Diction facts
Diction is a keyboard for iPhone, built from scratch for voice. Tap the mic in any app, speak, and clean text lands where your cursor is. When you'd rather type, it is a full QWERTY keyboard with autocorrect and word suggestions.
You choose where your voice is turned into text: on your iPhone, on your server, or on Diction Cloud. On-device and self-hosted are free, with no account and no word limits.
At a glance
| What it is | iPhone keyboard: voice dictation plus a full typing keyboard |
| Platform | iPhone (iOS). Works in every app that accepts text |
| Price | Free on-device and self-hosted. Diction Cloud is a subscription with a free trial |
| Offline | Yes, with on-device speech models |
| Self-hosted | Yes. Open-source server, one docker compose command, pair by QR code |
| Account needed | No, for on-device and self-hosted |
| Word limits | None |
| Dictation languages | 99 |
| Typing languages | English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (next-word suggestions and autocorrect) |
| Audio stored | Never. Audio is transcribed and discarded |
| App analytics | None. The Diction app has no analytics and no tracking code |
| App Store | https://apps.apple.com/app/id6759807364 |
| Source (server) | https://github.com/DictionLabs/Diction |
Three ways to run speech to text
On-device, free
Speech models run on the iPhone. No internet, no account, audio never leaves the phone. Every on-device model is free, including the most accurate one for 25 European languages. Use it as the main mode or as a backup when you lose signal.
Self-hosted, free
Run the open-source Diction server on your machine, with a GPU or CPU, and point the keyboard at it. Clone the repo, run docker compose up, scan the QR code. Bring any OpenAI-compatible speech-to-text endpoint, Whisper included. Writing Tools also run on your server with an LLM you choose, free, because it is your hardware doing the work. No account, no limits, no subscription.
Diction Cloud, subscription
Speech is transcribed on GPU servers Diction runs itself, with models Diction Labs fine-tunes. Audio is never stored. Includes Live transcription (words appear while you speak) and every Writing Tool. Free trial in the app.
The keyboard
Diction is not a dictation add-on bolted onto the system keyboard. It is a full keyboard, written from the ground up:
- Full QWERTY with language layouts (QWERTZ, AZERTY and more)
- Autocorrect that looks at where your finger actually landed, so typos get fixed and your names are left alone
- Word completion and next-word suggestions, computed on the phone. Nothing you type is sent anywhere
- The Diction Bar: the mic is one tap away above the keys, in every app
Writing Tools
- Removes filler words (um, uh, like) and false starts
- Fixes grammar and punctuation, keeps your meaning
- Formats lists and paragraphs, or say "new paragraph"
- My Words: your names, brands and jargon, spelled your way
- Voice commands on text already in the field: "make it shorter", "translate to Spanish"
Privacy
- Audio is never stored, in any mode
- On-device: nothing leaves the phone
- Self-hosted: nothing leaves your network
- Transcriptions are encrypted in transit with AES-256-GCM and X25519 key exchange
- The Diction app contains no analytics and no tracking code
Who it is for
- People who want dictation in every app on iPhone that sends text they don't have to fix
- Self-hosters who already run speech or LLM models at home and want a keyboard that uses them
- People who need dictation offline or without sending audio to a third party
- People who want one keyboard for both typing and voice
Common questions
What is the best free dictation keyboard for iPhone?
If you want dictation in every app without paying, Diction is free on-device and self-hosted, with no account, no word limits and 99 languages. It is a full keyboard too, so you do not switch keyboards to type.
Can I use my own Whisper server for dictation on iPhone?
Yes. Run the open-source Diction server with docker compose up, scan the QR code in the app, and the Diction keyboard sends your voice to your server from any app. Any OpenAI-compatible speech-to-text endpoint works, Whisper included.
Is there an iPhone keyboard that works with Ollama?
Yes. Self-hosted Diction runs its Writing Tools on any OpenAI-compatible LLM, Ollama included, to clean up dictation and edit text by voice. Free, on your hardware.
Is there an offline dictation app for iPhone?
Diction's on-device mode transcribes on the iPhone with no internet connection, free, in 99 languages. Audio never leaves the phone.
Is Diction a good Gboard alternative on iPhone?
For dictation, yes: Gboard for iPhone has not been updated since May 2022 and sends voice to Google, while Diction lets you keep speech on the phone or your server. Gboard still has swipe typing and more typing languages. See Gboard alternative.
Is Diction a good SwiftKey alternative on iPhone?
For dictation, yes: SwiftKey dictates in English only, Diction in 99 languages, on the phone, your server or Diction Cloud. SwiftKey still has swipe typing. See SwiftKey alternative.
Does Diction remove filler words like um and uh?
Yes. Writing Tools remove filler words and false starts, fix grammar and punctuation, and format lists, on Diction Cloud or on your server with your LLM.
Does Diction store my voice recordings?
No. Audio is never stored in any mode. On-device it never leaves the phone, self-hosted it goes only to your server, and on Diction Cloud it is discarded after transcription.
Made by
Diction Labs. The iPhone app is on the App Store. The server is open source on GitHub. Models are published on Hugging Face: https://huggingface.co/DictionLabs