# Hearing Buddy - Speech To Text — Sound Amplifier, Hearing Boost > Real-time speech-to-text captions and conversation assistance for hearing support. (iPhone/iPad app by Krager Labs LLC.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hearing-buddy-speech-to-text/id6747363502 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Krager Labs LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/641756538) - Category: Medical, Utilities - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.25/5 from 111 App Store ratings · 11 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 26.0 · 150 MB - Languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Chinese - Released: 2025-09-16 - Data updated: 2026-08-27 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hearing-buddy-speech-to-text/id6747363502/reviews.md ## What is Hearing Buddy? A hearing buddy is the patient, understanding person who helps you hear. When they can't be there, Hearing Buddy is your backup. Built by someone who is hard of hearing, every feature comes from lived experience. 2026 Apple Design Award Finalist (Inclusivity) UNLIMITED FREE LIVE CAPTIONS Most captioning apps charge by the minute, turning accessibility into a metered service. Hearing Buddy gives you unlimited live captions for free. Speech becomes clear text on your iPhone or iPad, even in noisy rooms or fast conversations. Captioning happens on your device. Your conversations are not sent to a cloud transcription service. SHARE CAPTIONS FOR FREE One iPhone captions the room. Everyone nearby reads along. Share your live captions and people around you can follow from their own iPhone or iPad. Put a phone where the sound is and read from wherever you are. Your hearing buddy can set their phone next to the speaker while you follow from the back of the room. In meetings, classes, and group conversations, more people can turn on their mic, and every voice flows into one shared transcript. Everyone chooses the language they want to read. Hearing Buddy translates captions as people speak, so the same conversation can be read in several languages at once, free for everyone. Sharing works directly between devices. No internet, no account, no server. Captions stay in the room. NAME AND QUESTION ALERTS When someone says your name, your Apple Watch taps your wrist. The same tap tells you when someone asks a question. No more anxious waiting at the pharmacy or the coffee counter. The moment your name is spoken, you'll feel it. Alerts on your iPhone and Lock Screen show what needs your attention, so you don't have to keep watching your phone. TRANSLATE WHAT YOU HEAR When you're listening on your own, Buddy+ lets you choose the language being spoken and the language you want to read. Hearing Buddy translates captions as people speak. Alerts, summaries, and session titles can appear in your reading language too. BOOST AUDIO Boost Audio turns AirPods, Bluetooth, or wired headphones into a real time sound amplifier. It can lift quiet voices by up to +39 dB and shape sound to your hearing test from Apple Health. CONVERSATION SUMMARIES Review key points without rereading every caption. Your buddy gives you a short recap of meetings, appointments, classes, and group conversations. MAKE BUDDY YOURS Name your buddy and choose their personality, colors, character, and tone. FREE FEATURES • Unlimited live captions • Share Captions with people nearby • Live translation for everyone in shared captions • Background listening • Saved transcripts • Copy and share transcripts • Adjustable text size BUDDY+ FEATURES • Live translation when you caption on your own • Boost Audio for any headphones • Name and question alerts on Apple Watch, iPhone, and Lock Screen • Conversation summaries • Live Activity and Widget support • Live captions on Mac and Apple Vision Pro • Premium buddy personalities and app icons No one should have to miss what matters or apologize for how they hear. LANGUAGE SUPPORT The full app is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Live captions support 18 language and regional options across English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Requires iOS 26.0 or later. Apple Watch features require watchOS 10.0 or later. Buddy+ Annual: $59.99 per year Buddy+ Monthly: $9.99 per month Buddy+ Weekly: $7.99 per week Terms: https://apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula Privacy: https://kragerlabs.com/privacy.html Hearing Buddy is a supportive tool, not a replacement for medical devices or professional medical advice. ## Key features - Unlimited real-time captions - On-device privacy - Apple Watch alerts for names/questions - Conversation summaries - Customizable app personality - Adjustable text size ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Pro | $6.99 | per 7 days | | Pro | $59.99 | per year | | Pro | $9.99 | per month | | Pro | $59.99 | per year | | Pro | $9.99 | per month | | Pro | $29.99 | per year | **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Buddy+ Friend | Free | one-time | ## Chart rankings - #188 in Top Free · Medical (US App Store) - #173 in Top Grossing · Medical (US App Store) ## Recent user reviews (10 of 11) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hearing-buddy-speech-to-text/id6747363502/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Excellent! *2026-08-11* Downloaded App on iPad mini for my elderly father. He is unable to hear any of the conversations at the dinner table especially when we go out to dinner. Works in offline mode so he doesn’t need cellular service at a restaurant. This app will be life altering for him. Thank you! ### 1/5 — Does not work *2026-07-27* Can’t get past rating requirement ### 5/5 — Impressive accuracy *2026-07-21* Great for table conversation in noisy congregate dining room in senior living. ### 4/5 — A new world for my 93 year old Dad *2026-06-26* I tested this app in both French and English before we purchased a subscription for my Dad. I am amazed by how this changed things for him overnight. He went from not knowing what was being discussed at the noisy dinner table in his senior residence to becoming part of the conversation (or at minimum following it!). We also tested it at a very loud Happy Hour event with live music and many speakers and it did very well, with not many errors. The interface is pretty friendly with need for some small tweaks (big or shaky hands may have some difficulty with small tabs to switch between live captions and other options) but the developer is super responsive, answering my questions via email almost immediately after sending them. Bravo! **Developer response:** Thank you! We are glad the app is helping your Dad. More improvements to the app coming soon! 🎉 ### 5/5 — Trial *2026-06-16* I’m trying this app to see if it helps with conversations ### 3/5 — Good, not great (yet) *2026-06-08* Two things that I’d like to see are different font types and improved language transcription speed when parsing words. This is a very good starting app that could eventually be a viable replacement app for people looking to move off of Android. I am not a huge fan of the threat of subscription models taking over virtually everything as well, so I hope this app and its features stay free within reasonable limits. I understand you need to make money to cover development costs. Consider applying for grants from governments and/or institutions to help fund this. This is the closest thing to getting folks with hearing complications to switch to iOS in my opinion as a Deaf person who relies on Google’s Live Transcribe. I’d consider this to be 3.5/5 right now with room for improvements. ### 3/5 — I wanna love it *2026-05-21* But there are some issues that need to be ironed out, I can excuse the imperfect captions but the Mac app just doesn’t connect to my iPhone very well. **Developer response:** Hi Jackienova! Thank you for the patience and honest feedback. You're right, the Mac to iPhone connection needs work, and making it solid over local connections is an area we've been looking to improve. We want you to love it too. Would you be able to email us (support@hearingbuddyapp.com) more specifics so we can diagnose? Thanks a ton for your support! ~ Lilly & Scott ### 3/5 — Not accurate *2026-05-14* I find the conversations are not accurate when it listens in. A lot of mistakes. I also can not cancel my subscription anywhere, so be aware of that. **Developer response:** Hey, thanks so much for the honest feedback. You're right that accuracy has room to grow. We use 100% on-device transcription to keep your conversations private, which can be less accurate than cloud models, but we just pushed more improvements this week and more are on the way. We want to balance accuracy, privacy, and accessibility, and we still have work to do. Also good news on canceling: we just added a Manage Subscription section in Settings to make it simple. Really appreciate you giving us a try! Please reach out anytime at support (support@hearingbuddyapp.com) if there's anything else we can help with. ### 5/5 — 好 *2026-05-08* good！好 ### 5/5 — Best live captions app *2026-02-16* I’m hard of hearing and finally found an app that helps during work!! I love the summaries and when my hearing buddy taps me for a name or question alert. Was getting a coffee this morning and it tapped me when they called my name. ## Frequently asked questions about Hearing Buddy ### What is Hearing Buddy? Hearing Buddy is an app that provides unlimited, real-time speech-to-text captions to help users with hearing loss understand conversations. It also offers features like name and question alerts to improve communication. ### Does Hearing Buddy have ads? No, Hearing Buddy does not contain advertisements. The app is free to use with optional in-app purchases for advanced features. ### What devices is Hearing Buddy compatible with? Hearing Buddy is available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It requires iOS 26.0+ and watchOS 10.0+. ### How much does Hearing Buddy cost? The core features of Hearing Buddy are free. Optional Buddy+ features are available through subscription plans, including weekly ($9.99), monthly ($9.99), and annual ($29.99) options, all with a 3-day free trial. ### Is my conversation data private with Hearing Buddy? Yes, all conversations are processed on your device, ensuring your privacy. No cloud processing is used, meaning your conversations are not shared with anyone else. ### How often is Hearing Buddy updated? The latest version of Hearing Buddy is 2.05, released on March 13, 2026. Updates are released regularly to improve functionality and add new features. ### What are the benefits of the Buddy+ subscription? Buddy+ unlocks premium features such as Apple Watch alerts for names and questions, conversation summaries, Live Activity and Widget support, and the ability to customize the app's personality. ### What is the age rating for Hearing Buddy? Hearing Buddy has an age rating of 4+. This indicates it is suitable for children and adults and does not contain content inappropriate for younger audiences. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 3.06 — 2026-08-25 • Setup now explains the local network permission before iOS asks. That's how captions reach the people around you • Fixed a setup screen that could get stuck at larger text sizes • Lighter first launch: the app no longer downloads extras it doesn't need yet ### 3.05 — 2026-08-21 - Fixed a setup screen that could leave you stuck when using larger text sizes - Small improvements and polish throughout ### 3.04 — 2026-08-19 - Fixed a crash that could happen when headphones disconnected during a session - Small improvements and polish throughout ### 3.03 — 2026-08-12 - bug fixes and improvements ### 3.02 — 2026-08-08 Fixes and updates for a smoother, more reliable listening session. ## Apps similar to Hearing Buddy | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [LilSense - 3am Baby Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lilsense-3am-baby-tracker/id6757206189) | 4.7 (6) | Free | Medical | ## More apps by Krager Labs LLC - [SERPs SEO Keyword Rankings](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/serps-seo-keyword-rankings/id641756535) - [SEO Keyword Research Tool](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seo-keyword-research-tool/id1076480130) - [Backlink Tool - SEO Link Building Research & Analysis](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/backlink-tool-seo-link-building-research-and-analysis/id1086485905) - [NREMT EMT Basic Exam Prep 2025](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nremt-emt-basic-exam-prep-2025/id1369641216) - [NCLEX RN Prep Mastery 2025](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nclex-rn-prep-mastery-2025/id6446394660) - [Couples Relationship Questions](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/couples-relationship-questions/id6446517700) All apps by Krager Labs LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/641756538 ## Related topics [hearing buddy](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hearing-buddy) · [hearing impaired text](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hearing-impaired-text) · [hearing impaired communication](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hearing-impaired-communication) · [hearing impaired caption](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hearing-impaired-caption) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*