflu is our app. Like Daily Dictation, you listen to real sentences and type them, but inside a course that starts at A1 and goes to B2, with units on daily life, travel, work, tenses and an IELTS prep course. Every word shows its IPA and meaning in your language, and “Explain my mistake” tells you in Arabic, Spanish or English why your answer was wrong. Mistakes are tagged by first-language patterns (p/b and missing articles for Arabic speakers, -ed endings for Spanish speakers), and spaced review brings weak words back. It also teaches Spanish and European Portuguese to Arabic speakers. The limits: the library is much smaller than Daily Dictation's, the English course for Spanish speakers is a single A1 course, there is no speaking scoring, and it is a web app you install from the browser, not a store app. Free gives you the first lesson of every unit.
   Try Typeflu free

3. 3 Speechling

   Best for

   Learners who want to practise speaking, not only listening

   Price

   Forever Free plan; Unlimited from $19.99 a month

   How you practise

   Shadow native recordings and get corrections from human coaches; free dictation tool

   Speechling covers the gap that Daily Dictation's read-aloud step leaves open. You record yourself repeating sentences spoken by native voice actors, and human coaches correct your recordings: the free plan includes a limited number of corrections a month for some languages. It also has a free dictation tool, so you keep some listen-and-type practice. It teaches English, Spanish, Portuguese and several other languages. The sentence-based course can feel dry, and the Unlimited plan costs as much as a few hours with a tutor.
   Visit site: Speechling ↗

4. 4 LyricsTraining

   Best for

   Teens and music lovers who want listening practice that feels like a game

   Price

   Free on the web; the app has a paid Premium plan (check their site for the price)

   How you practise

   Type the missing words of songs while the music video plays

   LyricsTraining turns dictation into a game: you watch a music video and type the missing lyrics, from a few words up to the whole song. It works in 13 languages, including English, Spanish and Portuguese. It is free on the web; the free app limits how many songs you can play. It is great for motivation and for catching fast, connected speech. Song lyrics are not how people talk, though, and there is no curriculum or grammar.
   Visit site: LyricsTraining ↗

5. 5 BBC Learning English

   Best for

   Intermediate learners who want free, natural British English listening

   Price

   Free

   How you practise

   Audio and video programmes with transcripts and quizzes

   If what you liked about Daily Dictation was free, real English audio, BBC Learning English gives you a lot of it: short programmes like 6 Minute English and The English We Speak, with transcripts and vocabulary lists, plus graded courses. You can listen through any podcast app, offline. There is no typing from audio, so you lose the active dictation step unless you pause and write sentences yourself. It is best from about B1, not for true beginners.
   Visit site: BBC Learning English ↗

6. 6 Clozemaster

   Best for

   Intermediate learners building vocabulary in context

   Price

   Free tier; Pro about $12.99 a month or $69.99 a year (2026 price trackers, check their site)

   How you practise

   Fill the missing word in real sentences, with a listening mode in Pro

   Clozemaster drills thousands of sentences by blanking one word at a time, ordered by frequency, with spaced repetition. It offers English from Arabic among more than 50 languages. The Pro plan adds Cloze-Listening, where you hear a sentence and fill the gap, which is a lighter cousin of dictation. You type one word, not the whole sentence, and some sentences come from a community database and can sound odd. It does not teach from scratch.
   Visit site: Clozemaster ↗

At a glance

How we chose

We started from what Daily Dictation does well and where people hit a wall. Every pick had to fix at least one of these problems: no help in your own language, no structured path, ads in the free app, no speaking practice, or English only. We then ranked them by:

• How much real listen-and-type practice it gives you, since that is why you used Daily Dictation.
• Who can use it: interface languages, starting level and whether it explains mistakes.
• Price, checked on the vendors' sites or recent 2026 sources on 2 October 2026.
• Honest limits: early-access status, catalog size, and what each app does not do.

We did not include apps that only look like dictation apps. Duolingo, Babbel and Busuu have some listening exercises, but typing full sentences from audio is not their core. If you are considering them, see Typeflu vs Duolingo or the best dictation apps for language learners.

Who should stay with Daily Dictation

Daily Dictation is the better choice if you are around B1 or above, you read English instructions comfortably, and you want as much free practice as possible. It is also the stronger pick for TOEFL and TOEIC, and for IELTS listening with British and Australian accents, because none of the apps above has dedicated sections for all three exams. Its iOS app is rated 4.8 from about 1,600 ratings, and PRO is $2.99 a month or $19.99 lifetime on the US App Store if the ads bother you.

Who should skip Typeflu

• Spanish speakers past A1. Our English course for Spanish speakers is one A1 course for now. Daily Dictation or YouType will give you more.
• TOEFL and TOEIC candidates. We have an IELTS course only.
• Anyone who mainly wants to speak. Typeflu does not score pronunciation. Try Speechling.
• Hands-free learners. Typeflu needs your eyes and your fingers, so it is not for the car.
• Anyone who wants a native App Store or Play Store app. Typeflu is a web app you install from the browser.

Which one should you pick?

• You want Daily Dictation, but in Arabic or Spanish: YouType, while it is free, or Typeflu if you also want a course and explanations.
• You are an Arabic-speaking beginner: Typeflu. Start with English for Arabic speakers and read our dictation practice guide.
• You are preparing for IELTS: Daily Dictation's IELTS section, plus the Typeflu IELTS prep course if you want explanations in Arabic. See our IELTS listening dictation guide.
• You want to speak, not just listen: Speechling.
• You are bored: LyricsTraining for a few songs a day.
• You want free listening on the go: BBC Learning English in a podcast app.

Want the full head-to-head? Read Typeflu vs Daily Dictation.

We checked every price and feature on this page on October 2, 2026. Prices change and can differ by country, so confirm on each app's own site before you pay.

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