Gboard Voice Typing Alternative

Gboard Voice Typing is a solid free option for mobile dictation. It's built into Google's keyboard, works offline, and handles continuous dictation well. But it's stuck on your phone. If you need voice typing on your Mac — with the added benefit of AI text cleanup — Blurt fills that gap. Desktop-first, AI-enhanced, and ready in 60 seconds. $10/month with a free tier to try it out.

First 1,000 words free Desktop-native for macOS AI text enhancement included

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The Typing Problem

You're stuck typing on desktop while voice typing on mobile

Gboard Voice Typing works great on your phone. But when you sit at your Mac, you're back to typing everything manually. You've experienced how fast voice input can be — now you want that speed on your computer where you do most of your real work.

Copy-pasting from phone to desktop is a workflow killer

You've tried dictating on your phone and sending it to yourself. Or using iCloud clipboard sync. Or texting yourself notes. Every workaround adds friction. You want to speak directly into the app you're working in, on the device you're working on.

Mobile dictation doesn't handle professional writing well

Gboard captures what you say accurately, but professional documents need more than raw transcription. Emails need proper formatting. Documentation needs clean structure. You end up editing heavily after dictating, which defeats the purpose.

Privacy concerns with Google processing your voice

Everything you dictate flows through Google. For personal messages, maybe that's fine. But for sensitive work communications, client information, or confidential documents, you'd prefer a service that doesn't feed a larger data ecosystem.

How It Works

Blurt brings voice typing to your Mac desktop with AI enhancement. Hold a hotkey, speak naturally, and get polished text.

Hold your hotkey

Press your chosen keyboard shortcut. A subtle indicator shows Blurt is listening.

Speak naturally

Talk the way you would on Gboard. Blurt transcribes with automatic punctuation and capitalization.

Get enhanced text

AI cleans up your speech into polished, readable text. Release the hotkey and it's pasted at your cursor.

Real Scenarios

Finally getting Gboard-style voice typing on your Mac

You love how easy it is to dictate on your phone with Gboard. Now you want that same natural voice input on your Mac. Blurt gives you the hold-and-speak experience you're used to, right on your desktop where you actually work. Plus AI enhancement to make your text more professional.

Writing long emails without the phone-to-desktop shuffle

Composing a detailed email? Don't draft on your phone then struggle to transfer it. Speak directly into Gmail, Outlook, or any email client on your Mac. The AI enhancement formats your thoughts into professional email prose automatically.

Documentation and notes during work sessions

You're at your desk, in the zone, and need to capture thoughts quickly. Gboard is great when you're mobile, but at your workstation you need desktop voice typing. Blurt works in any app — Notion, VS Code, Google Docs, Slack — wherever your cursor is.

Dictating without feeding Google's data machine

Every Gboard dictation becomes part of Google's ecosystem. With Blurt, your voice data is transcribed and discarded. No profile building, no cross-product data sharing, no ads based on what you dictated yesterday.

Getting cleaner output than raw transcription

Gboard types exactly what you say, ums and all. Blurt's AI enhancement removes filler words, fixes grammar, and produces text that reads like you wrote it — not spoke it. Less editing means faster final output.

Testing desktop voice typing without commitment

Not sure if you need voice typing on desktop? Blurt's free tier gives you first 1,000 words free to find out. That's about 10-15 emails or a few pages of notes. Enough to know if it changes your workflow.

Gboard Voice Typing and Blurt serve different needs. Here's an honest look at how they compare.

	Blurt	Gboard Voice Typing
Platform	macOS desktop	Android, iOS (mobile only)
Price	$10/month or $99/year	Free
AI text enhancement	Yes, cleans up speech automatically	No, raw transcription only
Works in desktop apps	Yes, any app with text input	No, mobile keyboards only
Transcription accuracy	High accuracy with AI processing	Good accuracy, well-trained models
Offline mode	No, requires internet	Yes, works offline
Privacy	Transcribe and discard	Data processed by Google
Free tier	First 1,000 words free	Unlimited (fully free)

When Gboard Voice Typing Is the Better Choice

Blurt isn't trying to replace Gboard on mobile. Here's when Gboard is clearly the right tool:

You primarily work on mobile

If your phone or tablet is your main device, Gboard Voice Typing is already there, already free, and works great. Blurt is for desktop workflows.

You need offline voice typing

Gboard works without internet. Blurt requires a connection to process audio and apply AI enhancement. If you're often offline, Gboard wins.

Free matters more than features

Gboard is completely free with no limits. If you don't need desktop support or AI enhancement, and budget is the priority, stick with Gboard.

You're on Windows or Android tablets

Blurt is macOS only. If your desktop runs Windows, or you work on Android tablets, Gboard is your voice typing option.

You prefer raw transcription

Some people want exactly what they said, unmodified. Gboard gives you pure dictation. Blurt's AI enhancement changes your words to be more polished — if you don't want that, Gboard is more straightforward.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Blurt different from just using Gboard on my phone?

Blurt is a desktop app for macOS. You speak directly into whatever app you're using on your Mac — email, Slack, documents, code editors. No phone-to-computer transfer needed. Plus Blurt includes AI enhancement that cleans up your speech into polished text, something Gboard doesn't do.

Why would I pay for Blurt when Gboard is free?

Gboard is mobile-only. If you work primarily on a desktop, Gboard doesn't help you there. Blurt fills that gap with native macOS support. The AI text enhancement is also a major difference — Blurt produces cleaner, more professional text than raw transcription.

Is Blurt's transcription as accurate as Gboard?

Both use modern AI transcription and are highly accurate for natural speech. Gboard has the advantage of Google's massive training data. Blurt adds AI enhancement on top of transcription, so even if something comes out awkward, the cleanup step often fixes it.

Does Blurt work on Windows like Gboard works on Android?

Blurt is macOS only. We focused on creating the best possible Mac experience with native menu bar integration and system-level keyboard shortcuts. Windows and Linux versions are not currently available.

What does AI text enhancement actually do?

When you speak, you naturally include filler words, false starts, and awkward phrasing. Blurt's AI enhancement removes these, fixes grammar, and produces text that reads like you wrote it carefully — not like a raw transcript. Think of it as automatic editing.

Can I use Blurt and Gboard together?

Absolutely. Use Gboard on your phone when you're mobile, and Blurt on your Mac when you're at your desk. They solve different problems — Gboard for mobile input, Blurt for desktop productivity.

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