Updated 2026-10-15
What each one can and cannot do on a Windows PC, checked against Microsoft’s own pages. Short answer: Windows Live Captions is free, runs on the device and works offline, but it translates only on a Copilot+ PC running Windows 11, version 24H2 or later, and only into English or Chinese (Simplified): into English from over 40 languages, into Chinese (Simplified) from 27. That is what Microsoft’s support page says (read on 14 October 2026). If that is your PC and your language, use it. Tingdong for Windows translates into the language you choose, any of 60+, and works out the spoken language by itself. It needs no Copilot+ PC: it runs on ordinary Windows 11 PCs, x64 or ARM64. What it costs you: an internet connection, because recognition runs in the cloud, and a paid plan once the free trial (about 100 minutes of subtitles) runs out (why).
Get it from the Microsoft Store through the Tingdong for Windows page. It is made for Windows 11, x64 or ARM64; Windows 10 22H2 should work but is not yet tested. You need no Copilot+ PC, no NPU and no extra audio driver.
At the top, choose “Computer audio”, “Room” or “Both”. “Computer audio” subtitles whatever your PC plays, except Tingdong itself. “Room” listens through the microphone. “Both” does the two at once, as two separate streams. Then pick your language in the menu right of the arrow (“Translate into”) and leave the menu left of it (“They speak”) on “Detect automatically”.
Subtitles appear as people speak. The “Subtitle window” stays on top of other apps, and you can drag it anywhere. Turn off “Original” to see only the translation, or turn on “Read aloud” to hear each translated sentence through your own speakers or headphones.
| Windows Live Captions | Tingdong for Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| Which PCs | Captions: Windows 11, version 22H2 and later. Translation: only Copilot+ PCs running Windows 11, version 24H2 and later (an NPU capable of 40+ TOPS, 16 GB of RAM) | Windows 11 PCs, x64 or ARM64. No Copilot+ PC and no NPU needed |
| Translates into | English (United States) or Chinese (Simplified) only | The language you pick in the menu right of the arrow (“Translate into”): any of 60+ |
| Translates from | Over 40 languages into English; 27 into Chinese (Simplified) | 60+ languages, detected automatically (“They speak”: “Detect automatically”) |
| Captions without translation | Yes, its core job: Microsoft lists 21 recognition languages and variants | Not on Windows: every stream is translated into the language you pick |
| Where it runs | On the device, and it works offline. Microsoft: “Audio, voice data, and captions never leave your device” | In the cloud, so it needs an internet connection. Audio is streamed for recognition and not stored (why) |
| Microphone | Off each time it starts; turn on “Include microphone audio”. When PC sound and the mic overlap, PC sound wins | “Room” listens through the microphone; “Both” subtitles the room and the PC’s sound as two separate streams |
| Where subtitles appear | Docked above or below the screen, or “Overlaid on screen”: an overlay window you can reposition | The main window, or the “Subtitle window” that stays on top of other apps. Translation alone, or with the original above it |
| Hearing the translation | Not described on Microsoft’s page; captions are text | “Read aloud” speaks each translated sentence on this PC only; Tingdong sends nothing into calls. While it speaks, the microphone pauses (on some PCs the computer audio too), so with “Room” or “Both” what is said in the room during playback is not subtitled |
| Price | Free, built into Windows 11 | Free trial: about 100 minutes of subtitles, no sign-up or card. After that, the monthly plan is $4.99 for 1000 credits, and the same plans work in the Mac and Windows apps. Subtitles use 1 credit a minute for each stream (Both is two streams); Read aloud uses 8 credits a minute while it speaks. |
Where a row says on the device or offline: Tingdong runs recognition and translation on a dedicated streaming engine, not on your PC. Why that is the trade we chose — model size, 60+ auto-detected languages, simultaneous pacing — is on one page: why not on-device, and why it costs money.
Pick Live Captions if you have a Copilot+ PC on Windows 11, version 24H2 or later, you want the translation in English or Chinese (Simplified), and you want it free, offline and on the device. It is also the right tool for captions in the language that was spoken, on Windows 11, version 22H2 or later, if Microsoft lists that language. Pick Tingdong when your PC is not a Copilot+ PC, or when you want the translation in another language (Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Arabic or any of 60+). Its two weaknesses are real: it needs an internet connection, and it is paid after the free trial. Why it runs in the cloud and costs money is explained on one page; the download is on the Windows page.
Going by Microsoft’s support page (read on 14 October 2026), translation needs all four of these. 1. A Copilot+ PC. Microsoft’s Windows 11 specifications ask for an NPU capable of 40+ TOPS, 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, and add that “devices with fewer than 16 GB of RAM or lower storage configurations are not Copilot+ PCs.” 2. Windows 11, version 24H2 or later. 3. The output language. Microsoft says you “automatically see translation when using English (United States) or Chinese (Simplified) as the output language”; it lists no other output language. 4. The spoken language. It must be one of the 40-plus languages Microsoft lists for English, or one of the 27 it lists for Chinese (Simplified). If any of the four fails, Live Captions does not translate. It can still caption speech in the language it was spoken, on Windows 11, version 22H2 or later, if that language is one of the 21 recognition languages and variants Microsoft lists. Tingdong asks for none of that hardware: no Copilot+ PC, no NPU. It translates 60+ spoken languages into the language you choose on a Windows 11 PC. It has one condition of its own, an internet connection (why).
No. As of 14 October 2026, Microsoft’s support page lists two output languages for translation: English, from over 40 languages, and Chinese (Simplified), from 27 languages; and translation works only on Copilot+ PCs running Windows 11, version 24H2 or later. Tingdong translates into the language you pick in the menu right of the arrow (“Translate into”), any of 60+, on a Windows 11 PC without a Copilot+ requirement.
No. Microsoft says Live Captions “is available in Windows 11, version 22H2 and later”, and translation also needs a Copilot+ PC on version 24H2 or later. Tingdong is made for Windows 11. Windows 10 22H2 should work but is not yet tested, so we do not promise it; the free trial is the way to check on your own PC.
No. Recognition and translation run in the cloud, not on the PC’s own processor, so an ordinary Windows 11 PC works, x64 or ARM64. That is also why Tingdong needs an internet connection. Why recognition runs in the cloud.
No. Without a connection it shows no subtitles. Live Captions does work offline: Microsoft says captions “can be provided for audio even when disconnected from the internet.” If you need captions with no network, use Live Captions. Why Tingdong runs in the cloud.
Yes, in one specific way: Microsoft says “Audio, voice data, and captions never leave your device.” Tingdong streams audio to its recognition service only while a session runs and does not store it, but the audio does leave the PC. If your rule is that audio must stay on the device, use Live Captions. What the cloud buys in exchange.
Every new computer gets a free trial of about 100 minutes of subtitles, with no sign-up and no card. After that, the monthly plan is $4.99 for 1000 credits, and the same plans work in the Mac and Windows apps. Subtitles use 1 credit a minute for each stream (Both is two streams); Read aloud uses 8 credits a minute while it speaks. You choose a plan in the app and pay on Stripe’s page in your browser. Live Captions costs nothing. Why it is paid.
Get it for Windows Download free for macOS
Free trial: about 100 minutes of subtitles · No signup or card
Windows 11 (subtitles and Read aloud only, nothing sent into calls)