Comparison

Just Press Record vs Save The Waves

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Just Press Record

Effortlessly capture audio moments with one-tap recording, automatic transcription, and seamless syncing across all your Apple devices. Edit audio and text, share easily, and organize your recordings with powerful search and organizational tools.

Highlights
  • One-tap recording
  • Automatic transcription
  • iCloud syncing
  • Audio and text editing
  • Hands-free Siri recording
  • Apple Watch app
  • Searchable transcripts
Features
Read full description

Just Press Record is the ultimate audio recorder bringing one tap recording, transcription and iCloud syncing to all your devices. You can edit your audio and transcriptions right inside the app and even start a new recording completely hands-free with Siri! Life is full of moments we would rather not forget - like your child’s first words, an important meeting or spontaneous idea. Capture these moments effortlessly on iPhone, iPad, Mac or for ultimate convenience, Apple Watch. RECORD • One tap to start, stop, pause and resume recording. • Start and stop recording from the Lock Screen, Control Centre, the Action Button, Shortcuts, Siri, the Widget, a 3D Touch Quick Action or via the URL scheme. • Unlimited recording time. • Record discretely in the background. • Choose to record from the built-in mic, AirPods or external microphones. • Record independently on Apple Watch and sync later. PLAY • Seek backwards and forwards during playback. • Adjustable playback speed. TRANSCRIBE • Turn speech into searchable text. • Support for over 30 languages, independent of your device's language setting. • Synchronized text highlighting and audio playback. • Format as you record with punctuation commands. EDIT • Audio - visualise your audio in the waveform view and cut out the parts you don’t need. • Text - make corrections and add new text to your transcriptions. SHARE • Share audio and text to other apps. • Share easily to social media as a video clip. • Share to iTunes on Mac or PC via USB cable. • Print a hard copy of your transcripts. • Share audio files from other apps to Just Press Record. ORGANISATION • View recent recordings or browse your library by date and time. • Search by filename or transcription content. • Dedicated tab for quick access to recordings made on Apple Watch. • Rename recordings. • Slide Over and Split View support on iPad. • Add a badge to the app icon showing the number of unplayed recordings. STORAGE • Choose to store recordings in iCloud Drive or locally on-device. • Recordings stored in iCloud Drive automatically sync across all your devices. • Recordings stored locally benefit from Files app integration and automatic iTunes File Sharing. • Transcriptions are stored within the audio file. PRO-AUDIO • Support for stereo recording from the built-in microphone on supported devices. • Support for high quality external microphones connected via the Lightning Port. • Customisable Audio Settings to enhance your recording experience. • File types include WAV, AIF or standard iTunes M4A (ACC). • High quality audio up to 96kHz / 24-bit. ACCESSIBILITY • VoiceOver support throughout the app. • Magic Tap gesture to start / stop a recording. APPLE WATCH Just Press Record includes an Apple Watch app that gives you the freedom to record anywhere, even when your iPhone is not around. • Start recording with a single tap on the Complication. • Record discretely in the background. • Unlimited recording time. • Recordings automatically transfer to iPhone for transcription and iCloud syncing. • Listen to recent recordings through the built-in speaker or AirPods. • Adjust volume with the Digital Crown. • Pause recording with a downward swipe. • Accessibility support with VoiceOver, reduced motion and support for the extra large Complication template. IMPORTANT: • Just Press Record does not record phone calls or audio from other apps. • Transcription requires a good, clean audio signal. Avoid recording in noisy environments and ensure the microphone is positioned close to the source. • URL scheme implemented by Just Press Record can be found on our FAQ page.

About

Save The Waves

Report coastal threats like pollution and illegal development by snapping geotagged photos. This data is shared with environmental organizations and agencies to help protect surf ecosystems globally. Empower local communities to become active stewards of coastal environments.

Highlights
  • Report coastal threats
  • Geotagged photo submission
  • Data sharing with agencies
  • Community empowerment
  • Surf ecosystem protection
Features
Read full description

The Save The Waves Mobile App crowdsources data from coastal users who identify key coastal threats like illegal development, plastic pollution and poor water quality. Using smartphone technology, users snap a photo of the impacted site that is geotagged by the phone’s GPS. This data is shared with on-the-ground practitioners, coastal agencies, and protected area managers in our coalition. With our larger community, we can identify and reduce threats in surf ecosystems across the globe, empowering our local communities to be active stewards in the protection of surf ecosystems.

Screenshots

Just Press Record4 screens
Save The Waves4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Save The Waves at Free against Just Press Record's $6.99. Save The Waves also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.6). Just Press Record's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 16) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 5 months). On ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Save The Waves is free to download; Just Press Record costs $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Save The Waves holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Just Press Record has 1.5K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Just Press Record ships an update every 5 weeks, Save The Waves every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Just Press Record versus Save The Waves: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJust Press RecordSave The Waves
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better16
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOpen Planet SoftwareSave The Waves Coalition

Customer experience

Just Press Record

All ratings1,522 ratings
Positive80.3%
Neutral4.7%
Negative15.0%
Written reviews1,000 reviews
Positive62.7%
Neutral9.9%
Negative27.4%

Save The Waves

All ratings16 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Just Press Record

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Recordings disappearing or not syncing
  • Transcription process freezing or failing

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to edit transcriptions
  • Ability to create custom folders/tags
  • Discreet recording mode without visual indicators
  • Background recording without interruptions

Save The Waves

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Just Press Record

No in-app purchases

None

Save The Waves

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Just Press Record free?
Just Press Record costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Save The Waves free?
Save The Waves is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Just Press Record or Save The Waves?
Save The Waves is rated higher. Just Press Record averages 4.3 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Save The Waves averages 5.0 from 16 ratings.
Do Just Press Record or Save The Waves have ads?
Neither Just Press Record nor Save The Waves shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Just Press Record or Save The Waves?
Just Press Record ships an update every 5 weeks, and Save The Waves every 5 months. Most recently, Just Press Record was updated on September 22, 2026 and Save The Waves on June 1, 2026.

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