Cue vs Windows Voice Typing: Windows key + H or a Voice Agent?
Windows 10 and Windows 11 include voice typing: put the cursor in a text box, press Windows key + H, and speak. Microsoft’s guide states it needs an internet connection and uses online speech recognition powered by Azure Speech services. Cue is a separate desktop voice agent for Windows and Mac: a hold-to-dictate hotkey that inserts cleaned-up text into the field you have open, Agent requests from selected text, and bot-free meeting capture. This page compares the two from Microsoft’s own documentation and Cue’s published facts.
Hold the configured hotkey, speak, release, and the text lands shaped for the app you have open. Select text and make an Agent request when it needs rewriting, summarizing or translating.
It needs no install, starts with Windows key + H, and Microsoft documents automatic punctuation, editing commands and a long list of supported languages for Windows 11.
Pick the job you need now
These are entry points into the same Cue product, account, download, and pricing.
Start from the task on screen
Speak a request and use the current desktop context to prepare work you can review.
Explore Voice Agent workflows →Turn speech into text
Choose your desktop and start with the field where you are already typing.
Capture notes without a bot
Start the desktop capture when you choose, see a progressive transcript, then review structured notes.
Explore meeting notes →Side-by-side workflow comparison
Swipe the table to compare Cue and Windows Voice Typing →
| Workflow | Cue | Windows Voice Typing |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Desktop voice agent. Voice typing in supported apps, Agent requests from selected text, and desktop meeting capture you review. | A built-in Windows text-entry feature. Microsoft’s guide covers Windows 11 and Windows 10 and says to press Windows key + H on a hardware keyboard with the cursor in a text box. |
| How you start | Sign in, allow microphone access, focus a normal text field, hold the Dictation hotkey (Right Alt by default on Windows), speak, release, then check the field. | Microsoft’s guide says to press Windows key + H, wait for the “Listening…” alert, then speak. It also lists Windows key + Alt + H to move through the voice typing menu by keyboard. |
| Connection and processing | Cue’s published Gemma 4 case study measured a lower-latency on-device text-polish step, while cloud speech-to-text remained in the path. Read Cue’s privacy policy for current data handling. | Microsoft’s guide states you need to be connected to the internet, have a working microphone and have the cursor in a text box, and that voice typing uses online speech recognition powered by Azure Speech services. |
| What happens to your words | Cue shapes dictated text for the place it lands: readable punctuation, paragraphs and concise phrasing before it is inserted. Check names, numbers and meaning before relying on it. | Microsoft’s guide describes an automatic punctuation setting and a profanity filter. Fluid dictation, which it says corrects grammar, punctuation and filler words with on-device small language models, is stated for Copilot+ PCs in English locales only and is disabled in password and PIN fields. |
| Commands and edits | Dictation inserts spoken text; a separate Agent request (Fn by default on macOS, Left Alt on Windows) handles an explicit job such as rewriting a reply, summarizing a paragraph or translating selected text. You review the result before using it. | Microsoft’s guide lists voice typing commands such as “delete that”, “select that”, “undo that”, “press Enter” and “insert space” for English (United States), plus a wait-time setting before a command acts. |
| Languages | Check the languages offered in your installed version and test a short sentence in your language before relying on it. | Microsoft’s guide lists the languages that support voice typing in Windows 11, including Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean and several English, French, Spanish and Portuguese variants. Windows 10 differs, so check the guide for your version. |
| Meetings and recordings | A desktop recorder you start, with nothing joining the participant list. A progressive transcript appears during longer sessions, and structured notes with action items are prepared after you stop. | Not stated on the voice typing page checked. Voice typing is documented as a text-entry feature. |
| Current platforms | macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later. | Windows 10 and Windows 11 per Microsoft’s guide. Fluid dictation is stated for Copilot+ PCs only. |
| Starting plan | Cue is free to start. Cue Plus is $19.99/month. | Part of Windows. No separate price is stated on the page checked. |
| Best fit | You want a hold-to-dictate hotkey that keeps you in the app you have open, cleaned-up text, and an Agent request when the text needs more work. | You want the built-in tool with nothing to install, an internet connection is available, and a plain transcript of what you say is enough. |
What Windows Voice Typing does well
Windows Voice Typing is built in, which is the strongest argument for it. Microsoft’s guide describes a feature that starts from Windows key + H in any text box, waits for a “Listening…” alert, inserts punctuation automatically when that setting is on, filters profanity if you want, and takes editing commands such as “delete that” and “select that” in English (United States). The Windows 11 language list is long and includes Chinese, Japanese, Korean and many European languages. On Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft states that Fluid dictation corrects grammar, punctuation and filler words with on-device small language models, and that it switches itself off in password and PIN fields. The guide is also clear about the conditions: an internet connection, a working microphone and a cursor in a text box, with recognition done online by Azure Speech services. If those conditions hold and a transcript is all you need, there is nothing to install.
Cue starts from the same place, a focused text field, and is built for what comes after the transcript. You hold the configured Dictation hotkey, Right Alt by default on Windows, speak, and release; the text is shaped for the app it lands in and you check the field before continuing. When the words need more than transcription, you select them and make a separate Agent request, Left Alt by default on Windows, to rewrite, summarize or translate, then review the draft. The same desktop app captures a meeting from a recorder you start yourself, with nothing joining the participant list, and the same account works on the Mac. Microsoft’s guide and Cue’s Windows page both tell you to check the languages for your own version before relying on either tool. The difference is not accuracy, which neither page measures head to head, but whether dictation is the end of the job or the start of it.
Official Windows Voice Typing sources
Windows Voice Typing details above were checked on November 7, 2026. Features, plans and platform availability can change, so verify the current source before deciding.
- Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC (Microsoft Support) — The Windows key + H shortcut, the internet, microphone and text-box requirements, online speech recognition powered by Azure Speech services, automatic punctuation and profanity settings, editing commands, the Windows 11 language list, and the Copilot+ PC Fluid dictation statements. The page applies to Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use Windows Voice Typing or Cue?
Use Windows Voice Typing when the built-in tool is enough: Microsoft’s guide says it starts with Windows key + H with the cursor in a text box, needs an internet connection and a working microphone, and uses online speech recognition powered by Azure Speech services. Use Cue when you want a configured hold-to-dictate hotkey while you keep working in the app you have open, text shaped for where it lands, and an Agent request for selected text when it needs rewriting, summarizing or translating. Cue runs on Windows 10 or later and macOS 13 or later.
Does Windows Voice Typing work offline?
Microsoft’s guide states that to use voice typing you need to be connected to the internet, and that voice typing uses online speech recognition powered by Azure Speech services. The only on-device processing it describes is Fluid dictation on Copilot+ PCs, which it says corrects grammar, punctuation and filler words with on-device small language models in English locales. Check the guide for your own Windows version. For Cue, read the privacy policy for current data handling; Cue’s published measurement covers an on-device text-polish step while cloud speech-to-text remained in the path.
What is Cue’s default Dictation hotkey on Windows?
Right Alt is the default Dictation hotkey on Windows. Hold it while you speak and release it to turn the spoken result into text in the focused field. You can change it in Settings, and on keyboard layouts where Right Alt is AltGr you should choose another key. Left Alt is the default for an Agent request. Follow the shortcuts shown in your installed version.
Is Cue free?
Cue is free to start. Cue Plus is $19.99/month. Cue runs on Windows 10 or later and macOS 13 or later, and the same account covers voice typing in supported apps, Agent requests and desktop meeting capture. Windows Voice Typing is part of Windows, and Microsoft’s guide is the source for its current conditions and supported languages.
Start with the workflow you need
Keep Windows key + H for quick transcripts, or start a desktop task from the field you already have open.
Download free ← Back to alternativesTry a workflow you can check
For Cue, follow the voice typing tutorial: it gives you a checkable practice sentence, the default shortcuts, and recovery steps for when text does not appear. This is a Cue exercise, not a head-to-head benchmark or evidence that one product is better.