Comparison

Voice Memos vs Voice recorder

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

Head to head
About

Voice Memos

Capture, edit, and organize audio with this versatile recording tool. Easily transcribe speech to text, enhance sound quality, and share your creations across devices. Ideal for notes, ideas, and moments.

Highlights
  • Portable audio recording
  • Speech-to-text transcription
  • Audio editing tools
  • Vocal layer recording
  • iCloud sync
  • Noise reduction
Features
Read full description

Voice Memos turns your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch into a portable audio recorder, making it easy to capture and share personal notes, song ideas, family moments, classroom lectures, and more. Editing tools like trim, replace, and the new “Save As” feature let you fine-tune your recordings without altering the original. The transcription feature converts speech into text, simplifying the process of finding and referencing specific content. And the new feature to record a vocal layer on top of an existing instrumental recording* without the need for headphones making it easy to capture song ideas on the go. Users can then separate and edit the vocal and instrumental layers independently to continue expanding on those ideas. And with iCloud support, you can capture audio on the go with your iOS device, then use your Mac to do even more with your recordings. Features Record • Record using the built-in microphone, a Bluetooth headset, or a compatible external microphone. • Choose uncompressed audio for maximum sound fidelity, ensuring the highest quality recordings. • Opt for compressed audio to save storage space and record longer sessions. • Automatically name recordings based on your location. • Record a vocal layer* over an instrumental track without headphones. • Stereo recording adds greater depth and dimension to your audio**. • iCloud support keeps your recordings and edits in sync across all your devices, including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Vision Pro. Edit • Pinch-to-zoom for more precision when editing. • Trim your recordings to save just the portion you want. • Replace and resume to fine-tune your recordings. • Save As lets you make edits and save them as a new recording without altering the original file. • Separate and independently edit the vocal and instrumental takes for layered recordings*. • Transcripts automatically convert speech into text for easy reference***. • Enhance Recording reduces background noise and room reverberation with a single tap. Organize • Quickly find recordings with the search feature. • Folders make it easy to organize your recordings. • Mark recordings as Favorites so you can quickly access them later. Listen and share • Speed up or slow down playback of your recordings, or jump 15 seconds forward or back. • Skip Silence analyzes your recordings and automatically skips over gaps in your audio. • Share multiple recordings at once via AirDrop, Mail, Messages, and more. • Import vocal layer* recordings into Logic Pro as a two-track project for advanced editing and production. * Adding a vocal layer on top of a Voice Memos recording is available only on the iPhone 16 Pro models. ** Stereo recording requires Apple devices equipped with stereo microphones and iOS 18 or later. *** Audio transcription is available on iPhone 12 and later in English (Australia), English (Canada), English (Ireland), English (New Zealand), English (South Africa), English (UK), and English (US).

About

Voice recorder

Record high-quality audio for meetings, notes, lectures, and music with no time limits. This easy-to-use app offers background recording, adjustable sample rates, and editing capabilities. Save files to internal storage or an SD card and share them easily.

Highlights
  • High-quality voice recording
  • Record meetings, notes, lectures, songs
  • Background recording
  • Adjustable sample rate
  • Edit recordings by cutting parts
  • Save to internal storage or SD card
  • Share recordings via various platforms
Features
Read full description

best recorder for voice recording with high quality voice recorder application is simple and easy to use. You can reliably record your meetings, personal notes, speeches, lectures, songs with high quality. There is no time limits just depend on your remaining space of internal storage. This application is a best choice. Other names which you can call it: voice recorder, audio recorder, sound recorder. Features: - record your meetings, personal notes, speeches, lectures, songs - beautiful user interface, easy to understand. - support high quality format file: mp3 - store file on internal storage or SD card - have list of files with basic functions: search, arrange - have delete function, share function (via email, sms, mms, facebook, whatsapp, dropbox, etc.), view detail information - encoding with adjustable sample rate (8-44 kHz) - recording in background (even when display is off) - microphone tool to adjust the sensitive - save/pause/resume/cancel recording process control - function to edit recording files by cutting some parts not needed - show remaining space of internal storage or SD card - not support call recorder Hope you love this application.

Screenshots

Voice Memos4 screens
Voice recorder4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Voice Memos at none against Voice recorder's 1. Voice Memos also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (1.1M vs 7.5K). Voice recorder's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months). On price, review sentiment 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Voice recorder sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Voice Memos asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Voice Memos holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Voice Memos has 1.1M ratings behind it against 7.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 80% and 79% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Voice Memos ships an update every 5 months, Voice recorder monthly. Both last shipped on November 12, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Voice Memos versus Voice recorder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVoice MemosVoice recorder
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.1M ratings) — better4.6 (7.5K ratings)
Positive reviews79.8% of reviews — better79.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1M — better7.5K
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS10.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB76 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppleHieu Nguyen

Customer experience

Voice Memos

All ratings1,112,941 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews3,431 reviews
Positive79.8%
Neutral5.8%
Negative14.4%

Voice recorder

All ratings7,490 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral3.9%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews1,235 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral6.4%
Negative14.4%

User reviews

Voice Memos

From 1.1M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Seamless recording
  • 🎨 Attractive and minimalistic design
  • 🔍 Useful for capturing ideas and thoughts
  • 🎶 Great for musicians and singers
  • 📚 Helpful for students and academics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable recording (stops unexpectedly)
  • 🔇 Audio quality issues
  • 🔄 Inability to edit/resume recordings
  • 🗂️ Poor organization and folder management
  • ⚠️ Freezing and crashing issues

Voice recorder

From 7.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 High-quality recordings
  • 📤 Convenient file sharing
  • 🎶 Useful for music practice
  • 🗣️ Great for voice notes and memos

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Difficult to find/access recordings
  • 💤 Recordings stop unexpectedly
  • 📢 Intrusive ads in free version
  • 🔇 Volume issues with playback

Bugs and requests

Voice Memos

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Recordings disappearing or not saving properly
  • Phantom data usage and storage issues
  • Playback issues (choppy, unresponsive)
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
  • Inability to delete or export recordings

Requested features

5 requests
  • Repeat/loop playback feature
  • Ability to add notes/comments to recordings
  • Improved search and filtering options
  • Integration with other apps (e.g., transcription)
  • Selective sync option to manage storage

Voice recorder

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Recordings not saving properly
  • Compatibility issues with external mics
  • Playback freezing or lagging

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add cloud backup/sync functionality
  • Improve file management and organization
  • Implement Bluetooth speaker support
  • Provide more audio editing capabilities

In-app purchases

None

Voice Memos

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Voice recorder

One-time1
  • Remove ads$3.99

Questions

Is Voice Memos free?
Voice Memos is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Voice recorder free?
Voice recorder is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Voice Memos or Voice recorder?
Voice Memos is rated higher. Voice Memos averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.1M ratings, while Voice recorder averages 4.6 from 7.5K ratings.
Do Voice Memos or Voice recorder have ads?
Voice recorder shows ads; Voice Memos does not.
Which is updated more often, Voice Memos or Voice recorder?
Voice Memos ships an update every 5 months, and Voice recorder monthly. Most recently, Voice Memos was updated on November 12, 2026 and Voice recorder on November 12, 2026.

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