Free tier weekly dictation limit

Seeing a weekly-limit warning, a countdown of words left, or slower dictation? On Flow Free, a limit notice does not always mean dictation is blocked. Your platform and allowance determine whether you can keep dictating, wait for the reset, or upgrade.

How the weekly limit works

Flow counts each dictation once across devices, and the combined weekly total includes those dictations. Everyone shares a fixed weekly window—not a rolling seven days from their first dictation. Unused words do not carry over. Notetaker meetings do not count toward this allowance; Notetaker has a separate weekly note limit.

Weekly allowances differ by platform and account and can change without an app update. A soft limit changes messaging or slows dictation; a hard cap blocks new dictations.

What happens on your device

Mac and Windows

By default, non-paying users receive “Weekly dictation limit reached” after reaching 2,000 words, at most once per day. New dictations are blocked only above 5,000 words. Active trials and paid personal or enterprise subscriptions are exempt. A blocked attempt automatically refreshes your usage in case the count is outdated.

The home card shows words left until the soft limit, then limit-and-reset guidance; its button is Upgrade to Pro. The home card excludes students, team members, Pro users, and active subscribers.

The Settings → Plans and Billing usage card is not shown to every Free account. For non-student accounts using the standard trial experience, it appears after the first weekly limit has been reached, or after the first week when usage comes within 200 words of the soft limit.

Limit notifications can be skipped—not queued—during setup, while Flow's chat panel or another non-error notification is open, or when the notification category is muted.

Android

Dictation typically slows down after 1,000 words in a week and is capped at 1,500. These are defaults; your account may have different limits. Limits apply only to Free accounts without an active Google Play subscription. Paid subscribers do not see the usage section, word-limit cards, or Get unlimited words prompt.

• Approaching the limit: The warning starts 200 words before the soft limit—800 words with the default allowance—and says “You're approaching your weekly free limit” and “Flow will slow down once you reach your limit.”

• Soft limit: “You have reached your weekly limit.” and “Flow will slow down until next week.” Each approaching-limit and soft-limit notice replaces one bubble press per reset week; press again to dictate.

• Hard cap: “No words remaining” and “You've hit your weekly word limit. Upgrade to continue using Flow.” Every press is blocked until an upgrade or reset. A dictation already started is never interrupted.

In the ☰ navigation drawer, “Your free usage this week” is replaced by the applicable warning or limit label. Upgrade now › appears only at the soft limit and hard cap. The red usage bar measures the soft limit, not the blocking threshold.

Warning and soft-limit home cards can be dismissed individually until the reset; this does not change the drawer's usage display or hide the hard-cap card, which cannot be dismissed. If the plan cannot be loaded, the drawer shows an empty bar with “Your free usage this week,” announced as “Word usage unavailable”—not a confirmed zero count.

High-priority system notifications use Word limit alerts. If app notifications or that category are off, the bubble sheet and home card still provide the limit message. Only one limit notification remains visible at a time, and it expires at the reset.

Restarting does not renew your allowance. Blocks and limit cards clear automatically at the weekly reset, even offline. Presses are not held when limits are not enabled for the account, its allowance is not yet available, or its last confirmed usage is from a previous week.

An increased allowance applies immediately and can show the weekly warning and soft-limit notices again. A decrease waits until the next reset unless your usage is still below the new warning threshold.

iOS

Dictation typically slows down after 550 words in a week and is blocked at 750. The hard cap blocks only when you are signed in, keyboard setup is complete, and your plan is Free. Check your account's usage display; fixed numbers in other iOS messages may not match your allowance.

The keyboard drawer's weekly word card appears within 200 words of the soft limit, showing the remaining count, “words left this week,” and “Upgrade for unlimited access.” At the soft limit, the count and separate tagline disappear and the message becomes “Weekly dictation limit reached. Flow will slow down until next week.” At the hard cap, it changes to reset-and-upgrade guidance. Tap the card to open Plans.

The separate keyboard words-remaining reminder can appear when fewer than 200 words remain, can be permanently dismissed, and disappears at zero. The keyboard's Upgrade button is highlighted at zero for Free users except eligible students; active Team or Business members do not see it.

The in-app limit cards are titled “Dictation limit reached.” Soft-limit reminders can reappear at each new 100-word milestone above the soft limit; the hard limit has a separate notice. Keyboard limit notices offer Get unlimited words and open Plans.

The account menu shows Free-plan usage, replacing it with a no-words-remaining message and Upgrade now at the soft limit. Non-Free plans—including past-due, paused, canceled, or unpaid plans—hide word-limit messages; this does not mean those subscription statuses are active.

Eligible students do not see the standard usage cards or menu bar. These displays can also remain hidden before an account's limits are first revealed. During an active Pro or Student trial, the eligible account-menu display and keyboard trial card show “X of Y days used in trial” instead of word usage.

Remove the limit

A paid plan removes the weekly dictation limit. Follow your platform's purchase steps, then dictate a short phrase to confirm that the limit no longer blocks you.

If Android still blocks you after upgrading

A Google Play purchase lifts the limit without restarting. After a web upgrade, a blocked bubble press checks for your updated plan; another press may be needed. Repeated presses cannot force more checks.

1. Wait at least 30 seconds after a blocked attempt.

2. Press the Flow bubble again to test dictation.

If dictation starts, the block is lifted. Plan updates can also appear when you return to Flow, reopen Plans, or finish a dictation. The new plan affects the next start, not a dictation already running.

Eligible students

On desktop, eligible Free users see “Students get Wispr Flow free!” with Claim free offer, which opens Plans and Billing. On iOS, eligible students go to the student-claim screen instead of a paid purchase screen; Claim for $0 on the Student card and Claim your student plan on limit notices lead toward that offer. The free student plan must be claimed on desktop.

1. Open Flow on your desktop.

2. Navigate to Settings → Plans and Billing.

3. Claim your free student plan.

An active student plan is labeled Flow Student on iOS. If it is already active with an App Store subscription, the student-claim screen hides Claim on desktop, while the Student card on Plans still shows Claim for $0; manage that subscription in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions.

Change or cancel your plan

• Bought on the web: manage your plan in the desktop app. On iOS and Android, “Go to the desktop app to manage plan” is informational; it does not open subscription management.

• Bought on the App Store: Cancel or Resubscribe on the iOS Plans screen opens Manage Subscriptions. Android directs you to the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.

• Bought on Google Play: Cancel or Resubscribe on Android's Plans page opens Play Store subscription management. Retry if you see “Couldn't open Google Play. Try again.”

• Other Android plan cases: An unknown purchase store directs you to the device used to purchase; a purely promotional grant has no management action. A web or organization plan with a live Play subscription also shows Manage your Google Play subscription so you can find and cancel that separate charge.

FAQs

Still need help?

Contact support if a paid plan still shows a word-limit block after the Android retry steps, or your usage has not reset after the stated reset time. Include your platform, device, displayed usage, purchase store, any error message, and steps tried.