# Transcribe vs Open Caption

The clearest difference is update cadence: Transcribe at daily against Open Caption's fortnightly. Open Caption's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Transcribe sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month and Open Caption sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Transcribe ships an update daily, Open Caption fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Transcribe | Open Caption |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.1 (39 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/transcribelive-speech-to-text/id1602959841/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **39** | — |
| Positive reviews | 47.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Daily** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 12 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shesek LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1339555229) | [JOHN BURKE](https://appshunter.io/developer/1082153101) |

## What reviewers say

### Transcribe

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/transcribelive-speech-to-text/id1602959841)

Record and transcribe audio in real-time for notes or meetings. Playback recordings with synchronized text highlighting for easy editing. Connect to a Mac for live transcription on a larger screen.

**Highlights:** Live audio recording, Real-time transcription, Synchronized playback, Word-level editing, Mac connectivity, Free version available

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Subscription | $4.99 | per month |


### Open Caption

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/open-caption/id6444294302)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Buy Transcription Sharing | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Transcribe free?

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

### Is Open Caption free?

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

### Do Transcribe or Open Caption have ads?

Neither Transcribe nor Open Caption shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Transcribe or Open Caption?

Transcribe ships an update daily, and Open Caption fortnightly. Most recently, Transcribe was updated on September 26, 2026 and Open Caption on September 5, 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.*