Comparison

YouDescribe vs zEdit

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

Head to head
About

YouDescribe

This app provides blind and visually-impaired users with access to YouTube videos featuring audio descriptions. Users can watch, search for, and request descriptions for videos, as well as rate existing descriptions.

Highlights
  • Watch videos with audio descriptions
  • Search for described YouTube videos
  • Request descriptions for new videos
  • Rate the quality of audio descriptions
  • Submit suggestions for description improvement
  • Share video links
Features
Read full description

The YouDescribe app gives blind and visually-impaired viewers convenient mobile access to a rapidly growing collection of YouTube videos with audio description -- an extra soundtrack added by a describer to tell the viewer about text, illustrations, setting, gestures and facial expressions that are otherwise not accessible to blind viewers, or to otherwise aid viewers who benefit from additional description to understand the video content. The YouDescribe app for iOS lets you choose from thousands of YouTube videos described by our global community of contributors. The app also lets you request descriptions for YouTube videos that have not yet been described, and rate descriptions that have already been created. YouDescribe is free and easy to use from the iOS app or from the desktop. The app has been extensively tested with the VoiceOver screenreader, and the web site works well with a variety of screen reader/browser combinations. If you are interested in joining the community of volunteer describers to record audio descriptions for others to view on YouDescribe, use a desktop browser and visit us at https://youdescribe.org/ We will be adding the ability to record from the app in an upcoming release. Who are the describers? * Teachers of the visually impaired who want to give their students better access to educational videos; * Sighted friends and family of all ages who want to share their favorite YouTube videos with the blind people in their lives; * Children and adults who believe in accessibility and want to help make video more accessible for blind or neuro-diverse viewers. The YouDescribe app can be used to: * Watch the latest contributions to the YouDescribe collection * Search for and view described or undescribed YouTube videos * Rate the quality of any audio description with up to 5 stars * Make suggestions for how individual describers can improve their AD technique, * Submit requests for YouTube videos you want described. * Share links to videos on YouDescribe Learn more about Smith-Kettlewell at https://www.ski.org/ Send us feedback by e-mailing support@youdescribe.org Learn more about YouDescribe by following us on Twitter and Facebook: http://twitter.com/SKERI_YD http://facebook.com/YouDescribe The YouDescribe app allows you to sign in with Google Account. For Google Privacy Policy, click https://policies.google.com/privacy This app fetches data from YouTube. For YouTube Terms of Service, click https://www.youtube.com/t/terms The YouDescribe app was developed by Rupal Khilari as part of her master’s degree under the direction of Dr. Ilmi Yoon of San Francisco State University, and Dr. Joshua Miele of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.

About

zEdit

This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools for editing video and audio, specifically designed for users with visual impairments. It offers full compatibility with screen readers, making media creation and manipulation accessible.

Highlights
  • Video editing
  • Audio editing
  • Screen reader compatibility
  • Accessible interface
  • Media recording
Features
Read full description

zEdit is an app with dozens of features that enable users with visual impairments to edit video and audio. Editing your videos and audio has never been so accessible. Fully compatible with the VoiceOver screen reader, it makes editing and recording accessible! At ZeroVisionLabs, we offer accessible, user-friendly apps.

Screenshots

YouDescribe4 screens
zEdit3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: zEdit at 83% against YouDescribe's 25%. zEdit also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.5) and update cadence (daily vs every 4 months). YouDescribe's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (9.1 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. zEdit sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. YouDescribe asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

zEdit holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 27 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of YouDescribe's written reviews are positive against 83% of zEdit's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

YouDescribe ships an update every 4 months, zEdit daily. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
YouDescribe versus zEdit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYouDescribezEdit
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (15 ratings)4.6 (27 ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1527 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB1.1 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmith-Kettlewell Eye Research InstituteMERIC KARACA

Customer experience

YouDescribe

All ratings15 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral13.3%
Negative53.3%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative58.3%

zEdit

All ratings27 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

YouDescribe

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

zEdit

One-time10
  • 100 CC0 Music Tracks$5.00
  • 1,000 Described CC0 Images$5.00
  • $10 Support Badge$10.00
Show 7 more
  • 5000 Sound Effects Pack$20.00
  • Dubbing & Description Voices$29.99
  • On-Device Visual Description$29.99
  • $30 Support Badge$30.00
  • 25,000 Natural Sound Effects$30.00
  • $50 Support Badge$50.00
  • $100 Support Badge$100.00

Questions

Is YouDescribe free?
YouDescribe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is zEdit free?
zEdit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, YouDescribe or zEdit?
zEdit is rated higher. YouDescribe averages 2.5 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while zEdit averages 4.6 from 27 ratings.
Do YouDescribe or zEdit have ads?
Neither YouDescribe nor zEdit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, YouDescribe or zEdit?
YouDescribe ships an update every 4 months, and zEdit daily. Most recently, YouDescribe was updated on November 2, 2026 and zEdit on November 13, 2026.

Other comparisons