# SayWave vs Impression Journal

The clearest difference is rating: Impression Journal at 5.0 against SayWave's 4.4. Impression Journal also leads on iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.4). SayWave's advantage is ratings volume (166 vs 1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SayWave sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Impression Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Impression Journal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SayWave has 166 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

SayWave ships an update fortnightly, Impression Journal every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SayWave | Impression Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (166 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/saywave-text-to-speech/id1602520288/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/impression-journal/id6786451271/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **166** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 81.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 11 MB | 50 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.4 | **18.6** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Maryam Derakhshesh](https://appshunter.io/developer/1625594620) | [tApps](https://appshunter.io/developer/332666656) |

## What reviewers say

### SayWave

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/saywave-text-to-speech/id1602520288)

This app converts spoken words into text and reads typed text aloud. It supports various languages and offers customization for reading speed, pitch, and font size. You can also extract text from images, PDFs, and files for playback.

**Highlights:** Reads typed text aloud, Transcribes speech to text via microphone, Extracts text from files, images, and PDFs using OCR, Customizable reading speed, pitch, and language, Saves and edits texts in a library, Highlights reading text by word or sentence

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Yearly Subscription | $24.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and helpful
- 🚀 Fast text to speech conversion
- 👍 Good for creative writing
- 🗣️ Multi-language support
- 💡 Export MP3 audios

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitchy and doesn't work
- 🐛 Freezes when asking for audio
- 🐛 Ebook reader not as expected
- 🐛 Voice reading is terrible
- 🐛 Word pronunciation slowed down

**Reported bugs**

- Forward and backward option not working after iOS update
- App freezes when requesting 'get audio'
- Ebook reader exports texts and then reads them
- Speech reading is terrible, pronunciation slows down
- App does not work on iPad

**Requested features**

- Update for iOS compatibility
- Improve audio player controls
- Option to change speaker voice
- Improvements in interface/highlighting
- Browser integration


### Impression Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/impression-journal/id6786451271)

Capture fleeting thoughts, people, or observations and automatically link them to their location and time. Add photos, organize into folders, and revisit your memories on a map or timeline. Syncs seamlessly across devices.

**Highlights:** Location-aware note-taking, Add photos to entries, Organize notes into folders, Map and timeline view, Home screen widget, Apple Watch companion app, iCloud syncing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Version | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SayWave free?

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

### Is Impression Journal free?

Impression Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, SayWave or Impression Journal?

Impression Journal is rated higher. SayWave averages 4.4 out of 5 from 166 ratings, while Impression Journal averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do SayWave or Impression Journal have ads?

Neither SayWave nor Impression Journal shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SayWave or Impression Journal?

SayWave ships an update fortnightly, and Impression Journal every 2 months. Most recently, SayWave was updated on October 25, 2026 and Impression Journal on October 14, 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.*