# Otter Transcribe Voice Notes vs Obsidian

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Obsidian at none against Otter Transcribe Voice Notes's 10. Otter Transcribe Voice Notes's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (79K vs 2.7K). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Otter Transcribe Voice Notes sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $16.99 per month. Obsidian asks for nothing beyond the download.

Otter Transcribe Voice Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Otter Transcribe Voice Notes has 79K ratings behind it against 2.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of Otter Transcribe Voice Notes's written reviews are positive against 62% of Obsidian's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Otter Transcribe Voice Notes ships an update fortnightly, Obsidian every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Otter Transcribe Voice Notes | Obsidian |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (79K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/otter-transcribe-voice-notes/id1276437113/reviews)** | [4.5 (2.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obsidian-connected-notes/id1557175442/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **79K** | 2.7K |
| Positive reviews | 55.0% of reviews | **62.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#11** | #133 |
| Size | 219 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Otter.ai, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1276437112) | [Dynalist Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1195392807) |

## What reviewers say

### Otter Transcribe Voice Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/otter-transcribe-voice-notes/id1276437113)

**Currently charting:** #11 Top Grossing · Productivity, #53 Top Free · Productivity, #175 Top Grossing (US App Store)

This app offers real-time voice transcription for meetings, lectures, and conversations. It acts as an AI assistant, capturing slides, generating summaries, and allowing for collaborative editing and sharing of notes. Available in multiple languages and on web.

**Highlights:** Real-time transcription, Automated meeting notes & summaries, AI Chat for answers, Record & transcribe live, Share & collaborate, Searchable notes, Automated slide capture

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Otter Pro (monthly) | $16.99 | per month |
| Otter Pro (monthly) | $16.99 | per month |
| Otter Business (monthly) | $30.00 | per month |
| Otter Business (monthly) | $30.00 | per month |
| Otter Pro (Yearly) | $99.99 | per year |
| Otter Pro (yearly) | $99.99 | per year |
| Otter Pro (yearly) | $99.99 | per year |
| Otter Business (yearly) | $239.99 | per year |
| Otter Business (yearly) | $239.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent transcription accuracy
- 👍 Convenient features like speaker identification and timestamps
- 🚀 Fast and efficient transcription process
- 👍 Versatile for various use cases (meetings, interviews, lectures)
- 👍 Helpful for deaf/hard of hearing users

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional transcription errors, especially with technical terms
- 💰 Concerns about increasing subscription costs and reduced free minutes
- 🐛 Buggy behavior and crashes reported by some users
- 🔒 Privacy concerns around data usage for model training

**Reported bugs**

- Microphone not working consistently
- Transcription stops unexpectedly during recordings
- Difficulty organizing and managing recorded files

**Requested features**

- Ability to record and transcribe phone calls
- Improved editing and formatting capabilities
- Integration with note-taking apps and cloud storage
- Custom vocabulary training and speaker recognition
- Offline transcription mode


### Obsidian

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obsidian-connected-notes/id1557175442)

**Currently charting:** #133 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Organize your thoughts and ideas with a powerful knowledge base that utilizes local Markdown files. This app acts as your personal second brain, accessible on your mobile device for seamless note-taking and idea connection.

**Highlights:** Local Markdown file storage, Customizable toolbar, Graph view for connections, Community plugins, Themes, iCloud sync

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful features
- 👍 Customizable and flexible
- 🔒 Secure and private
- 💡 Innovative note-taking approach
- 🚀 Smooth mobile experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sync issues and unreliable iCloud integration
- 🔋 Slow startup and performance issues on mobile
- 👎 Steep learning curve for new users
- 👎 Limited sorting and organization options
- 👎 Lack of WYSIWYG editing on mobile

**Reported bugs**

- Sync issues leading to data loss
- Freezing and crashing on mobile devices
- Editing bugs and text input issues

**Requested features**

- Improved sorting and organization options
- WYSIWYG editing on mobile
- Better integration with other cloud storage services
- More intuitive onboarding process for new users
- Native mobile widgets and share sheet integration


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Otter Transcribe Voice Notes free?

Otter Transcribe Voice Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Obsidian free?

Obsidian is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Otter Transcribe Voice Notes or Obsidian?

Otter Transcribe Voice Notes is rated higher. Otter Transcribe Voice Notes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 79K ratings, while Obsidian averages 4.5 from 2.7K ratings.

### Do Otter Transcribe Voice Notes or Obsidian have ads?

Neither Otter Transcribe Voice Notes nor Obsidian shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Otter Transcribe Voice Notes or Obsidian?

Otter Transcribe Voice Notes ships an update fortnightly, and Obsidian every 3 weeks. Most recently, Otter Transcribe Voice Notes was updated on September 25, 2026 and Obsidian on September 24, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Otter Transcribe Voice Notes or Obsidian?

Otter Transcribe Voice Notes currently peaks at #11 in the App Store charts, and Obsidian at #133. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*