Dragon Professional vs Glaido
Dragon Professional is Windows speech recognition software for professionals, with custom voice commands, macros and file transcription.
Dragon Professional
GlaidoDragon Professional and Glaido, feature by feature
What both do comes first, then where Dragon Professional is stronger, then what Glaido adds.
| Feature | Dragon Professional | Glaido |
|---|---|---|
| Dictation in Windows appsBoth | Dragon Professional | Glaido |
| Custom wordsBoth | Dragon ProfessionalShareable across an organization | GlaidoDictionary and snippets |
| Macros and fixed command phrasesDragon Professional leads | Dragon ProfessionalFor multi-step workflows | GlaidoNo macro recorder |
| Transcribe recorded audioDragon Professional leads | Dragon ProfessionalIncluding batch folders | Glaido |
| Industry editionsDragon Professional leads | Dragon ProfessionalLegal and Law Enforcement | Glaido |
| Mac and LinuxGlaido leads | Dragon ProfessionalWindows only | Glaido |
| Start without salesGlaido leads | Dragon ProfessionalContact sales or a reseller | GlaidoFree Basic plan, download and go |
| Get things done by voiceGlaido leads | Dragon ProfessionalCommands you define ahead of time | GlaidoAsk in plain words: search the web, find a file, pick a color, run your own MCP tools |
Dragon Professional
GlaidoWhat each costs over a year
| Plan | Price | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon Professional v16 | $699 onceNuance publishes no price. This is a US reseller's list price for one license. | $699 once |
| Plan | What you get | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Every extension, plus dictation with a weekly word limit. | $0 |
| Pro | $20 a month, or $200 a year billed yearly. Unlimited dictation and every extension. | $200 |
Dragon Professional and Glaido Pro both charge for unlimited dictation. Glaido's price also covers every extension, so the clipboard, snippet and color apps you may pay for separately come with it.
Dragon Professional prices checked on November 4, 2026 on Dragon Professional's pricing page. Taxes and regional prices can differ.
Where they're the same
Dragon Professional and Glaido both type what you say into the app you're using, and both learn the words you use.
Where Dragon is ahead
Dragon has been built for decades around voice commands you define and macros that run several steps. It transcribes recorded audio, including whole folders at once, and comes in editions for legal and law enforcement work, with tools to roll out shared vocabulary across a company.
Where Glaido is ahead
Glaido runs on Mac and Linux as well as Windows. You download it and start on the free Basic plan, with no sales call. Commands mode takes plain requests, so "open the contract draft in my Documents folder" works without setting up a command first. The extensions add a color picker, clipboard history, text expansion and more.
Cost
Nuance doesn't publish a price. One US reseller lists a single license at $699 once. Glaido Pro is $20 a month or $200 a year, and Basic is free.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Dragon Professional if
- Your organization runs Windows and has years of Dragon macros.
- You need a legal or law enforcement edition.
- You transcribe recorded dictation in batches.
Pick Glaido if
- You want to try it today, free, without a sales call.
- You'd rather ask for things in plain words than learn command phrases.
- You work on Mac or Linux, or across Mac, Windows and Linux.
Add up what you pay for
Tick the apps you pay for today. The total uses each app's lowest paid plan.
Totals stay in each app's own currency. Nothing is converted.
Dragon Professional vs Glaido: questions
Is there a Dragon for Mac?
Not any more. Nuance discontinued Dragon Professional Individual for Mac in October 2018. Glaido runs on Mac, Windows and Linux.
Can Glaido run my Dragon macros?
No. Glaido doesn't import Dragon commands. In Commands mode you ask for what you want in plain words, and you can add your own tools as MCP servers.
How is Dragon priced?
Nuance shows no price and points buyers to sales. Resellers sell one-time licenses, and the table on this page shows one reseller's price. Glaido Basic is free and Pro is $20 a month.
Compare Glaido with other apps
Aqua Voice vs Glaido
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Superwhisper vs Glaido
Superwhisper is a dictation app that can run speech recognition on your device or in the cloud, with modes that rewrite what you say.
Paid plans from $84.99 a year
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Wispr Flow vs Glaido
Wispr Flow is a dictation app that turns speech into clean text in any app, on desktop and phone, with a meeting notetaker built in.
Paid plans from $144 a year
Read the comparisonSources: Dragon Professional v16, Dragon for Mac discontinued, CDW listing
Glaido is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nuance Communications, Inc., the owner of the Dragon Professional trademark.
