Aiko vs Sonare
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Aiko
Convert audio to text locally on your device using advanced AI. Export transcriptions as subtitles and fix common errors with a word-replacement feature. Supports over 100 languages for high-quality, private transcription.
- On-device AI transcription
- OpenAI Whisper powered
- Export as subtitles
- Word replacement for corrections
- Supports 100+ languages
- Privacy-focused, no data leaves device
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High-quality on-device transcription. Easily convert speech to text from meetings, lectures, and more. The transcription is powered by OpenAI's Whisper running locally on your device. Nothing leaves your device. You can export the transcription as subtitles too. It has a word-replacement feature to let you automatically fix common mistakes. Aiko favors accuracy over speed. It does not do live transcription while recording. It does not currently have speaker detection. Try the trial first. See website. Note: Sharing from Voice Memos on iOS 26 does not work because of a iOS 26 bug outside of my control. Supports audio in 100 different languages: Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Assamese, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Bashkir, Basque, Belarusian, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Latin, Latvian, Lingala, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malagasy, Malay, Malayalam, Maltese, Marathi, Mongolian, Māori, Nepali, Norwegian, Norwegian Nynorsk, Occitan, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Sanskrit, Serbian, Shona, Sindhi, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik, Tamil, Tatar, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh, Yiddish, Yoruba The app was made possible thanks to Whisper by OpenAI and whisper.cpp by Georgi Gerganov. ■ FAQ ‣ Can I edit the text in the app? I don't plan to support any editing. Export the transcription and edit it in a proper text editor. ‣ Why is the app so large? The app delivers the highest quality transcription on the market for 100 different languages. Rather than asking why it's so large, the real question is how is it so small. ‣ Why is the transcription so slow? The app favors accuracy over speed. However, performance is expected to improve in the coming months. ‣ Why must I keep the iOS app open while it transcribes? iOS apps are fundamentally restricted from operating in the background for extended periods. ‣ Can I delete some of the languages to save space? This is unfortunately not possible. The model has all the languages stored together in a way that makes it impossible to remove just some languages. More FAQs on the website. ■ Technical details The app uses the Whisper medium or small model on iOS depending on available memory and the large v3 model on macOS. ■ Privacy The transcription is done locally on your device. Nothing leaves your device. ■ Support You can contact me through the feedback button in the app.
Sonare
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Sonare turns written text into spoken audio, entirely on your device. Paste in an article, import a document from your Files app, or share directly from Safari, Sonare reads it aloud in a natural-sounding voice with each word highlighted in real time, so you can follow along, proofread, or simply listen hands-free. Nothing leaves your phone. Ever. There are no accounts to create, no servers processing your text, and no internet connection required. Sonare works the same on a plane as it does at your desk. FEATURES · On-device text-to-speech, all audio is generated locally using a high-quality neural voice model · Word-level highlighting, each word lights up in sync with the audio so you always know your place · Import from anywhere, clipboard, Safari share sheet, Files app, or any app that can share text · Multiple voices, choose from a range of natural-sounding voices · Playback speed control, slow it down for complex material or speed it up when you're in a hurry · Offline, always, no Wi-Fi, no mobile data, no problem PRICING 3 listens free. One purchase of $9.99 unlocks Sonare permanently - no subscription, no renewal, no hidden tier.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sonare at Free against Aiko's $24.00. Sonare also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). Aiko's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#36 vs unranked). On ads 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
Sonare is free to download; Aiko costs $24.00 up front. Sonare sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Aiko asks for nothing beyond the download.
Aiko ships an update every 6 weeks, Sonare every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Aiko | Sonare |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24.00 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (325 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 86.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 325 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | #36 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.7 GB | 409 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sindre Sorhus | Tim Harper |
Bugs and requests
Aiko
Reported bugs
3 issues- Repeated sentences
- Incorrect language detection
- Transcription loss on app exit
Requested features
4 requests- Support for multiple speakers
- Ability to select transcription model
- Export options for timestamps and speaker labels
- Background transcription mode
Sonare
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Aiko
No in-app purchases
Sonare
- Lifetime Unlock$9.99









