Comparison

Whisper Notes vs UltraNotes

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Whisper Notes

This app converts audio recordings and voice memos into accurate text with speaker identification, all processed offline on your device. It supports multiple languages and offers various export formats for easy sharing and editing.

Highlights
  • Offline audio transcription
  • Speaker identification and labeling
  • Support for 101 languages
  • Multiple export formats (TXT, Markdown, SRT)
  • Import from various sources
  • One-time purchase, no subscription
Features
Read full description

Whisper Notes turns meetings, lectures, interviews and voice memos into accurate text with speaker labels, 100% offline on your iPhone and iPad. One-time purchase, no subscription. Trusted by 70,000+ journalists, researchers and professionals. ■ Record and import - Record from the Lock Screen, widgets, Control Center, the Action button, Apple Watch, or "Hey Siri". - Import from WhatsApp, Voice Memos, Photos or Files, several at once. ■ Transcribe - 101 languages through Whisper, detected automatically, even when speakers mix languages. - Choose your on-device model: Parakeet, Whisper (OpenAI's open-source model) or SenseVoice, plus Apple Speech on supported devices with iOS 26. - Speaker labels (speaker diarization) show who said what. Rename each speaker. ■ Edit and export - Double-tap any paragraph to fix a word. - Export TXT, Markdown or SRT subtitles with timestamps and speaker labels. Works for videos too. - Auto-save every new transcript to Files or iCloud Drive. ■ Private by design Your audio never leaves your device. Turn on airplane mode and Whisper Notes works exactly the same, which matters when the recording is an interview, a client meeting, or anything you wouldn't put on someone else's server. ■ One-time purchase No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads. Not satisfied? Settings → Request Refund. ■ Quick answers Does Whisper Notes work completely offline? Yes. It transcribes on your iPhone or iPad, so it works in airplane mode. The built-in Parakeet model covers 25 European languages offline from the first launch; for other languages, download Whisper or SenseVoice once in the app. Can it transcribe WhatsApp voice messages? Yes. Share a voice message to Whisper Notes and it is transcribed offline. Does it identify speakers? Yes. Tap ⋯ on a note → Detect Speakers, and each passage is labeled by speaker. Which model is best for Chinese, Japanese or Korean? SenseVoice, built for Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Cantonese. Is there a time limit? Each recording can be up to 24 hours long. Which iPhones are supported? Whisper Notes needs iPhone 12 or newer. Your notes live only on your device, so deleting the app deletes them. Export what matters. Questions? support@whispernotes.app · whispernotes.app

About

UltraNotes

This app combines powerful note-taking, handwriting, and PDF annotation features. Create rich text notes, sketch with various tools, and mark up documents. Organize, search, and sync your notes across devices.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil
  • Rich text formatting and templates
  • PDF annotation and signing
  • Cross-device synchronization via iCloud
  • Searchable handwriting and text
  • Side-by-side multitasking on iPad/Mac
  • Audio recording with notes
Features
Read full description

UltraNotes is a powerful note-taking app and writing app that supports handwriting with Apple Pencil, typing with a keyboard, and annotating PDFs. Handwritten Notes • Create notes with covers and paper templates. Built-in 19 covers and 17 templates. And you could also import your own covers and templates. • 10+ Pens and Tools: Ball Pen, Fountain Pen, Marker, Crayon, Water Color, Laser, Scribble, Tape etc. • Adjust the thickness and color of the pen tip • Draw perfect shapes and lines. • Layers (Pro): separate content into layers, show or hide them anytime. • Lasso: Convert handwriting to text, Take screenshot, Change color of handwriting. • Scribble to erase handwriting. • Write with scribble tool by using Apple Pencil, and it will convert to text instantly. • Squeeze Apple Pencil Pro to show contextual palette. • Add text box, stickers and images to make your note more beautiful. • Export note to PDF and image Text Notes • Set headings to make TOC(Table of Contents). • Format text with bold, italics, strikethrough, underline • Highlight text with colors • Bullet List, Numbered List and To-Do List. • Set your own font, font size, line spacing, paragraph spacing, and more • Attach files and images on note. • Templates: Resume, Essay, Shopping List, To-Do List, Weekly Planner etc. • Export note to PDF, RTF, HTML, Markdown and Plain TXT Annotation • Mark up PDFs. • Sign documents Search • Search text and handwritting in notes and PDFs. Multi-task • Work with two notes side-by-side on iPad. • Drag & Drop handwriting, typed text, and images between notes. Presentation • Present your notes on TV screen via AirPlay or HDMI cable. • 3 Presentation Modes: Entire Screen, Current Page and All Pages. • Use laser tool to point out the content what you’re presenting. More • Record audio while you’re taking note. • Set reminder on note. • Organize notes into categories and folders. • Move, copy and delete notes and folders. • Show notes in grid view and list view. • Sort notes by name, date etc. • Scan physical documents and import to UltraNotes. • Import PDFs and images. • Lock app with password or Face ID. Synchronization & Backup (Pro) • Synchronize notes among your iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud. • Backup notes to Google Drive. ===== CONTACT US ===== Email: support@skyjos.com Twitter: @SkyjosApps Facebook: @SkyjosApp

Screenshots

Whisper Notes4 screens
UltraNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: UltraNotes at Free against Whisper Notes's $7.99. UltraNotes also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 66%) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Whisper Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#7 vs unranked). On rating, update cadence, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

UltraNotes is free to download; Whisper Notes costs $7.99 up front. UltraNotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whisper Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Whisper Notes against 4.6 for UltraNotes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 700 and 190 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 66% of Whisper Notes's written reviews are positive against 82% of UltraNotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Whisper Notes ships an update every 10 days, UltraNotes every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Whisper Notes versus UltraNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhisper NotesUltraNotes
Price$7.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (700 ratings) — better4.6 (190 ratings)
Positive reviews66.2% of reviews81.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings700 — better190
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#7 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size659 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmashMelon LLCSkyjos Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Whisper Notes

All ratings700 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews337 reviews
Positive66.2%
Neutral10.1%
Negative23.7%

UltraNotes

All ratings190 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral3.7%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive81.6%
Neutral9.2%
Negative9.2%

User reviews

Whisper Notes

From 700 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and accurate transcription
  • 🔒 Offline, private processing
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 💡 Affordable one-time purchase
  • 🚀 Impressive speech recognition accuracy

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes or freezes with longer recordings
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance on older devices
  • 🐛 Transcription errors or missing punctuation
  • 🐛 Inability to edit transcribed text
  • 🐛 Lack of batch export/import functionality

UltraNotes

From 190 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✍️ Excellent handwriting and pen experience
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive user interface
  • 🎨 Variety of pen styles and drawing tools
  • 💰 One-time purchase with no subscription
  • 🔒 Strong privacy policy

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Writing/drawing input not registering properly
  • 🐛 Frequent page scrolling when attempting to write
  • 🔄 Slow or unreliable iCloud sync
  • 📤 Export functionality issues
  • 🔍 Search feature crashes the app

Bugs and requests

Whisper Notes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Recordings disappearing after transcription
  • Transcription process getting stuck at 1%
  • Crashes on certain iOS/iPadOS versions
  • Inability to import audio files consistently

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for speaker diarization
  • Implement real-time transcription mode
  • Allow customization of hotkey/shortcut
  • Improve integration with Apple Shortcuts
  • Provide option to choose transcription model size

UltraNotes

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Writing and drawing input not working
  • Page scrolling interferes with writing
  • iCloud sync not functioning
  • Export to other apps failing
  • Hand gestures changing page zoom during writing
Show 7 more
  • Shape resizing not working after cutting
  • Search functionality crashes app
  • Added pages not saving when importing PDFs
  • PDF import quirks related to iCloud sync
  • App crashes causing data loss
  • Pro version access lost unexpectedly
  • Audio recording cannot be exported

Requested features

21 requests
  • Ability to lock zoom while writing with Apple Pencil
  • Resize shapes after cutting/moving them
  • Export notes to PDF and other apps
  • Dark/light theme toggle for pages
  • Nested list item support
Show 16 more
  • Additional font options
  • More sticker varieties
  • Infinite canvas on all sides
  • Password protection for individual notes
  • Straightened highlighter tool
  • Zoom video with auto-advance feature
  • LaTeX conversion support
  • Hierarchical folder navigation panel
  • Left-right page swiping navigation
  • Borderless canvas option
  • Selection tool with resize capability
  • One-click PDF annotation save option
  • Category deletion/renaming without cloud deletion
  • Audio recording export
  • UI language selection independent of system settings
  • Finger tap to undo functionality

In-app purchases

None

Whisper Notes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

UltraNotes

One-time1
  • UltraNotes Pro Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is Whisper Notes free?
Whisper Notes costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is UltraNotes free?
UltraNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Whisper Notes or UltraNotes?
Whisper Notes is rated higher. Whisper Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 700 ratings, while UltraNotes averages 4.6 from 190 ratings.
Do Whisper Notes or UltraNotes have ads?
Neither Whisper Notes nor UltraNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Whisper Notes or UltraNotes?
Whisper Notes ships an update every 10 days, and UltraNotes every 3 weeks. Most recently, Whisper Notes was updated on November 7, 2026 and UltraNotes on November 7, 2026.

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