Comparison

Whisper Notes vs Focus Cafe

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 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
Read full description

Maybe the best offline transcription app — 70,000+ journalists, researchers, and professionals seem to think so. Turn meetings, lectures, and voice memos into accurate text with speaker labels — fast, 100% offline, on your device. No subscription. One purchase, yours forever. ■ Core Features - Record voice memos and capture ideas instantly—from the Lock Screen, widgets, Action Button, or just say "Hey Siri" - Import audio and video from any app (WhatsApp, Photos, Voice Memos, etc.)—even extract subtitles - Turn meetings, lectures, and interviews into transcripts with speaker labels—see who said what, rename speakers, no length limits - 101 languages, auto-detected (optimized for English)—three models (Parakeet, Whisper, SenseVoice), switch freely - Export as SRT, VTT, or TXT—timestamps and speaker labels included ■ Privacy & Speed Because everything runs on your device, there is nothing to upload—and nothing to leak. Turn on airplane mode before you record and leave it on: Whisper Notes works exactly the same. That matters when the recording is an interview, a client meeting, or something you would never put on someone else's server. Transcribing 5 minutes of audio on iPhone 15: ~18 seconds with Parakeet, ~1 minute with Whisper. SenseVoice is much faster than Whisper and strongest for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Each model has its strengths—choose freely based on language and use case. Older devices are slower but work fine. ■ Honest Pricing Because transcription runs on your device, we have no server costs—so there is nothing to charge you monthly for. Most similar apps charge $100+/year; we charge once. No subscriptions, no in-app purchases, no ads. Not satisfied? Tap Settings → Request Refund. ■ Common Questions Does it work completely offline? Yes. Your audio never leaves your device. Works on flights, in remote areas, anywhere. Can I transcribe WhatsApp voice messages or videos? Yes. Share or save audio/video from WhatsApp to Whisper Notes and transcribe offline. Perfect for extracting subtitles without uploading to cloud services. Is there a recording time limit? No limit. Record for hours if you want. Longer recordings just take more time to transcribe on your device. Does it support real-time transcription while recording? Not during recording, but yes during transcription—after you finish recording, you'll see the transcript appear in real-time as it's being generated. Do you support speaker labels (diarization)? Yes—fully offline. Tap the speaker icon on any transcript to see who said what, right on your device. We keep improving accuracy and speed. Where is my data stored? Only on your device. We have zero access. Note: If you delete the app, your recordings are deleted too (because we don't keep secret backups). Please export important files regularly. Can I summarize a transcript? Yes — copy it into whichever AI tool you prefer. Whisper Notes itself never uploads anything; your audio and text stay on your device. Why does transcription stop when I switch apps? iOS limits background GPU usage for third-party apps. Just return to the app and tap "Re-transcribe"—it will restart. Which devices are recommended? iPhone 12 and newer. Older devices (iPhone 11, iPhone SE 2nd gen) are not recommended—the app will not function properly on these devices. What languages are supported? English, Español, Français, Deutsch, Português, Italiano, Nederlands, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, 한국어, Hindi, Arabic, Русский, Türkçe, Polski, Українська, Tiếng Việt, Thai, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, Svenska, Norsk, Dansk, Suomi, Čeština, Greek, Hebrew, Română, Magyar, Persian, Urdu, and 65+ more languages. ■ Contact Questions? Email support@whispernotes.app Learn more: whispernotes.app

About

Focus Cafe

This app uses your phone's camera to track your actual study time, pausing the timer when you're not actively engaged. It differentiates between focused study, sleep, and breaks, providing detailed statistics and customizable study routines.

Highlights
  • Real focus time measurement
  • Sleep and break detection
  • Subject-specific tracking
  • Automatic pause on app switch
  • Monthly statistics and charts
  • Camera preview and switching
  • Customizable Pomodoro timer
Features
Read full description

타이머를 켜 두고 졸거나 자리를 비워도 시간은 계속 흘러갑니다. Focus Café는 졸거나 자리를 비우면 시간이 멈추는 순공 타이머입니다. 휴대폰을 책상에 세워 두기만 하면, 카메라로 눈 감김·손 움직임·얼굴 위치를 읽어 공부·수면·자리 비움 시간을 나눠 기록합니다. 누른 시간 말고, 진짜 앉아 있던 시간을 남겨 보세요. ■ 주요 기능 - 순공 측정 공부하는 동안에만 순공 시간이 쌓이고, 수면과 자리 비움 시간은 따로 기록됩니다. 잠깐 눈을 감거나 고개를 숙여 필기해도 바로 멈추지 않도록 여유 시간을 두었습니다. - 수면·자리 비움 감지 눈을 감고 손도 움직이지 않는 상태가 이어지면 수면으로, 얼굴과 손이 모두 보이지 않으면 자리 비움으로 전환됩니다. 수면 감지 감도는 직접 조절할 수 있습니다. - 과목별 기록 과목을 골라 측정하고 과목별로 저장합니다. 최대 10개까지 등록할 수 있고, 과목을 삭제해도 기록은 남습니다. - 자동 일시 정지 다른 앱으로 넘어가거나 홈 화면으로 나가면 자동으로 일시 정지되어, 폰을 만지는 시간이 공부 시간에 섞이지 않습니다. - 측정 결과와 월간 통계 측정을 마치면 순공·수면·자리 비움 시간을 한 화면에서 확인하고, 월간 차트로 날짜별·과목별 공부 시간을 돌아볼 수 있습니다. - 카메라 프리뷰와 전환 공부하는 내 모습을 보며 Study With Me처럼 공부할 수 있고, 전면·후면 카메라를 바꿀 수 있습니다. - 뽀모도로 타이머 공부 5~120분, 휴식 5~60분, 1~12세트로 나만의 루틴을 만듭니다. (뽀모도로 모드는 카메라 없이 동작하며 통계에는 기록되지 않습니다.) ■ 영상도 기록도 기기 밖으로 나가지 않습니다 카메라 영상은 저장하지도, 전송하지도 않습니다. 상태 판정과 공부 기록은 모두 기기 안에서만 처리됩니다. 회원가입이나 로그인 없이 바로 시작할 수 있습니다. ■ 구독 없는 요금 모든 기능을 무료로 쓸 수 있고, 순공 측정만 24시간마다 90분으로 제한됩니다. 2,000원 한 번 구매로 시간 제한 없이 사용할 수 있습니다. 매달 결제되는 구독이 아닙니다. ■ 이런 분께 추천합니다 - 하루 순공 시간을 기록하는 수험생·공시생·자격증 준비생 - 타이머만 켜 두고 졸았던 경험이 있는 분 - 독서실·집·카페에서 혼자 공부하는 분 - Study With Me 방식이나 뽀모도로 루틴으로 공부하고 싶은 분 오늘 진짜 앉아 있던 시간, Focus Café로 확인해 보세요.

Screenshots

Whisper Notes4 screens
Focus Cafe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Focus Cafe at Free against Whisper Notes's $7.99. Focus Cafe also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Whisper Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (618 vs 1). On ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Focus Cafe holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Whisper Notes has 618 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Whisper Notes versus Focus Cafe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhisper NotesFocus Cafe
Price$7.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (618 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings618 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size508 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmashMelon LLCHey Cobx

Customer experience

Whisper Notes

All ratings618 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral3.7%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews326 reviews
Positive66.3%
Neutral9.5%
Negative24.2%

Focus Cafe

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Focus Cafe

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Whisper Notes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Focus Cafe

One-time1
  • Focus Cafe Premium$1.99

Questions

Is Whisper Notes free?
Whisper Notes costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Focus Cafe free?
Focus Cafe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Whisper Notes or Focus Cafe?
Focus Cafe is rated higher. Whisper Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 618 ratings, while Focus Cafe averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Whisper Notes or Focus Cafe have ads?
Neither Whisper Notes nor Focus Cafe shows ads.

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