# Listening vs QuickBeam Map

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: QuickBeam Map at none against Listening's 19. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Listening sells 19 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. QuickBeam Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

Listening ships an update every 8 days, QuickBeam Map every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Listening | QuickBeam Map |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/listening-text-to-speech/id1635430768/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.4K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 29.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 8 days** | Every 10 days |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 128 MB | 43 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **16.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [The Listening App Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1635259485) | [Omanos Analytics](https://appshunter.io/developer/1804609136) |

## What reviewers say

### Listening

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/listening-text-to-speech/id1635430768)

Transform written content like articles, papers, and PDFs into natural-sounding audio. Ideal for students and professionals, this app enables hands-free learning and efficient multitasking.

**Highlights:** Convert articles, papers, books, and PDFs to audio, Natural-sounding human-like voices, One-click note-taking while listening, Adjustable playback speed (0.5x to 4x), Supports PDFs, Word documents, and articles, Efficient multitasking during listening

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (19)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Unlimited, Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $14.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Listening, Monthly | $24.99 | per month |
| Unlimited, Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Unlimited, Yearly | $39.00 | per year |
| Unlimited, Yearly | $39.00 | per year |
| Listening Premium Annual | $79.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $99.00 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $119.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $124.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Listening, Yearly | $139.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Clear and natural-sounding voice
- 📚 Helpful for academic papers and articles
- 🚶‍♀️ Convenient for listening on-the-go
- 🔖 Skips citations and formatting

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy PDF conversion
- 🔀 Jumbles paragraphs and sentences
- 🔢 Struggles with technical terms and numbers
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes
- Inconsistent performance across PDFs
- Login and password reset issues
- Unexpected charges after cancellation
- Inability to delete or manage uploaded files

**Requested features**

- Multiple voice options
- Ability to edit and annotate text
- Improved section detection and navigation
- Offline mode for downloading content
- Better integration with cloud storage


### QuickBeam Map

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/quickbeam-map/id6743798744)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Listening free?

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

### Is QuickBeam Map free?

QuickBeam Map is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Listening or QuickBeam Map have ads?

Neither Listening nor QuickBeam Map shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Listening or QuickBeam Map?

Listening ships an update every 8 days, and QuickBeam Map every 10 days. Most recently, Listening was updated on October 27, 2026 and QuickBeam Map on October 25, 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.*