For over twenty years, Dragon NaturallySpeaking was synonymous with voice dictation. For lawyers, doctors, writers and professionals who dictated for hours every day, Dragon was the undisputed reference. But in 2026, the landscape has radically changed — and not in Dragon's favour.
In brief
- Dragon Professional v16 sells for $699 as a perpetual licence at US resellers (checked September 2026; Nuance no longer lists a price on its website), with no subscription; its publisher Nuance, absorbed by Microsoft, no longer develops it for consumers.
- The single Ondula app from the Microsoft Store offers Cloud at 3.90 EUR/month excluding tax for 50 h and 100% Local, with a one-time 29.99 EUR lifetime unlock completed inside the app.
- No voice training or profile to set up: transcription relies on a state-of-the-art speech recognition model and works immediately, whereas Dragon builds a voice profile for each user.
- Privacy: Ondula's local mode processes audio on the PC (voice never transmitted); in the cloud, audio is sent only for the time needed to transcribe it and is not retained by Ondula.
The end of an era
Since Microsoft's acquisition of Nuance in 2022, the Dragon line-up has narrowed to professionals: the consumer edition, Dragon Home, has been withdrawn from the catalogue. The result for individual users is clear: professional software sold for several hundred dollars.
Why users are leaving Dragon
- Prohibitive pricing: $699 for Dragon Professional v16 at US resellers (checked September 2026), plus paid upgrades for each new version
- Narrower line-up: Dragon Home withdrawn from the catalogue; what remains is Dragon Professional v16 and subscription-based cloud offers, with no public price
- Heavy installation: several gigabytes, complex setup process
- Dated recognition model: modern cloud models now surpass Dragon in raw accuracy across most languages
- Cloud mainly for businesses: Dragon Professional Anywhere, the cloud-hosted version, is sold by subscription to businesses and the public sector; the installed version runs locally and consumes significant system resources
Cloud vs local: the 2024-2026 shift
The speech recognition market shifted to the cloud between 2024 and 2026. The reasons are both technical and economic.
Why cloud won
Superior accuracy. Cloud transcription models are trained on millions of hours of audio. They understand accents, technical vocabulary, proper nouns and context better than any local model. The best current models, used by many cloud services, achieve an error rate below 5% across most European languages.
No hardware requirements. No GPU needed, no RAM to allocate, no model to download. Audio is sent to an optimised server that returns text quickly.
Transparent updates. When the model improves server-side, all users benefit instantly. No updates to install, no licences to renew.
Lower cost. A monthly subscription of a few euros replaces a licence costing several hundred euros.
What about privacy?
This is a legitimate question. Sending audio to a server raises concerns. The answer depends on the service you choose:
- Major American providers (Google, Amazon, Microsoft) process your data on US servers, often with no guarantee of non-retention
- Privacy-respecting services limit audio to the time of processing, with no data resale and no model training
Ondula, for example, offers a 100% local mode where your voice never leaves the PC. In cloud mode, audio is sent only for the time needed to transcribe it and is not retained by Ondula.
Detailed comparison: Dragon vs Ondula
| Criterion | Dragon NaturallySpeaking | Ondula |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $699 (perpetual licence, Professional v16) + paid upgrades | Cloud: 3.90 EUR/month excluding tax (50 h); Local in the same app: 29.99 EUR for life; free: 10 Cloud min per week, for life |
| Accuracy | Very good | Very good (state-of-the-art model, no training needed) |
| Installation | Heavy, several GB, complex setup | Straightforward, lightweight, no complex setup |
| Voice training | Optional (one voice profile per user) | None — works immediately |
| Languages | Depends on the edition: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish or Dutch | Interface in 10 languages; transcription in 100+ languages in Cloud mode, 25 in Local mode |
| Works everywhere | Yes (with sometimes unstable plugins) | Yes (native injection into any text field) |
| Offline | Yes (local processing) | Yes, in local mode (voice never transmitted); cloud otherwise |
| Privacy | Local (good) | Cloud: audio sent only for the time needed to transcribe it, then not retained by Ondula — or 100% local mode, voice never transmitted (excellent) |
| Support | Weekday phone support, knowledge base and customer portal (Nuance) | Active support |
| Updates | Paid and rare | Included and automatic |
| System requirements | Windows 10 or 11, 4 GB of RAM minimum, 8 GB of disk space | Any Windows PC with a microphone |
| Quota | Unlimited | 50h/month (cloud) — more than enough for intensive use; unlimited in local mode after unlock |
Pricing of the main voice dictation tools (dated)
| Tool | Subscription | One-time / lifetime | Free tier | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ondula | 3.90 EUR/month excluding tax (Cloud, 50 h) | 29.99 EUR for life (Local, in-app unlock) | 10 min without an account, then 10 min/week for life with an account (Cloud); 1–3 h (Local) | Windows |
| Dragon Professional | None | $699 (perpetual licence) | None | Windows |
| Wispr Flow | $15/month ($12/month billed annually) | None | 2,000 words/week | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| superwhisper | $8.49/month | $249.99 for life | 15 min + lightweight local models | Mac, Windows, iOS |
| Otter.ai | $16.99/month (Pro) | None | 300 min/month | Web, iOS, Android |
| Windows dictation (Win + H) | Free | — | Unlimited (built in) | Windows 10/11 |
Prices verified on 11 July 2026 (official Wispr Flow and Otter.ai pages; dated reseller/test sources for Dragon Professional and superwhisper). Currencies as shown at source: Ondula in EUR, others in USD.
For more on superwhisper, read our detailed comparison with Ondula.
Step-by-step migration guide: from Dragon to Ondula
If you are using Dragon and considering migration, here are the concrete steps.
Step 1: Assess your current usage
Before migrating, take note of:
- How many hours per day you actually dictate (most users dictate less than 2h/day, well within Ondula's 50h/month)
- Which applications you use for dictation (Word, email, industry-specific software)
- Which specialised vocabularies you have configured in Dragon
Step 2: Install Ondula alongside Dragon
Do not uninstall Dragon just yet. Install Ondula in parallel to compare:
- Go to ondula.ai/download
- Download and install the application with a straightforward setup
- Configure your microphone (automatic detection)
- Start with 10 free minutes without an account, then create a free account for 10 free minutes every week, for life
Step 3: Test on your real use cases
For a week, use Ondula for your usual tasks:
- Dictate an email in Outlook or Gmail
- Write a document in Word (our guide on how to dictate in Word covers the built-in options too)
- Send a message on Slack or Teams
- Test technical vocabulary from your field
Ondula's speech recognition model handles technical vocabulary remarkably well without prior training.
Step 4: Compare results
After a week of parallel use, compare:
- Accuracy: Ondula vs Dragon on your typical texts
- Speed: time between finishing dictation and text appearing
- Comfort: single keyboard shortcut vs Dragon's interface
- Reliability: crashes, bugs, incompatibilities
Step 5: Migrate permanently
If Ondula suits you (and there is a strong chance it will):
- Switch to the Cloud plan at 3.90 EUR/month excluding tax for 50h of monthly dictation
- Uninstall Dragon to free up disk space and system resources
- Configure your Ondula keyboard shortcut to your preferences
What you gain by migrating
Financially
A Dragon Professional v16 licence alone costs $699 at US resellers (checked September 2026), and every new version has to be paid for. With Ondula at 3.90 EUR/month excluding tax, the 5-year cost is 234 euros.
In simplicity
No voice profile to create, no updates to install. Ondula works immediately on any Windows PC with a microphone.
In accuracy
Modern cloud transcription models are trained on an incomparably larger volume of data than Dragon's local model. The result: accuracy that is at least equivalent, often superior, from the very first use and without any training.
Frequently asked questions from Dragon users
Is Dragon really discontinued?
Partly. The consumer edition, Dragon Home, has disappeared from the catalogue of Nuance (Microsoft). What remains is Dragon Professional v16, software installed on the PC ($699 at US resellers, checked September 2026), and subscription-based cloud offers: Dragon Professional Anywhere for organisations and the Dragon Anywhere mobile app. Nuance no longer lists prices on its website and refers buyers to its sales team.
Can I use my Dragon custom vocabularies in Ondula?
Ondula does not import Dragon vocabularies, but its transcription model natively recognises a very broad vocabulary, including legal, medical and scientific technical terms. Most users find that Dragon's specific training is no longer necessary with a modern cloud model.
Does Ondula work offline?
Cloud mode requires a connection. The 100% Local mode is included in the same Ondula app installed from the Microsoft Store: it transcribes directly on your PC, with no connection and with your voice never leaving the machine. Its one-time 29.99 EUR excluding tax unlock is completed inside the app.
Is 50 hours per month enough?
For the vast majority of users, yes. 50 hours represent approximately 2.5 hours of dictation per working day. Even the most intensive Dragon users rarely exceed this volume. The free tier (10 minutes every week, for life) lets you test before committing.
Conclusion
Dragon NaturallySpeaking made history in speech recognition. But in 2026, continuing to use software whose consumer edition has been withdrawn, sold at premium prices and technically surpassed by cloud models, no longer makes sense. Migrating to a modern cloud solution like Ondula is simple, fast and economical.
The hardest part of this migration? Accepting that the software that accompanied you for years has had its day. The easiest part? Discovering that the alternative is better in every way.
Try Ondula for free — 10 minutes free without an account, then 10 minutes every week with a free account.