# Hello Transcribe — user reviews

> 40 indexed App Store user reviews of Hello Transcribe by Ben Nortier, rated 4.40/5 from 37 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hello-transcribe/id6443919768/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hello-transcribe/id6443919768.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 26 · 4★ 6 · 3★ 0 · 2★ 2 · 1★ 3

## Newest reviews (13 of 40)

### 4/5 — Useful app , does not allow default model to be set

*2024-05-13, version 3.2.7*

Starting with a shortcut it always defaults to tiny model which is bit rubbish

### 4/5 — Pretty good

*2023-12-02*

Fundamentally, this is a pretty good implementation of Whisper on iOS. For longer transcriptions, it appears to just chunk the audio into 30 second segments, which can degrade the quality of the transcription, including unexpected line breaks and words that overlap two chunks not being great. I wish there were a few more options. One simple one would be a one-click button that allows you to re-process a finished transcription as a single complete audio file. Alternatively, I would like to set it up so that the real time preview is done using one model of my choice (maybe tiny, maybe base), and then after the transcription is complete, it would automatically process the complete audio with another model of my choice (maybe small or medium).

I go back and forth between this one and WhisperBoard. They’re both good in their own ways, but transcription quality is critical, so I rate WhisperBoard higher since it doesn’t seem to suffer the same oddities that are the result of Hello Transcribe attempting to do real-time transcription.

### 4/5 — Almost perfect

*2023-10-31*

I’ve been waiting too long for apple to bring AI to voice memos but they haven’t done anything about it yet. I like that it uses whisper locally but would also have the option to just record audio and then let it transcribe overnight when I’m not using the phone (this could also enable us to use larger models since the transcription doesn’t need to be real-time); this in turn should allow me to search later through my recordings and when I tap on a word from the search result it should move the audio player cursor to that position, please implement something like this! Thanks, it’s almost there

**Developer response:** Thanks for the support! On iOS it's not possible to run transcriptions in the background because of restrictions from Apple, so unfortunately you can only run those workflows on the Mac.

The next major version will have the cursor as you describe! With searchable text.

### 4/5 — Great app / update changes

*2023-08-01, version 2.6.12*

This is a great app and I love that it can be used on my mac as well now. I use it to record my meetings on my phone and it was working great until the newest update. I upgraded to the pro version which offers other more accurate AI models but since the new update my phone screen will time out and the app stops recording. Is there a way to ensure this doesn’t happen while using the app? This would be the only way I can use it on my phone. Otherwise it’s amazing!

### 4/5 — Almost Perfect

*2023-07-24*

Updating my original review below to corroborate what others have mentioned here: It is very easy to lose *all* of your transcription. I see this happens if the phone is idle for too long, the app crashes, etc. It's a gamble to use this each time for that reason. Auto recovery of some kind or auto save would seal the deal. 

Hits all the marks for a transcription app for me. Nothing in the cloud unless I want it to be, uses the best technology to transcribe known to humanity to date, easily shareable, love the option to omit non spoken sounds, and can transcribe in real time.

**Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback!

1. Ok, I'll add that for version 2.1. I've started beta testing but it should be easy enough to add before I release it. Hopefully next week sometime.
2. Hmm ok. Yea agree that's not good. I will need to figure out a way of saving in-progress data on device, since I don't want to sync to iCloud unless the user explicitly chooses to do so.

### 5/5 — Great app, don't be put off by the name

*2023-07-18*

This app does a great job where you can see the transcription happening in real time and even has Shortcuts support.

So much more useful (and faster) than anything Apple has.

**Developer response:** Thanks for the positive review!

### 4/5 — Convenient, although text saving could be better

*2023-07-17*

I really do enjoy the convenience of this app, as I was previously recording voice clips and then manually processing them through the Whisper local model on my PC - this is much faster.

I do have one complaint though - it’s very easy to lose your transcribed text once you’re finished recording. I’ve created an iOS shortcut to pipe my text into ChatGPT to turn it into markdown-formatted documentation, and the dictation controls are confusing enough that it’s easy to accidentally discard five minutes worth of dictated notes. Could you possibly add an option to automatically save dictated text, and view those files later? That would make this app 5 stars to me.

**Developer response:** Hi
Sorry about the data loss, and yes this is in the pipeline. I'm going to rework the data handling soon and will save intermediate transcriptions locally. This may require an upgrade to iOS 17 when it is released because I want to use the new SwiftData frameworks.
Regards
Ben

### 5/5 — Quick Response

*2023-06-21*

This tool is precisely what I need. It offers swift responses for live transcription, and the author is also prompt in the communication.

**Developer response:** Thanks for the review!

### 5/5 — The best

*2023-06-12*

I’ve tried all the Whisper apps and this is the best. Among other things, it’s the only one I know of that will simultaneously transcribe, and the developer is very responsive if you have any problems, but you won’t. Get it.

**Developer response:** Hi, thanks a lot. I am glad you like it. let me know if you have ideas on making it better!

### 5/5 — Such an great app

*2023-05-28*

Get this app and buy the Pro version. You won’t regret it. It is FAST! Please make a macOS version based on CoreML soon!!

**Developer response:** Thanks! macOS version coming soon

### 5/5 — BEST Speech to Transcription App

*2023-04-26*

Reason # 1, the price. Has a flat cost that allows unlimited transcription.

Reason # 2, it’s ALL done IN your phone. While some apps send it to the cloud via internet and have a subscription cost (albeit more “features”) this has the bare bones to use OpenAIs Whisper which is some of the best transcription technology I’ve ever seen. 

If we get any updates, we’ll forever be in this persons debt.

**Developer response:** Great, thanks! Yes updates are coming! Some nice new features and a macOS version

### 5/5 — Can you add translation to other languages?

*2023-04-17*

Just like the title, users can choose to translate to other languages in real time, not just English.🧐

**Developer response:** Hi :) That would be amazing but I'm currently using OpenAI Whisper to to the translation, which can only do English. For other languages I would have to add another system. Not impossible, but would be a significant effort. I will add it to the backlog

### 4/5 — Great app, sometimes crashes though

*2023-04-16, version 2.2.2*

Very easy way to get access to whisper in your own phone. Also great that there is a free version (although the tiny model is far from perfect). A bug is stopping from using the larger model (accurate), every time I try to select it (I’m premium) the app crashes. Please fix it soon! Thanks

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 1/5 — Lasteat update broke it for me

*2024-04-25, version 3.2.7*

Broke

### 1/5 — No Medium or Large Models

*2023-10-15, version 2.7.3*

This aop has no access to Medium or Large Models.

### 1/5 — It doesn’t appear in the share sheet anywhere, not even under the more tab.

*2023-05-23*

Without the ability to use the share sheet to import audio files from another app like Podcasts, etc., this app is useless to me. I tried to reach out to the developer to no avail. It’s too bad, really, since I was going to pay to get the small model.

**Developer response:** Hi, where did you reach out? I apologise for missing it. I've had one or two reports from other users that the app doesn't show up in the share sheet, and it's an iOS issue (& something I have no control over). It sounds like if a user has a lot of apps installed sometimes it doesn't show up on the share sheet. You can try and delete some apps to get it working. Please email me ben@bjnortier.com if you don't succeed.

### 2/5 — Was good. Crashes with update

*2026-01-16*

App was great once you got used to the quirks. The update in January made it unusable.

### 2/5 — Too much UI/UX Bug

*2024-12-04*

Please fix them.

### 2/5 — Crashes every time I load the Accurate Multilingual model

*2023-04-13*

I haven an iPhone SE (second generation). Could explain why. But wish I had known that before purchasing the Pro version.

**Developer response:** Hi, I'm adding information that at least an iPhone 11 is recommended for Pro models. I'm very happy to refund you the Pro cost, please email be ben@bjnortier.com

### 3/5 — Pretty buggy

*2023-02-18, version 2.0.5*

The app seems to crash whenever I try to save a transcript. Also the transcription quality is pretty poor (but I don’t think that the developer is to blame for that!). Finally: subscription pricing for an on device app like this just seems excessive.

### 3/5 — Nice

*2023-01-07*

But it would be better if there were timestamps

**Developer response:** Timestamps are available in version 2.4

### 4/5 — Overall a good app, but could use some enhancements

*2026-04-15*

Overall a good app, but could use some enhancements
Pros...
* transcribing is good
* private/on device
* no subscriptions
* it can save with or without audio
Cons...
* transcribe is slow / not real time
* no translation options found
* no speak options found
* transcribing window is too small
* can't find a way to move sidebar out of view

### 4/5 — Text is lost if app is switched

*2024-11-13, version 3.2.7*

if you swipe to use another app then come back it does not save a draft. i have lost my last 3 projects

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — The best local dictation app period

*2025-12-15, version 3.2.7*

I have been experimenting with many different transcript and dictation app and this is by far the best one I could find on App Store

### 5/5 — Awesome on iPad Pro 11 M2

*2024-12-06, version 3.2.7*

I'd been working on transcribing recorded meetings on mbp 16 / 2019 Intel, and the large-v2 or -v3 models could take 14hrs on a 3hr recording.
I looked for an alternative, saw the comments about the Apple silicon / Metal improvement, dropped that sucker on my iPad Pro 11 (4thGen / M2), and it ran that same process in under 2 hours.  Amazing.  Quality on 'medium' model a little gappy sometimes, but the recording wasn't perfect either.  Very impressed - just added another monster solution to the swiss army knife iPad.

### 5/5 — Amazing

*2024-05-31, version 3.2.7*

Really useful for people with learning disabilites! This is the only app I know of that implements Whisper model by OpenAI, providing very accurate and fast transcription

### 5/5 — Fantastic, almost exactly what I'm looking for

*2024-04-09*

What I would love to see if this could keep the audio file attached (.m4a from voice memos). For both reference and posterity in case I need to double check or verify transcription audio for any errors in the transcription. Other than that, I love the whole app and accuracy. 

Kill subscription/server models and give us the option for offline and private transcription! Nice work!

**Developer response:** Great, thanks! Yes updates are coming! Some nice new features and a macOS version

### 5/5 — What more can anyone ask for?

*2023-11-16, version 3.1.7*

A native swift app, that serves CoreML Whisper models for download and runs Whisper.cpp offline on-device. The free version allows you to use the tiny model and pro versions allow you to use the small, medium and large models. I’m running the Small and Medium models on my iPhone 15 Pro and it has been working flawlessly. It’s $10 for pro and I highly recommend getting it. The purchase is easily justified when you use the app for a minute.

### 5/5 — Gamechanger for journaling!

*2023-09-23*

This app is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for! As someone who relies on journaling/freewriting for everything—from internal reflections to business brainstorming—I’ve wished for an effective voice-to-text solution. 

Other apps either lacked live dictation or were really inaccurate (looking at you, Siri). Hello Transcribe, however, has been a lifesaver! Now, I can freewrite on-the-go, while walking or driving or washing dishes. The hours I’m reclaiming, and the creative surge I’m experiencing, are simply monumental.

And feeding these transcriptions into ChatGPT has been incredible - giving me summaries, turning rambling thoughts into article drafts, emails, action items (and even app reviews 😉). And surprisingly, it even runs in near-real-time on my old iPhone X!

I do have 2 suggestions though: the ‘clear’ button is dangerously close to ‘pause’. Wish there was a confirmation prompt. And an option to keep the screen awake during recording would be really nice.

But even still, this app, especially at its price point, is perfect to me. Thanks for creating this Ben!

**Developer response:** I've added a confirmation prompt for clearing the dictation in version 3 - should come out soon!

### 5/5 — medical dictation

*2023-08-11*

i use this often and it’s offline capabilities is superior to all competitors

**Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback. The medical terminology is interesting, and would require some investigation into how to approach it, but it's on the to-do list. I have investigated adding a keyboard - iOS has a hard memory limit for keyboards so not even the "tiny" model will fit. A keyboard would have to use server-side transcription, which has privacy concerns. Would you use a keyboard that sends your audio to a server?

### 5/5 — Better memory usage than MacWhisperer!

*2023-08-03*

Not sure how Ben did it, but this implementation of Whisper is just as fast as any other I've used (such as MacWhisperer) on my Macbook Pro M1 Pro -- and yet it ONLY is using up RAM when actively doing the listening/transcribing infernece. I'm assuming that has something to do with CoreML and the 20-minute one-time initialization that took place when i first installed the ~600mb Eng Small Model. 

A couple things that would be amazing to have in the future:
- a menu-bar version for quick/easy access to transcribing (or even something like the ability to right click  in a text field and select an option for transcribing voice to text, if that's possible). 
- MacWhisper has an option to clean up the random line breaks and spacing that happens during the transcription, would love to see Hello Transcribe get the same ability. 
- Ability to use the Macbook's system audio to transcribe any audio source

**Developer response:** Thanks for the review and thanks for the requests! I I will look into adding them

### 5/5 — Great app, don't be put off by the name

*2023-08-02*

This app does a great job where you can see the transcription happening in real time and even has Shortcuts support. So much more useful (and faster) than anything Apple has. --- Tip: it's not obvious, but you can copy/export your transcription even after pausing it by press and holding on the output box. Then you can resume if needed. ---Wishlist: be able to select a specific section of the text rather than needing to export the whole thing.

**Developer response:** Thanks for the positive review!

### 5/5 — Best, most secure, Whisper AI based app on App Store!

*2023-07-29, version 2.6.12*

This app is great! I do most all my computing on the App Store-- both for work and for personal use. For my profession, I also do a lot of transcription but need a transcription app that allows me to keep my transcription on my device and not send it over the internet-- this app does all of that! I tried different apps in the past but none achieved enough recognition and kept my information on my device (Apple's dictate is okay but not so accurate when not transmitting information to the cloud).

The app is also free and the developer shows the user in the settings good information about what is going on with the app and customizations. I opted to also purchase the "Pro" version which gets you a bigger speech model (more accurate) for a one time fee of approximately $7 (seems quite reasonable)-- rather than other Whisper apps often asking for $99/year (especially considering the underlying Whisper engine is open source and free).

Looking forward to the developer continuing to develop this app. Developer might want to consider a catchier app name to attract even more interest on the App Store.

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*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 2026-08-07.*