iDictate.com vs Private Transcribe
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iDictate.com
Record and submit audio files for professional transcription services. Offers various turnaround times and supports multiple industries. A free trial credit is available upon account creation.
- Audio recording and submission
- Professional transcription
- Super-Rush service option
- HIPAA compliant for medical
- Free trial credit
- Supports English and Spanish
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Record and submit audio for quality transcription (with account). Super-Rush service available. iDictate is a leading transcription company; Billions of words transcribed since 1999. Transcribers available 365 days a year. Your Pocket Secretary iDictate.com allows you to record and submit your audio files for transcription using the official iDictate recording app and then receive the completed transcription back online or via email quickly and economically. iDictate is one of the oldest and most successful transcription companies with customers spanning the globe. All users can record and email files, however an iDictate account is required to submit files for transcription. - Regular Service ($) - Rush Service ($$) - Super Rush ($$$) Transcription Solutions iDictate brings efficiency and cost savings to academia, business, insurance, government, law enforcement, journalism and medicine (HIPAA Compliant) by providing quality transcripts in a timely manner. Since 1999, iDictate and Quicktate have transcribed billions of words. Free Trial We are so certain iDictate will revolutionize your workflow and save you money, we are willing to let you try our transcription service for free. You will receive an instant $5.00 credit when you create a transcription account. You will be responsible for transcription charges in excess of the $5.00 credit. Common File Types Legal: Letters, Settlement docs, Court filings, etc. Insurance: Claims, Settlement Negotiations, Itemization of Losses Medical: Patient Reports, Referral Letters, etc. (HIPAA Compliant) Wealth Management: Client Profiles, Client Interviews Executive Search: Candidate Profiles Law Enforcement: Depositions, Interviews, Interrogations Conference Calls: Meetings, Interviews, General Business Literary Works: Authors, bloggers, Novelists YouTube Videos Our Languages - English - Spanish The iDictate Recording App - Easy to use - Record/Pause/Stop/Send Buttons - Records large files - Audio recorded in m4a format A few valued customers of our companies iDictate, Quicktate, and Rent A Phone include: - Allstate - CNN - Ford - Heidrick and Struggles - Intuit - Korn/Ferry International - Mutual of Omaha - Russell Reynolds Associates - UCSF Medical Center - University of California - Wells Fargo Testimonials "Every book, article, and complex email that I have written for the last several years has all been done initially through iDictate. Professional, timely, responsive. Highly recommend." David K., MD Houston, TX "Speed, quality, responsiveness, care - this is my consistent experience with idictate. They are my go-to dictation partner." Julie A. Pawling, NY "I am an author, trainer and consultant who has a national practice ---I travel a lot. Idictate was one of the first services I ever contracted for and it has been my lifeline ever since. Over thousands of dictation jobs, they have never, ever, 'lost' a job or failed to meet a deadline. I am nominating them for sainthood!" Amy S. Moscow, OH "I use idictate to transcribe podcasts and find them fast, reliable and competitively priced. Excellent service, highly recommended." Scott H. Austin, TX "We are very happy with the service, and highly recommend Idictate.com. For several years we have been working with the same provider to transcribe our depositions, case notes, interviews and field reports. In early 2010, we decided to evaluate our options. After discovering Idictate, we liked what we heard and decided to test their service. After testing for a few months we polled our attorneys and field investigators, we found that the responses were all extremely positive and more. The turn-around time to get the files back was far more impressive than we had expected and were used to. Lastly, I have found their customer support to be extremely responsive… And the change to Idictate is saving us a lot of money as well.” John M. Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Private Transcribe
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Speech to text that never leaves your phone. Private Transcribe turns your voice into accurate text entirely on your device — Whisper AI runs on the phone itself, so nothing you say is ever uploaded, analyzed, or stored on a server. It even works in airplane mode. HOW IT WORKS 1. Download a speech model once (from 78 MB) 2. Tap the mic and talk — a live waveform shows you're being heard 3. Your words appear as text in seconds. Copy, edit, share, or export. After the one-time model download, no internet connection is ever needed. Transcribe on a plane, in the field, in a dead zone — anywhere. PICK YOUR ACCURACY Unlike cloud transcription apps, you choose the engine: • Quick (78 MB) — instant results for short notes • Balanced (148 MB) — everyday speed and accuracy (recommended) • Accurate (190 MB) — handles background noise and accents • Professional (539 MB) — high accuracy for meetings and interviews • Best (574 MB) — Whisper large-v3-turbo, the most accurate model that runs on a phone Every tier comes in an English-optimized version (fastest) and a multilingual version that understands 99+ languages, including Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, and Arabic. Pin the spoken language or let Whisper detect it. BUILT FOR REAL WORK • Voice memos that become editable text • Meeting notes and interview transcription • Lecture capture for students • Drafting messages, emails, and ideas by voice • Journaling — speak your thoughts, keep them private EVERYTHING YOU NEED • Import audio and video files — voice memos, meeting recordings, lecture videos, podcasts (m4a, mp3, wav, aac, mp4, mov) — transcribed on-device; videos contribute their audio track • Pause and resume while recording; keeps recording when the screen locks or you switch apps • Custom vocabulary: names, products and jargon come out spelled your way • Timestamps for every line — view, copy, or share a timestamped transcript • Searchable, editable transcription history, grouped by date • Cancel a long transcription; unfinished recordings are recovered if the app is closed • Back up all transcripts to a file you keep, and restore them on a new phone • Word counts and per-recording playback • Copy or share any transcript in one tap • Auto-copy each result to the clipboard (optional) • Keep recordings, or delete the audio automatically and keep only the text • Dark interface designed for long sessions FREE TO USE, PRO IF YOU WANT MORE Private Transcribe is free, supported by ads. A single one-time upgrade — never a subscription — removes all ads permanently, adds speech translation from 99+ languages into English text, and unlocks exporting transcripts as .txt files or .srt and .vtt subtitles with timestamps. PRIVACY, PLAINLY Your recordings and transcripts live only on your device. There is no account, no sign-up, and no server that receives your audio — the transcription engine physically runs on your phone. Delete everything at any time from Settings. If your voice is worth writing down, it's worth keeping private.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: iDictate.com at none against Private Transcribe's shown. iDictate.com also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.4). Private Transcribe's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iDictate.com ships an update every 3 months, Private Transcribe monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iDictate.com | Private Transcribe |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sharper Ideas | Nelson Lai |
In-app purchases
iDictate.com
No in-app purchases
Private Transcribe
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iDictate.com free?
Is Private Transcribe free?
Do iDictate.com or Private Transcribe have ads?
Which is updated more often, iDictate.com or Private Transcribe?
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