Dictum vs Freed: AI Medical Scribe Comparison

Quick comparison

Primary use case

Both tools generate clinical notes from patient encounters, but they approach the problem from slightly different angles. Freed focuses primarily on ambient capture for outpatient visits — you record the conversation, and the tool produces a note. Dictum supports both ambient recording and a dedicated post-visit dictation mode, producing multiple document types beyond SOAP notes, including patient summaries and referral letters.

For clinicians whose workflow starts and ends with the encounter itself, either tool covers the core task. The differences show up when you need documentation outputs beyond the standard encounter note.

Ambient capture and dictation

Freed is well-known for its ambient capture experience. You start a recording, conduct the visit, and the tool generates a note from the conversation. Dictum offers the same ambient workflow, plus a separate dictation mode designed for clinicians who prefer to summarize the encounter after the patient leaves.

The dictation option matters for practices where recording the full patient conversation is not practical — for example, sensitive psychiatric encounters, quick follow-ups where dictating a summary is faster, or settings where patients are not comfortable being recorded. Having both input modes gives clinicians more flexibility in how they document.

Documentation outputs

Dictum generates SOAP notes, patient summaries, referral letters, and custom-template notes from the same encounter recording or dictation. Freed focuses primarily on SOAP notes and encounter summaries.

If your documentation needs go beyond the encounter note — for example, if you regularly write referral letters or need plain-language summaries for patients — this is a meaningful difference. If SOAP notes are all you need, both tools cover that workflow.

Template customization

Dictum supports full custom template creation across specialties. You can define section headings, subsections, ordering, and default content expectations. Built-in templates are available for common specialties, and any template can be modified or duplicated.

Freed offers some degree of customization, but with more limited flexibility compared to building templates from scratch. If your documentation format deviates from standard SOAP — procedure notes, specialty-specific formats, or practice-specific layouts — template depth matters.

Mobile and offline access

Dictum is available on iOS, Android, and the web, with offline recording for situations where internet access is unreliable. You can record an encounter without connectivity and process the audio later when you are back online.

Freed is available primarily on iOS and web. If you work in a setting with spotty connectivity — rural clinics, home visits, certain hospital areas — or if your team uses Android devices, these differences affect day-to-day usability.

Pricing and plans

Dictum offers a free plan with five sessions per month. Paid plans start at $29.99/month. See the full breakdown on the Dictum pricing page.

Freed offers a free trial; check freed.ai for current pricing and plan details. When comparing costs, look beyond the monthly number — consider what documentation types, session limits, and platform access are included at each tier.

Security

Both Dictum and Freed offer Business Associate Agreements (BAAs). Dictum follows a zero audio retention policy: recordings are processed in real time and are not stored on servers after transcription. Patient data is not used for model training. For more detail, see the Dictum HIPAA compliance page.

For Freed's current security practices, data handling, and compliance details, check their website directly. Security implementations change, so verify current details with each vendor before making a purchasing decision.

Where Dictum may be a better fit

Dictum may work better for clinicians who need one or more of the following:

• Offline recording for environments with unreliable internet access
• Multiple documentation outputs from a single encounter — referral letters, patient summaries, and custom-template notes alongside SOAP notes
• Android support for mobile documentation
• Extensive template customization, including the ability to create specialty-specific or practice-specific note formats from scratch
• A dedicated post-visit dictation workflow in addition to ambient capture

Where Freed may be a better fit

Freed may work better for clinicians who:

• Want a focused ambient-first documentation tool with minimal setup overhead
• Primarily need SOAP notes and encounter summaries without additional document types
• Work in outpatient settings with reliable internet connectivity
• Use iOS devices and do not need Android support

How to choose

Try both. Most clinicians can evaluate an AI scribe within a handful of encounters. Record a few typical visits — or dictate summaries for them — and compare the output quality, editing time, and how well each tool fits into your existing workflow.

Pay attention to how much editing the generated notes require, whether the tool supports the document types you actually produce, and how the mobile experience works in your clinical setting. The right choice depends on your documentation needs, not on a feature checklist.

Methodology

This comparison reflects publicly available information as of May 2026. Product features, pricing, and compliance information can change. Always verify current details with each vendor before making a purchasing decision.