# Whisper Notes vs LocalWhisper

The clearest difference is price: LocalWhisper at Free against Whisper Notes's $7.99. LocalWhisper also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 66%). Whisper Notes's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 3.8) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

Whisper Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Whisper Notes has 679 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 66% of Whisper Notes's written reviews are positive against 100% of LocalWhisper's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Whisper Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, LocalWhisper every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Whisper Notes | LocalWhisper |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $7.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.7 (679 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whisper-notes-speech-to-text/id6447090616/reviews)** | [3.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/localwhisper/id6760680371/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **679** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 66.2% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#7** | — |
| Size | 656 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [SmashMelon LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1895995887) | [Kevin Mok](https://appshunter.io/developer/1885695111) |

## What reviewers say

### Whisper Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whisper-notes-speech-to-text/id6447090616)

**Currently charting:** #7 Top Paid · Productivity, #82 Top Paid (US App Store)

This app provides accurate, on-device transcription of audio and video files in over 100 languages. It offers a secure, offline experience with no subscriptions or cloud uploads. Easily record or import files and export transcripts with timestamps.

**Highlights:** 100% offline transcription, Record voice or import audio/video, Supports 100+ languages, Export transcripts with timestamps, Lock screen widget for quick capture, Secure, on-device data storage

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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


### LocalWhisper

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/localwhisper/id6760680371)

This app offers on-device speech-to-text transcription powered by AI. It prioritizes user privacy by processing all audio locally, with options for free offline use or a one-time purchase for enhanced features and accuracy. Advanced users can also connect to their own Whisper servers.

**Highlights:** On-device speech-to-text transcription, Privacy-focused, no cloud uploads, Offline functionality, AI-powered grammar and punctuation cleanup, Customizable phrase keys and user dictionary, Optional connection to personal Whisper servers, Hands-free dictation with slide controls

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| LocalWhisper Pro | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Whisper Notes free?

Whisper Notes costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is LocalWhisper free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Whisper Notes or LocalWhisper?

Whisper Notes is rated higher. Whisper Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 679 ratings, while LocalWhisper averages 3.8 from 4 ratings.

### Do Whisper Notes or LocalWhisper have ads?

Neither Whisper Notes nor LocalWhisper shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Whisper Notes or LocalWhisper?

Whisper Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, and LocalWhisper every 3 weeks. Most recently, Whisper Notes was updated on October 30, 2026 and LocalWhisper on October 24, 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.*