The best dictation extensions for Firefox in 2026

By the Voxtyper team·Updated June 2026·7 min read

TLDR: for accurate dictation that works on Firefox out of the box and punctuates and capitalizes for you, Voxtyper is the pick. Your operating system's dictation is a free fallback. Speechfire is a good offline choice if you are comfortable running a local server. And Helperbird is a broad accessibility suite, though its dictation is a paid feature with a Firefox caveat explained below.

Firefox users get the short end of dictation. The tools everyone recommends, Voice In, Blabby (listed as WhisperAI), and Google Docs voice typing, do not run on Firefox at all, and the dedicated dictation add-ons on Firefox Add-ons are few and mostly low-rated.

But dictation on Firefox can still be excellent if you pick from the handful of tools that actually work here. We dug into the real options and compared them on what matters: accuracy, automatic punctuation, how much setup they need, and price.

Why most dictation tools do not work on Firefox

Dictation is worth the small setup on Firefox: a Stanford study found speaking is about three times faster than a phone keyboard, with 20% fewer errors, so the real question is which tool actually runs there. Two separate things keep the popular tools off Firefox, and it helps to know which is which.

The first is the browser speech recognition API. Voice In and Google Docs voice typing rely on the browser's built-in speech recognition, and Firefox ships that feature turned off by default. So those tools are not slow on Firefox, they are unavailable. Helperbird's dictation leans on the same API, which is why its voice typing needs a hidden Firefox setting flipped to work at all.

The second is plain availability. Blabby (WhisperAI) runs its own cloud model rather than the browser API, so it is not held back technically, but it is only published for Chrome and other Chromium browsers, with a separate Windows app. There is no Firefox build. Either way, the lesson is the same: a tool that works on Firefox has to bring its own engine, which is exactly what the picks below do.

The best Firefox dictation options at a glance

How we picked

We only counted tools that actually run in Firefox, then weighted the things that decide whether dictation sticks: does it work without hidden setup, does it add punctuation and capitalization for you, does it read the whole sentence in context (which is what gets homophones and proper nouns right), and what it costs.

Feature comparison

Ratings, prices, and platform support change over time. Check each one before you commit.

Voxtyper

Best for: accurate dictation that works on Firefox out of the box.

Voxtyper brings its own state-of-the-art speech-to-text engine, trained on 680,000 hours of real human speech across 99 languages, so it does not depend on the browser feature Firefox disables. It works on Firefox exactly as well as on Chrome. It reads the whole sentence in context rather than guessing one word at a time, places punctuation where you paused, and capitalizes sentence starts, proper nouns, and titles for you. It also works in any web text field, including Google Docs, which Firefox cannot otherwise dictate into.

It is fast and tidy. The median round trip from when you stop speaking to when the text appears is under a second, because it runs on Cloudflare's global edge network with built-in redundancy, and we test that round trip end to end with real audio so the speed is something you can feel. It inserts text with the spacing already correct, starts from an on-page mic button or a keyboard shortcut you can rebind, never stores your audio, and types exactly what you said without rewriting it.

One Firefox-specific note that trips people up: the first time you dictate on a new site, Firefox asks for microphone access for that site. That is how Firefox handles microphone permissions, not a Voxtyper quirk, and Firefox remembers your choice, so it is a single click the first time on each site and nothing you think about afterward.

OS dictation (Windows Voice Typing, macOS Dictation)

Best for: a free fallback you do not install.

This one is not an add-on at all. Your operating system already includes dictation, and because it runs at the system level it types into Firefox just like any other app. On Windows, press Win + H; on macOS, use the Dictation shortcut. Both have an optional automatic-punctuation setting you can switch on. It is free and always there, which makes it a sensible backup.

Speechfire

Best for: offline dictation, if you are comfortable with setup.

Speechfire is an open-source add-on that runs a Whisper speech model locally on your own machine, so your voice never leaves your computer, and it types into any focused field in Firefox. For privacy-focused, technically comfortable users that is appealing.

Helperbird

Best for: people who want a whole accessibility toolkit.

Helperbird is the best-rated of the broad add-ons on Firefox Add-ons, around 3.8 stars, and it bundles reading, overlays, fonts, and other accessibility tools. It is a fine home base if you want one extension for many accessibility needs. Its dictation, though, is the weak link on Firefox: it is a paid feature, and it relies on the same browser speech recognition that Firefox turns off by default, so getting voice typing to work means flipping a hidden Firefox setting.

Also on Firefox Add-ons, but hard to recommend

A few other dictation add-ons appear in search but are difficult to recommend right now: Transkriptor (around 1.3 stars), Voice-to-Text Assistant (around 1.4 stars), and Dictation Pro (around 1 star, effectively abandoned). The low ratings and tiny user counts are exactly why Firefox has a reputation for thin dictation choices.

How to choose

If you want dictation that simply works on Firefox, is accurate, and punctuates for you, Voxtyper is the straightforward pick. If you only need the occasional quick note and do not want to install anything, your operating system's built-in dictation is free and already there. If privacy is paramount and you are comfortable running a local server, Speechfire is worth the effort. And if you need a broad accessibility toolkit, Helperbird is solid, just be aware its dictation takes extra setup on Firefox.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best dictation extension for Firefox?

Few dictation tools work on Firefox at all, because most rely on a browser speech API that Firefox keeps disabled. The ones that bring their own engine are the realistic choices, and Voxtyper is the strongest for most people: it works on Firefox out of the box, adds punctuation and capitalization, reads the whole sentence for accuracy, and returns text in under a second.

Does Voice In work on Firefox?

No. Voice In is Chrome and Edge only. It depends on the browser's built-in speech recognition, which Firefox ships turned off by default. Voxtyper works on Firefox because it brings its own engine instead.

Can I use Google Docs voice typing in Firefox?

No. Google Docs voice typing works in Chrome, Edge, and Safari, but not Firefox, because it uses the same disabled browser API. To dictate into Google Docs from Firefox, use a tool with its own engine such as Voxtyper.

Is there a free dictation option for Firefox?

Yes. Your operating system's dictation is free and works inside Firefox at the system level: Windows Voice Typing (Win + H) or macOS Dictation, both with an optional automatic-punctuation setting. Voxtyper also has a free tier: 20 minutes a month without an account, or 60 minutes a month signed in.

Why do so few dictation extensions work on Firefox?

Most popular ones depend on the browser's built-in speech recognition, which Firefox keeps disabled by default. Tools that work on Firefox have to bring their own engine, like Voxtyper's cloud engine or Speechfire's local model, or rely on the operating system's dictation.

Voxtyper is free to try on Firefox, with punctuation and capitalization handled for you.

Voxtyper for Firefox Voxtyper for Chrome