Whisper Notes vs Whisper Local
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Whisper Local
This app converts audio and video files into text directly on your device, ensuring privacy. It supports recording or importing files, automatic language detection, and easy sharing of transcripts.
- On-device transcription
- Import audio/video files
- Record with microphone
- Automatic language detection
- Format and share transcripts
- Plain text export
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Whisper Local turns audio into text directly on your device for better privacy and control. Import an audio or video file, or record with the microphone, then get a clean transcript without sending your content to a remote server. Choose a language manually or let the app detect it automatically, then format, copy, or share the result as plain text.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Whisper Local at Free against Whisper Notes's $7.99. Whisper Local also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 10 days). Whisper Notes's advantage is ratings volume (707 vs 2) and chart position (#6 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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
Whisper Local is free to download; Whisper Notes costs $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Whisper Local holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Whisper Notes has 707 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Whisper Notes ships an update every 10 days, Whisper Local every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Whisper Notes | Whisper Local |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (707 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 707 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #6 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 659 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SmashMelon LLC | Francois Guilleme |
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
Whisper Local
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Whisper Notes
No in-app purchases
Whisper Local
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Whisper Notes free?
Is Whisper Local free?
Which has better reviews, Whisper Notes or Whisper Local?
Do Whisper Notes or Whisper Local have ads?
Which is updated more often, Whisper Notes or Whisper Local?
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