Compare × Checked October 2026
Bedrock Flow vs Dragon Professional
Dragon has been the name in Windows dictation for decades, and like Bedrock Flow it does its recognition on your PC. The differences are price, setup, and age: Dragon Professional 16 is a $699.99 one-time purchase with a learning curve, while Bedrock Flow starts free and needs no voice training.
In short
Which one suits you?
Choose Bedrock Flow if
- Free to start, and Pro costs less in a year than a tenth of Dragon’s price.
- No voice training. Talk naturally from the first minute.
- Modern AI cleanup removes fillers and fixes punctuation as you go.
- Actively developed, with regular updates.
Choose Dragon Professional if
- Full control of Windows and apps by voice, not just typing.
- Specialist legal and medical vocabularies and editions.
- A one-time purchase, with no subscription.
- Decades of use in professional offices.
The big difference
Where your voice goes.
Both Dragon Professional and Bedrock Flow do their speech recognition on your PC, so for everyday dictation your voice does not need to leave your computer with either. That makes this comparison about price, setup and features rather than privacy.
Bedrock Flow is built local first. Your dictation history is saved on your PC, and your vocabulary, snippets and styles are backed up to your account so they follow you to a new PC. Your recordings and your words are never part of that.
Side by side
Bedrock Flow and Dragon Professional, feature by feature.
| Feature | Bedrock Flow | Dragon Professional |
|---|---|---|
| Where your speech becomes text | On your PC | Mostly on your PC |
| Works without internet | Yes, once set up. Sign in at least once every 30 days. | Yes, for everyday dictation |
| Where your dictations are kept | Your dictation history is saved on your PC and never uploaded. Vocabulary, snippets and styles are backed up to your account. | On your PC |
| Free plan | 30 minutes of dictation a week, all features | None |
| Paid plan | Pro $9.99 a month, or $95.88 a year ($7.99 a month) | Dragon Professional 16: about $699.99 one-time |
| Platforms | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows |
| Languages | English | English, plus editions for some other languages |
| AI cleanup (fillers, punctuation) | Yes, runs on your PC (optional) | No AI cleanup. Strong voice editing commands. |
| Custom vocabulary | Yes, or learned from your Obsidian vault on your PC | Yes, including legal and medical vocabularies |
| Snippets (spoken shortcuts) | Yes | Yes (Auto-Texts) |
| Writing style per app | Yes | No |
| Setup | Install, sign up, one-time speech model download. No voice training. | Install, then voice profile setup. Gets better with training. |
Sources
Facts about other products come from their makers’ own websites and were checked on 5 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars before tax. Plans change, so check the links below for the latest. If something here is out of date, email support@madebybedrock.com and we will fix it.
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Hear the difference
on your own PC.
Bedrock Flow is free for 30 minutes a week, with a 7-day Pro trial and no card needed.