Comparison

Live Transcribe vs Rylo

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

Head to head
About

Live Transcribe

This app provides real-time speech-to-text transcription for d/Deaf and hard of hearing individuals. It supports over 145 languages and offers features like adjustable text size, dark mode, and the ability to save and share transcripts, making conversations more accessible.

Highlights
  • Real-time transcription
  • 145+ languages supported
  • Adjustable text size
  • Dark mode
  • Save and share transcripts
  • Offline transcription for 9 languages
Features
Read full description

Live Transcribe by Mighty Fine Apps. Accurate live captions for d/Deaf and hard of hearing. Reliable in noisy places and group settings. Perfect alongside hearing aids when they aren’t enough. BUILT DIFFERENT • Accuracy — Best-in-class captions in 145+ languages. • Noisy Places — Works well in restaurants, in groups, and at distance. • Offline Mode — Continue when Wi-Fi or cellular drops. • Privacy — You choose if and when to share your transcripts. • Readability — Large, bold text for tired eyes and distant viewing. • Speaker Detection — Follow group chats with color-coded words. • Simplicity — Easily adopted by older and less-technical people. • Independent — Sustainable, iOS only, not affiliated with Google. DESIGNED FOR YOU • Deaf & Hard of Hearing — Stay independent at home and at work. • Hearing Aid Users — When aids fall short in noise or in groups. • Recent Hearing Loss — Rejoin the conversation right away. • Hearing Spouses & Family — Communicate more easily with a loved one. • Caregivers & Adult Children — Support a parent, child, or patient. • Faith-Community Members — Follow sermons, prayers, and group study. TRUSTED BY THOUSANDS • 6+ years on the market. • 15m+ conversations captioned. • 100m+ minutes transcribed. • 20k+ paying customers. • 10k+ App Store reviews at 4.6 stars. • 100+ hours per year of customer interviews. Your privacy is our top priority, and the app is designed to give you full control over whether your conversation transcripts — medical, legal, family, end-of-life, or otherwise — are summarized or shared. LIFE-CHANGING FOR FAMILIES “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.” — Mark M SIMPLE TO USE • Place iPhone or iPad near the conversation. • Read what each person is saying on-screen as they speak. • Follow family dinners, doctor’s appointments, meetings, and more. HERE TO STAY Live Transcribe is an independent paid product, and we’re confident in its value. Your subscription allows us to run our captioning service day and night, and keep the app running smoothly on Apple’s devices. We answer to you — our customers and community — not advertisers, so when you need us next year, we’ll still be here. Current pricing is shown in-app and on our website. MADE IN CALIFORNIA Live Transcribe is built and supported by Mighty Fine Apps, a tight-knit team based in San Francisco. Our founder Rob Norback first created the app to communicate with his grandfather who was deaf in his later years, and we continue to shape it around the real communication needs of older adults and all those with some level of hearing loss. FURTHER READING • About Us: https://livetranscribe.app • Privacy Policy: https://livetranscribe.app/legal/privacy • Terms & Conditions: https://livetranscribe.app/legal/terms We love your questions and feedback! Get in touch at support@mightyfine.app.

About

Rylo

This app provides real-time AI-powered captions for phone calls and in-person conversations, making communication accessible for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. It offers features like text-to-speech, visual voicemail, and saved transcripts, all with end-to-end encryption for privacy.

Highlights
  • Real-time AI call captions
  • Live transcription for in-person conversations
  • Text-to-speech for typed responses
  • Visual voicemail
  • Saved transcript history
  • Multilingual captioning
  • Personal dictionary for custom words
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Phone calls made accessible. Rylo provides real-time, AI-powered call captions on every phone call for anyone who is deaf or has hearing loss. Captioned calls are private and accurate. MAKE AND RECEIVE ANY CALL Rylo works like your native phone app, but with speech-to-text call captions. If you prefer to type your responses, you can choose a voice and use our text-to-speech feature. No interpreters. No relay services. No strangers listening in. LIVE CAPTIONS FOR REAL LIFE Our built-in feature, Rylo Live Transcribe, captions in-person conversations instantly: family dinners, doctor's appointments, airports, or anywhere else you don't want to miss a word. YOUR PRIVACY IS PROTECTED Captions are generated with end-to-end encryption. No human involvement. No one reading your calls but you. BUILT FOR THE DEAF COMMUNITY, BY THE DEAF COMMUNITY Rylo was built with direct input from the Deaf and hard of hearing communities. Every feature exists because someone in the community needed it. Accessibility matters. KEY FEATURES ■ Live caption calls with transcripts ■ Live captioning for in-person moments (Rylo Live Transcribe) ■ Personal dictionary for custom words and phrases ■ Quick keyboard responses as needed ■ Visual voicemail ■ Save transcripts privately on your device ■ Multilingual captioning: English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Hebrew, Italian ■ Built-in spam filter and call blocking ■ Profanity blocker ■ FCC certified "Rylo is the true definition of a game-changer. Their goal is to ensure effective and smooth communication." — Verified user "I was able to make a phone call myself. I set up my own appointment. I could clearly read every word the recipient was saying to me. I explained to her I was deaf and I was using closed captioning. It was amazing. Thank you Rylo for allowing me to be more independent." — Verified user Download Rylo. Make calls with confidence. For more: https://rylo.com/ Support: https://help.rylo.com/en/ FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS ANYONE BUT REGISTERED USERS WITH HEARING LOSS FROM USING INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP) CAPTIONED TELEPHONES WITH THE CAPTIONS TURNED ON. There is a cost for each minute of captions generated, paid from a federally administered fund. There are also eligibility requirements and a cost, paid by a federally administered fund for each minute of IP Relay service. Emergency calling through Rylo works similar to, but not the same as, calling 911 directly through a landline. It is important to keep your Rylo Registered Location updated.

Screenshots

Live Transcribe4 screens
Rylo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Rylo at none against Live Transcribe's 10. Rylo also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 57%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Live Transcribe sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Rylo asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Live Transcribe against 4.6 for Rylo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8.1K and 4.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Live Transcribe's written reviews are positive against 67% of Rylo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Live Transcribe ships an update every 3 days, Rylo every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Live Transcribe versus Rylo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLive TranscribeRylo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (8.1K ratings) — better4.6 (4.5K ratings)
Positive reviews57.3% of reviews67.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.1K — better4.5K
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#94 — better#177
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size108 MB111 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperMighty Fine Apps LLCNagish Inc.

Customer experience

Live Transcribe

All ratings8,019 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews581 reviews
Positive57.3%
Neutral6.4%
Negative36.3%

Rylo

All ratings4,433 ratings
Positive89.8%
Neutral2.7%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews405 reviews
Positive67.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative27.4%

User reviews

Live Transcribe

From 8.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate transcription
  • 💡 Helpful for hard of hearing
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Great for doctor's appointments
  • 👍 Saves conversations

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🔒 Limited free trial
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance
  • 🐛 Struggles with background noise and accents
  • 🔒 Confusing subscription model

Rylo

From 4.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate real-time transcription
  • 👍 Helpful for hearing-impaired users
  • 🚀 Seamless phone call experience
  • 👍 Excellent customer support
  • 💡 Innovative solution for accessibility

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent call quality and connectivity issues
  • 🐛 Captions not always accurate
  • 🐛 Difficulty with registration and account setup
  • 🐛 Lack of features like call blocking and voicemail management

Bugs and requests

Live Transcribe

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Transcription stops unexpectedly
  • Deletes correct transcription
  • Incompatible with some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Distinguish between multiple speakers
  • Ability to use on Mac
  • More than 5 hours of premium transcription per month
  • Improved accuracy for medical/technical terms

Rylo

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Registration process repeatedly fails
  • Incoming calls not detected by the app
  • Transcription stops working mid-call

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to save call transcripts
  • Improved noise cancellation and microphone sensitivity
  • Integration with hearing aids and Bluetooth devices
  • Expanded language support

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Live Transcribe

Subscriptions8
  • Live Transcribe Monthly2 variants$4.991 Month
  • Live Transcribe Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Live Transcribe Monthly$9.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Starter$9.991 Month
  • Try Real-Time Transcription3 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Live Transcribe Yearly3 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Starter3 Days trial2 variants$79.991 Year
  • Live Transcribe Yearly3 Days trial$79.991 Year
None

Rylo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Live Transcribe free?
Live Transcribe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rylo free?
Rylo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Live Transcribe or Rylo?
Live Transcribe is rated higher. Live Transcribe averages 4.6 out of 5 from 8.1K ratings, while Rylo averages 4.6 from 4.5K ratings.
Do Live Transcribe or Rylo have ads?
Neither Live Transcribe nor Rylo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Live Transcribe or Rylo?
Live Transcribe ships an update every 3 days, and Rylo every 6 days. Most recently, Live Transcribe was updated on November 9, 2026 and Rylo on November 7, 2026.
Which is more popular, Live Transcribe or Rylo?
Live Transcribe currently peaks at #94 in the App Store charts, and Rylo at #177. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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