Time Saved Calculator
How much time would you save by speaking instead of typing? Find out in 10 seconds.
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Save 156 hours this year
Steno is a native macOS app. Hold a key, speak, release — text appears in any app. Start saving time today.
Download Steno FreeFrequently Asked Questions
How much faster is voice typing than keyboard?
Voice typing is roughly 3-4x faster than keyboard typing for most people. The average person types at 40 WPM but speaks naturally at 130-170 WPM. Even fast typists at 80-100 WPM are still significantly slower than speaking pace. With a tool like Steno, you can capture your full speaking speed and convert it to text in under 500 milliseconds.
How much time can I save with voice dictation?
It depends on how much you write each day. If you spend 2 hours a day on writing tasks (emails, messages, documents), voice dictation at 150 WPM versus typing at 40 WPM saves about 88 minutes per day. Over 250 work days, that adds up to over 365 hours — more than 9 full work weeks per year.
Is voice typing accurate enough for professional use?
Modern AI-powered voice typing tools like Steno achieve 99%+ accuracy using Whisper models, which handle technical vocabulary, proper nouns, and accented speech reliably. The occasional correction takes far less time than the 3-4x speed gain from speaking. Most professionals find voice typing fully viable for emails, documentation, messaging, and even code comments after a short adjustment period.
Voice Typing vs Keyboard: The Speed Comparison
The average person types at 40 words per minute. The average person speaks at 150 words per minute. That's a 3.75x speed difference — and it's why voice-to-text is the single biggest productivity upgrade for anyone who writes.
How much time does voice typing really save?
If you spend 2 hours a day writing (emails, Slack messages, documents, code comments), switching to voice typing saves approximately 1 hour and 28 minutes every day. Over a year of work days, that's over 365 hours — more than 9 full work weeks.
Is voice typing accurate enough to replace keyboard?
Modern voice-to-text tools like Steno use AI models (Whisper) that achieve 99%+ accuracy, even with technical terms. The small time spent on corrections is dwarfed by the 3-4x speed increase. Most users find that after a few days, voice typing becomes their default for any text longer than a sentence.