# Dictate⁺ vs Philips SpeechLive

The clearest difference is rating: Dictate⁺ at 4.7 against Philips SpeechLive's 3.0. Dictate⁺ also leads on ratings volume (660 vs 4) and review sentiment (48% vs 29%). Philips SpeechLive's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Dictate⁺ sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Philips SpeechLive asks for nothing beyond the download.

Dictate⁺ holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dictate⁺ has 660 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Dictate⁺'s written reviews are positive against 29% of Philips SpeechLive's.

Dictate⁺ ships an update every 3 weeks, Philips SpeechLive every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and August 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Dictate⁺ | Philips SpeechLive |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (660 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictate/id1474859080/reviews)** | [3.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/philips-speechlive/id1503474163/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **660** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | **47.7% of reviews** | 28.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 29 MB | 56 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.5** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [JOTOMI](https://appshunter.io/developer/303308093) | [Speech Processing Solutions GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/418344280) |

## What reviewers say

### Dictate⁺

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictate/id1474859080)

Transform your mobile device into a professional dictation tool. Record, edit, and securely transmit audio with advanced features like voice activation, encryption, and offline speech recognition. Organize and manage your recordings efficiently for seamless workflow.

**Highlights:** Professional dictation recording, Lightning-fast recording control, Impressively accurate voice activation, Secure AES-256 encryption, Offline speech recognition, Easy editing and transcription, Wide range of transmission options

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Feature Unlock 1 month | $5.99 | per month |
| Feature Unlock 1 year | $59.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive interface
- 🚀 Seamless dictation sending to colleagues
- ⭐ Life-changing functionality for professionals
- 🎯 Accurate and concise dictation quality
- 💼 Excellent for legal and medical practices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription model ($60/year)
- 🔄 Transition from free/one-time purchase to subscription
- 🔊 Low volume playback issues
- ⏱️ Severely limited free trial (15-30 seconds)
- 🐛 Frequent upload failures and lost recordings

**Reported bugs**

- Low volume playback requiring maximum volume
- Uploads not forwarded or getting lost
- Recording stops unexpectedly mid-dictation
- Dictations cut off at 2/3 through playback
- Sync issues - green check but still shows as unsent next day

**Requested features**

- Extended free trial period (3+ days)
- Longer free recording duration
- Revert to previous UI design
- Improved backward compatibility with older iOS
- Stable recording indicator/sound bar visualization


### Philips SpeechLive

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/philips-speechlive/id1503474163)

This app efficiently converts speech to text with professional recording features. It integrates with a powerful cloud solution for document creation, offering speech recognition, transcription, and workflow management from anywhere. Dictate on the go and send recordings to your typist.

**Highlights:** Speech-to-text conversion, Professional recording functions, Audio insertion and trimming, Image attachment to recordings, Browser-based file management, Speech recognition, Transcription services

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Dictate⁺ free?

Dictate⁺ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Philips SpeechLive free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Dictate⁺ or Philips SpeechLive?

Dictate⁺ is rated higher. Dictate⁺ averages 4.7 out of 5 from 660 ratings, while Philips SpeechLive averages 3.0 from 4 ratings.

### Do Dictate⁺ or Philips SpeechLive have ads?

Neither Dictate⁺ nor Philips SpeechLive shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Dictate⁺ or Philips SpeechLive?

Dictate⁺ ships an update every 3 weeks, and Philips SpeechLive every 5 weeks. Most recently, Dictate⁺ was updated on September 21, 2026 and Philips SpeechLive on August 12, 2026.

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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.*