Windows Voice Access Review

What Makes Windows Voice Access Different

Most dictation tools convert speech to text in a text field. Windows Voice Access controls your entire PC. Open applications, click buttons, scroll pages, navigate menus, move your mouse cursor — all by speaking. It's built into Windows 11 at no cost, processes speech entirely on-device, and requires no downloads or subscriptions. For users who need hands-free computing — whether due to motor disabilities, repetitive strain injuries, or simply having their hands occupied — this is the most capable free option on Windows.

Dictation Quality

As a pure dictation tool, Voice Access performs respectably. It handles everyday English well, with accuracy in the 90-95% range on clear speech. Basic voice commands like 'delete that,' 'select all,' and 'new line' work reliably. Punctuation commands ('period,' 'comma,' 'question mark') function as expected.

Where it falls short compared to dedicated tools is vocabulary customization. Dragon Professional lets you train custom words and phrases for medical, legal, or technical dictation. Voice Access offers no such training — what you get out of the box is what you work with. Specialized terminology gets misrecognized more often than with trained dictation software.

PC Navigation by Voice

The standout feature is full system control. Say 'Open Chrome' and Chrome launches. Say 'Click submit' and the submit button gets pressed. When multiple clickable elements exist, number overlays appear on screen — say the number to click the corresponding element. You can move and resize windows, switch between apps, and interact with virtually any UI element by voice.

The number overlay system is particularly clever. When you say 'Show numbers,' every clickable element on screen gets a number label. Say '23' and element 23 gets clicked. It's not as fast as using a mouse, but for users who can't use a mouse, it's remarkably functional.

On-Device Processing

All speech recognition runs locally on your CPU — no internet connection needed, no audio sent to Microsoft's servers. This is a meaningful privacy advantage over cloud-based dictation tools. It also means consistent performance regardless of your internet quality, though processing is limited by your hardware's capabilities.

The trade-off is accuracy. Cloud-based recognition from Google, OpenAI (Whisper), and others typically outperforms on-device models, especially for accented speech and unusual vocabulary. Voice Access prioritizes privacy and offline availability over peak transcription accuracy.

Accessibility Design

Microsoft built Voice Access primarily as an accessibility tool, and it shows in the thoughtful design. The setup wizard walks users through calibration and basic commands. A voice guide provides real-time feedback about what commands are available. The system handles edge cases like 'What can I say?' to display available commands in context.

For users with motor disabilities, Voice Access can serve as a complete replacement for mouse and keyboard input. It's one of the few tools that genuinely enables full computer use without physical input devices.

Setup and System Requirements

Voice Access requires Windows 11 and is activated through Settings > Accessibility > Speech. No download, no account creation, no payment. The initial setup takes about 5 minutes including the tutorial. A microphone is required — any USB or built-in laptop microphone works, though a dedicated headset microphone improves accuracy significantly.

Limitations

The biggest limitation is platform lock-in: Windows 11 only. No support for Windows 10, Mac, Linux, or mobile devices. If you work across operating systems, Voice Access covers only part of your workflow.

Language support is currently limited to English (US, UK, Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand variants). Non-English speakers are entirely excluded, which is a significant gap for a tool from a global company. Microsoft has indicated plans to expand language support, but the timeline remains unclear.

Voice Access vs Dragon Professional

Dragon Professional is the traditional benchmark for Windows dictation. It offers superior accuracy (especially with vocabulary training), more dictation commands, and macro support. But Dragon costs $699 for a license. Voice Access is free, built-in, and offers PC navigation features that Dragon doesn't match. For casual dictation and accessibility, Voice Access wins on value. For professional dictation with custom vocabularies, Dragon remains ahead.

Who Should Use Windows Voice Access

Start here if you're on Windows 11 and want free dictation. It's the right first stop before spending money on Dragon or any third-party tool. Users with motor disabilities or RSI will find the full PC navigation capabilities genuinely life-changing. Casual dictators who mainly need to type emails, documents, and messages will find it adequate.

Skip it if you need multilingual support, work on Mac or Linux, or require specialized vocabulary training for professional dictation. Also not suitable if you're still on Windows 10.

Verdict

Windows Voice Access is the best free dictation tool on Windows and the most capable free PC voice control system available. Its on-device processing, zero cost, and full system navigation make it an essential accessibility feature and a solid starting point for any Windows 11 user exploring voice input. The English-only limitation is its most significant gap.