Hearing Helper vs BeAware Deaf Assistant
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hearing Helper
This app converts spoken words into text in real-time, aiding communication for individuals who are hard of hearing, deaf, or learning English. It features easy editing of transcribed text and adjustable font sizes for improved readability. The app aims to facilitate clearer conversations between loved ones.
- Real-time speech to text
- Quick text editing
- Adjustable font size
- Easy-to-follow instructions
- Background conversation support
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Hearing Helper is specifically designed for anyone trying to talk with HoH (Hard of Hearing), Deaf, or ESL (English as a Second Language) friends and family. Simply push and hold the mic to translate speech-to-text with Apple's Siri technology. Tap to quick-edit incorrect words. And make anything you say BIG! Hearing Helper sits in the background of your conversations, so you can focus on what's being said. Users love it: “Just so you know, this app has changed my 86 year old mother's life. It is simple and easy for her and her friends to use. This is so important for the elderly since so many other apps are way too complicated. She can really have one on one conversations, especially with me, which is so very important.” - Mark M Doctors trust it: "I use this w my HOH senior patients when the hearing aides aren't even enough to compensate for the hearing loss. This works great. I have recommended it to my nursing/CNA staff to use as well.” - Istariken Hearing Helper is also really helpful for communicating with family and friends who aren't as comfortable speaking English but can read it well. Features - Push and hold the mic for speech to text in real time - Tap on the text to quick edit incorrect words - Change the font size up to 100pts (That's big!) - Simple, easy-to-follow instructions I designed this app to help my family talk with my 100-year-old grandfather who's hard of hearing, and now even his roommate uses it to communicate with him! If you find this app, I hope it helps you better communicate with your loved ones.
BeAware Deaf Assistant
This app offers advanced communication tools for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. It features real-time voice-to-text transcription, customizable alerts for loud noises, and a unique text-to-speech function for phone calls. It also includes a notepad with preset phrases and an emoji board for easier communication.
- Real-time voice-to-text transcription
- Customizable noise and alert notifications
- Text-to-speech for phone calls
- Note-taking with preset phrases
- Flip text for easy viewing
- Emoji and image communication board
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BeAware is the most advanced communication tool for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community with the latest features that do not exist on other apps! It even hit top 5 on Ycombinator's HackerNews! Are you tired of using apps with bad user experience, while being forced to watch ads and paying $50 a year for functionality that you need to use everyday? Look no further, BeAware is the only free, privacy-safe, no-ads, open-source, completely offline, battery-efficient app designed for Deaf users. With a proven and award-winning development process, BeAware was built from the ground-up with the deaf community in mind. It would not have been possible without the help of 100's of volunteers, testers and dozens of design and development iterations. - BeAware comes with a customizable Alert tool, that can detect loud noises and communicate that to the deaf using vibrations, LED flashes, and sending notifications to your phone and connected Apple Watch. So now, a Deaf new mom can leave the app running and get alerted if her baby is crying, or a Deaf delivery driver can move to the side to make way for emergency vehicles. - BeAware comes with the fastest Speech-to-Text transcription tool that is optimized for accuracy and works in any language that is set in the device Settings - The Text functionality is the best note pad app for the Deaf. The "Preset phrases" feature can make note taking a breeze and the "Flip Text" provides ease while showing the note. Enjoy your custom order at the coffee shop, without having to retype it every time, or having to turn your phone around. - Play Text - The Text tool also comes with a unique ability to Play the Text that you type in through your voice and video phone calls! So if you are not able to speak over the phone in an interview, you can just type out your responses and have the phone play it to the other side of your call. The language of the speech depends on the one selected in your settings - Emoji Board allows you to communicate with people who don't use ASL using emoji or images uploaded from your photo gallery *Users with Usher Syndrome can switch the phone to dark mode to view the app designed to accommodate them.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: BeAware Deaf Assistant at Free against Hearing Helper's $2.99. BeAware Deaf Assistant also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). Hearing Helper's advantage is chart position (#137 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 14.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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
BeAware Deaf Assistant is free to download; Hearing Helper costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Hearing Helper against 4.5 for BeAware Deaf Assistant. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 695 and 257 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of Hearing Helper's written reviews are positive against 59% of BeAware Deaf Assistant's.
Hearing Helper ships an update every 2 months, BeAware Deaf Assistant every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hearing Helper | BeAware Deaf Assistant |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (695 ratings) | 4.5 (257 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.6% of reviews — better | 59.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 695 — better | 257 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #137 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | Mighty Fine Apps LLC | Saamer Mansoor |
Customer experience
Hearing Helper
BeAware Deaf Assistant
User reviews
Hearing Helper
From 695 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Efficient speech recognition
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🙌 Transformative for communication
- 🔍 Accurate transcription
- 📱 Works well on mobile devices
Room to improve
- 🤚 Requires holding button to record
- 🔢 Occasional transcription errors
- 🔇 Struggles with quiet speech
- 🚫 Doesn't work on older devices
BeAware Deaf Assistant
From 257 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Helpful for hearing impaired
- 👍 Saves conversations
- 👍 Allows copying text
- 👍 Good speech recognition (some users)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Speech recognition inaccurate
- 🐛 App crashes regularly
- 🐛 Microphone not working
- 🐛 Drains battery quickly
- 🐛 Overheats phone
Bugs and requests
Hearing Helper
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inconsistent performance
- Drops first words of transcription
- Crashes or freezes on some devices
Requested features
4 requests- Toggle button to start/stop recording
- Support for multiple languages
- Larger font options
- Ability to rotate screen for easier reading
BeAware Deaf Assistant
Reported bugs
11 issues- Speech recognition is finicky and not exact
- App crashes regularly
- Microphone does not capture sound for transcription
- App consumes battery very quickly
- App makes iPhone extremely hot
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- Does not work in noisy environments
- Icon options are cropped with larger text display zoom
- No audio when typing in texts and hitting iPhone's play button
- Transcription is full of errors and often makes no sense
- Turning app off with blue/red dot does not work; transcription continues
- Cannot have an entire conversation, only line by line recording
Requested features
5 requests- Improve speech recognition/transcription accuracy
- Implement true AI system for better accuracy
- Add automatic punctuation (commas, periods, question marks)
- Allow paragraph breaks for better text structure
- Distinguish between different voices
In-app purchases
Hearing Helper
No in-app purchases
BeAware Deaf Assistant
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Hearing Helper free?
Is BeAware Deaf Assistant free?
Which has better reviews, Hearing Helper or BeAware Deaf Assistant?
Do Hearing Helper or BeAware Deaf Assistant have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hearing Helper or BeAware Deaf Assistant?
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