Choosing a steno theory

Since Plover theory can be leaned for free, it's what we'd usually recommend to beginners. But different theories have different strengths and weaknesses, so here's a list of some common English ones and the main differences between them. For other languages see the list of supported languages on the old wiki.

Mainstream theories
Some theories are more consistent but require more hand movement, others use less hand movement but require more memorization to use. Additionally, some might be easier to pick up if you speak with certain accents:
 * Phoenix theory: Very phonetically consistent. Vowels are written based on how they're pronounced, rather than their spelling. Individual words might take more strokes to write, as it sometimes splits them in smaller parts to avoid different words getting written the same way, for example, suffixes are usually written in separate strokes. But sometimes you can write several short words in one stroke, using what's known as phrase briefs. Notable for leaving out vowels of unstressed syllables to avoid word boundary ambiguity.
 * RealWrite/RealTime, or RW/RT for short: Based on spelling rather than pronunciation. Does have phrase briefs too. If Phoenix is very phonetic, then RW/RT is very orthographic.
 * Plover theory: Less phonetic than Phoenix, for example the vowels are written based on how they're spelled, and vowel changes are used to disambiguate homophones if the asterisk isn't enough. Suffixes can often be "folded-in", meaning they can be written in the same stroke as the last stroke of the word they're being added to. Sometimes the same key combination can refer to multiple sound combinations, so some memorization is required to write some common words. Has fewer and less consistent phrase briefs. This is the theory that Plover comes with built-in.
 * StenEd: Similar to Plover theory, this seems to be the theory that inspired several other theories. Variants of this one seem to be taught in many schools/colleges.
 * Magnum Steno: Has a lot of briefs, both in terms of shortening words and in terms of phrase briefs. And I think it too "folds-in" endings. Can reduce hand movement quite a bit, but requires plenty of memorization to do so. Even words like "koala" can be written in one stroke.
 * Philly Clinic: The theory that seemed to inspire Magnum Steno. Known for the "Philly shift", which allows strokes to end in  or   by pressing   or   with the ring finger.

Additionally, there's other layouts, although theories aren't such a thing with those:
 * Palantype: Mainly used in the UK. Might be closer to how you pronounce things if you have a standard British accent.
 * Velotype: Based on spelling rather than pronunciation. Doesn't really need a dictionary, as it can build spellings from rules.

Others
Right now, there isn't much written about them, but some Plover users have made their own theories, which are usually based on Plover's theory.