Best apps

The best dictation app for language learners in 2026

Updated: October 2, 2026

We make Typeflu, so weigh this accordingly. We checked every price and feature on 2 October 2026, and we say plainly when another app is the better choice.

First, what this page is not about: if you want software that turns your voice into text (speech-to-text dictation for emails or documents), you are in the wrong place. This page is about dictation as a language exercise: you hear a sentence in the language you are learning, you type exactly what you heard, and you find out which sounds, words and spellings you missed. It is one of the most honest listening exercises there is, because you cannot guess your way through it. Here are seven apps that let you practise it, ranked by how well they fit most learners, with clear notes on who each one suits best. Typeflu, the app we make, is on the list, and it is not first.

The picks

1. 1 Daily Dictation

   Best for

   English learners who want lots of free dictation

   Price

   Free website. The iOS app is free with ads; PRO from $2.99 a month or $19.99 lifetime (US App Store)

   How you practise

   Listen to a clip, type what you hear, check your answer

   Daily Dictation is the simplest answer to “where can I do English dictation for free?”. The website has more than 1,000 exercises: short stories, daily conversations, YouTube clips, and spelling of names and numbers. There are also sections for IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC listening. You can start without signing up. The iOS app is rated 4.8 stars from about 1,600 ratings.

   It wins this list on price and volume. Its limits: it teaches English only, the interface is English only, and when you get a word wrong it shows you the answer without explaining why. There is no structured course or grammar help that we could find. If you are already comfortable reading English instructions and just need practice, start here.

   Visit site: Daily Dictation ↗

2. 2 Typeflu Made by us

   Best for

   Learners who want each mistake explained in their own language (Arabic, Spanish or English)

   Price

   Free: the first lesson of every unit. Pro: €7.50 a month or €49 a year in Europe, local prices elsewhere, half price in many countries

   How you practise

   Hear a sentence, type it word by word, fix it letter by letter

   Typeflu is built around dictation. You hear a real sentence in a natural voice, type it word by word and fix your mistakes letter by letter, replaying at 0.75× to 2× as often as you like. Each word shows its IPA, its meaning in your language and its grammar role. One tap on “Explain my mistake” tells you in your own language why your answer was wrong, and mistakes are tagged by native-language patterns, such as missing a/the or p/b for Arabic speakers and -ed endings for Spanish speakers. Spaced review (FSRS) brings back what you missed, and you can turn your own text into a private dictation lesson in about 30 seconds.

   Where it falls short: the catalog is uneven. English for Arabic speakers has 31 courses from A1 to B2, including IELTS prep. Spanish for Arabic speakers has 9 courses (A1 to B1), European Portuguese has 2 (A1), and English for Spanish speakers and Spanish for English speakers have one A1 course each. There is no speaking scoring, no live tutor and no certificate, and it is a web app you install from the browser, not a store app. It ranks below Daily Dictation because Daily Dictation is free and much bigger for English. It ranks above the rest because, as far as we could find, none of them explains your mistakes in your own language.

   Try Typeflu free

3. 3 YouType

   Best for

   English learners who type on a keyboard and want a free option with leaderboards

   Price

   Free during Early Access. After launch: $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year

   How you practise

   Type English sentences with three levels: full text, first-letter cues, or audio only

   YouType is the closest app to Typeflu: you listen and type English, with an interface in Arabic, Spanish, English or Chinese. It has three difficulty levels (copy the full text, type with first-letter cues, or pure dictation), word lookups with US and UK audio and IPA, four notebooks for mistakes, scheduled review, vocabulary and notes, and leaderboards by study time. During Early Access every available course is free; full access will need a paid plan after launch.

   YouType is the better choice if you study at a computer, like competing on leaderboards, or are a Spanish speaker who wants more English practice than Typeflu's single A1 course for Spanish speakers. Its limits: English only, a keyboard-first design that is weaker on phones, no store apps that we could find, and an Early Access product whose final content and prices may change.

   Visit site: YouType ↗

4. 4 Speechling

   Best for

   Learners of 10 languages who want free dictation plus pronunciation feedback

   Price

   Free plan with a free dictation tool. Unlimited from $19.99 a month

   How you practise

   Free dictation tool, plus recording sentences for human coaches to correct

   Speechling's main product is pronunciation: you record sentences from native voice actors and human coaches correct you. The free plan includes up to 10 coach corrections a month for some languages, and it also offers a free dictation tool. It covers English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Japanese and Mandarin.

   Speechling is the better choice if you learn one of those languages that Typeflu does not teach, or if you want a human to correct your speaking, which Typeflu cannot do. The curriculum can feel dry, and the Unlimited plan costs about as much as a few tutor lessons.

   Visit site: Speechling ↗

5. 5 LyricsTraining

   Best for

   Teens and music lovers who want fun listening practice

   Price

   Free on the web. The free app limits how many songs you can play; Premium unlocks more (check their site for the price)

   How you practise

   Watch a music video and type the missing lyrics as you hear them

   LyricsTraining turns music videos into gap-fill dictation. You can choose to type a small share of the missing words or the whole song. It covers 13 languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German and Japanese, and it is free on the web.

   It is the most fun option on this list and great for keeping a habit going. But song lyrics are not how people talk, there is no curriculum or grammar, and the Portuguese is mostly Brazilian music. Treat it as a bonus next to real practice.

   Visit site: LyricsTraining ↗

6. 6 Clozemaster

   Best for

   Intermediate learners building vocabulary in context, in 50+ languages

   Price

   Free tier. Pro from about $69.99 a year or $12.99 a month (varies by store and country)

   How you practise

   Fill the missing word in a sentence; Pro adds listening mode

   Clozemaster gives you thousands of sentences with one word missing, ordered by frequency and reviewed with spaced repetition. It covers 50+ languages and 170+ pairs, including English from Arabic. In Pro, Cloze-Listening lets you hear the sentence and type or pick the missing word, in some collections.

   That is word-level listening, not full dictation: you never write the whole sentence. The sentences come from a community database, so some sound odd or contain errors, and it does not teach beginners from zero. The Portuguese is Brazilian.

   Visit site: Clozemaster ↗

7. 7 Anki

   Best for

   Disciplined learners who want to build their own dictation cards

   Price

   Free on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and the web. AnkiMobile for iOS is a one-off $24.99

   How you practise

   Flashcards with audio and a “type in the answer” field, which you set up yourself

   Anki is a flashcard engine, not a course. With some setup you can make cards that play audio and ask you to type what you heard, in any language, and Anki will schedule them so you review at the right time. It works offline on every platform and syncs for free.

   It is the most flexible option here and the cheapest over the long term. It is also the most work: you have to find or record the audio, build the cards and stay consistent, and nothing explains your mistakes. Choose it if you enjoy tinkering.

   Visit site: Anki ↗

At a glance

How we chose

• Real dictation: do you type what you hear, and is it whole sentences or only a missing word?
• Feedback: does the app only mark you wrong, or does it explain the mistake, ideally in your language?
• Content: how many exercises, at which levels, and in which languages?
• Price: several good options are free, so paid apps have to offer something extra.
• Where you use it: phone, computer, offline, or all of them.

Which one should you pick?

• You learn English and read English instructions easily: start with Daily Dictation. It is free.
• You are an Arabic speaker learning English: Typeflu, for 31 courses up to B2 with explanations in Arabic. Our guide to English dictation practice for Arabic speakers (in Arabic) shows how to use it.
• You are a Spanish speaker learning English: YouType or Daily Dictation for volume; Typeflu if you are a beginner and want explanations in Spanish (one A1 course). See our guide to English dictation (in Spanish).
• You are an English speaker learning Spanish: Typeflu has one A1 course; read our Spanish dictation practice guide. For more, Speechling and LyricsTraining cover Spanish too.
• You learn French, German, Japanese or another language: Speechling, LyricsTraining, Clozemaster or Anki. Typeflu does not teach them.
• You want speaking feedback from a human: Speechling.

Who should skip Typeflu

Skip Typeflu if you want a free app with a big English library (Daily Dictation), if you learn a language we do not teach, if you need pronunciation scoring, tutors or a certificate, or if you want to practise hands-free while driving or walking: dictation needs your eyes and your fingers. Typeflu is also a young product, and outside English for Arabic speakers its courses are short. It is for learners 13 and over.

How to get the most from dictation

1. Choose audio slightly above your level: you should understand most of it, but not every word.
2. Listen once without typing, then type sentence by sentence. Replay as often as you need.
3. Do not look at the answer until you have written your best guess.
4. Keep a list of the mistakes you repeat, such as small words, word endings or similar sounds, and review them.
5. Fifteen minutes a day beats an hour once a week.

Preparing for IELTS? See our ranking of the best IELTS listening practice apps.

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.

Practise it

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English Basics

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Spanish Basics

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