Comparison

LectMate vs BeginClass

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

Head to head
About

LectMate

This app provides real-time voice-to-text transcription and simultaneous translation with advanced noise reduction. It's designed to help students and professionals understand lectures, meetings, and conversations, even with accents or background noise. Features include AI-powered summarization, note-taking, and multi-language support.

Highlights
  • Real-time voice-to-text transcription
  • Simultaneous translation
  • Audio noise reduction
  • AI keyword summarization
  • Bilingual transcript export
  • Search and replay recordings
  • Supports 71 languages
Features
Read full description

LectMate: A must-have for students. Professional recording, real-time voice-to-text transcription, and high-precision simultaneous translation; improve learning efficiency, and top students are using it. [Application scenarios] * Real-time translation for Zoom online classes and video conferences. No need to worry about accents from teachers or classmates, the transcription will still be accurate. * Offline classes can also be translated, with real-time Chinese subtitles to easily understand every sentence. * Take notes easily and export bilingual transcripts at any time to save time on reviewing and not miss any important knowledge. * Record phone calls and no longer fear to communicate with customer service. * Switch to conversation translation mode when going out to avoid social awkwardness and understand the other party's thoughts. * Collect inspirations at any time and improve your oral expression ability. [Core features] * Audio noise reduction: Even in noisy environments or when recording distant sources, high-quality voice-to-text transcription results can be obtained. * Intelligent transcription: The world's leading AI technology, #1 in the 2021 international automatic speech recognition challenge, provides high-precision, accurate, and fast transcription with high recognition rates. * Affordable price: 180 minutes of free transcription time per month, and only 0.27 yuan per hour for VIP members, which is only 1/2 the price of similar services. * Comprehensive functionality: Recording audio, taking notes, viewing translations, and exporting in multiple formats. All functions are available. We will continue to update more useful features to help you easily tackle all learning problems and improve efficiency. [Main features] * Real-time transcription: Record audio and take notes in real-time with high accuracy. Automatically save text and voice records after the session. * Keywords: Automatically extract key content and generate keyword summaries. * Import and export: Import audio files from other applications with one click and automatically generate text notes for efficient processing of audio content. * AI intelligent engine: Recognizes mixed Chinese and English speech, automatically distinguishes uppercase letters, adds punctuation, and corrects mistakes intelligently. * Search and replay: Quickly search for any word or sentence in the whole recording. Replay audio at your preferred speed for efficient review. * Multiple scenarios: Suitable for all classes, meetings, phone calls, interviews, lectures, and daily voice conversations. AI saves you time and effort. [71 supported languages] We stand with users from all over the world, continuously providing the most advanced services, making it easier for you to record every important moment in your daily life. Currently supported languages include: English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Thai, Turkish, Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Greek, Finnish, Hebrew, Hindi, Croatian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Norwegian, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Swedish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Afrikaans, Amharic, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Estonian, Basque, Persian, Filipino, Galician, Gujarati, Armenian, Icelandic, Javanese, Georgian, Khmer, Kannada, Lao, Macedonian, Malayalam, Mongolian, Marathi, Malay, Burmese, Nepali, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Albanian, Sundanese, Swahili, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Uzbek, Cantonese, Zulu. [Information confidentiality] We take your privacy and data security seriously. Your data is confidential and will not be transferred to third parties for any reason. You have full control over your data and can delete it from your account at any time. Privacy Policy: https://d1e0dtlz2jooy2.cloudfront.net/inter-web/lect-mate/privacy.html Terms of Service: https://d1e0dtlz2jooy2.cloudfront.net/inter-web/lect-mate/terms.html

About

BeginClass

This app transforms lectures and classes into searchable text, translations, and AI-generated summaries. It allows users to follow live transcripts, review recordings with synchronized text, and import audio/video files for transcription. Ideal for students and professionals needing to capture and study information from various learning environments.

Highlights
  • Live lecture transcription with timestamps
  • Real-time and post-class translation
  • Synchronized recording, transcript, and bookmarks
  • AI-powered class summaries
  • Import and transcribe audio/video files
  • Photo and conversation translation
  • System audio transcription and floating captions
Features
Read full description

Turn every class into text, translations, and study-ready highlights you can revisit anytime. BeginClass is a smart lecture-notes app built for classes, online courses, seminars, and learning across languages. Follow a live transcript while the class is happening, then review the recording, transcript, bookmarks, translations, and AI summary together after class. LIVE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTION Choose the language being spoken and see timestamped transcript segments appear while you record. It is useful for university lectures, online courses, seminars, interviews, meetings, and study discussions. REAL-TIME TRANSLATION Display the original transcript and translated text together for supported language pairs, helping you keep up in a class taught in another language. You can also translate the complete saved transcript after class. RECORDING, TRANSCRIPT, AND BOOKMARKS TOGETHER Each recording stays with its transcript. Listen while you read, add bookmarks during class, and return quickly to the moments you want to review. AI CLASS SUMMARIES Create a structured summary from a saved transcript to identify key ideas, learning points, and review cues. The transcript is sent to the AI service only when you explicitly request a summary. TRANSCRIBE AUDIO AND VIDEO FILES Import recordings, audio, and video from Files or Photos, or send supported media to BeginClass from another app. Turn course recordings, podcasts, talks, and interviews into searchable text. PHOTO AND CONVERSATION TRANSLATION Capture or choose slides, handouts, whiteboards, and other images to recognize and translate their text. Two-way conversation translation helps with office hours, group discussions, and everyday communication. SYSTEM AUDIO AND FLOATING CAPTIONS On supported iPhone and iPad devices, use the system broadcast panel to transcribe course audio playing in another app. Picture in Picture can keep live captions visible while you use other apps. BeginClass does not save screen video. SEARCH, REVIEW, AND SHARE Search notes by title or transcript content, compare original and translated text, listen to the associated recording, and copy or share the text you need. Great for: - International students and multilingual classes - University lectures, online courses, and seminars - Study groups, interviews, and meetings - Course recordings, podcasts, and educational videos - Language learning and cross-language conversations Privacy and requirements: 1. BeginClass requires iOS 26 or later. 2. Speech recognition, text recognition, and Apple Translation use on-device system technologies. An Apple language model may need to be downloaded the first time you use a language. 3. Lecture transcription and real-time translation work offline. AI class summaries require an internet connection, and the current transcript is submitted to generate the summary. 4. System-audio transcription requires authorization and activation through the iOS system broadcast panel. Protected, silent, or unavailable audio may not be captured. 5. Results vary with the device, system language-model support, recording quality, background noise, and speech. 6. All features are free to use. No registration or account is required. Contact: support@miremire.com Privacy Policy: https://beginclass.ai/privacy/ Terms of Service: https://beginclass.ai/terms/

Screenshots

LectMate4 screens
BeginClass4 screens

Verdict

The call

LectMate and BeginClass both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of BeginClass's written reviews are positive against 30% of LectMate's. BeginClass also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 14) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). LectMate's advantage is ratings volume (665 vs 20) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, 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

Both are free to download. LectMate sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. BeginClass asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for LectMate against 4.8 for BeginClass. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LectMate has 665 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 30% of LectMate's written reviews are positive against 100% of BeginClass's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LectMate ships an update every 3 weeks, BeginClass every 9 days. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
LectMate versus BeginClass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLectMateBeginClass
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (665 ratings)4.8 (20 ratings)
Positive reviews30.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings665 — better20
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size280 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYoudao (Hong Kong) LimitedBeijing Zaomeng Shidai Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

LectMate

All ratings665 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.4%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews112 reviews
Positive30.4%
Neutral9.8%
Negative59.8%

BeginClass

All ratings20 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

LectMate

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sudden loss of membership status
  • Automatic pause during recordings
  • Inability to find account login on different devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • Batch export/import functionality
  • Customizable recording duration
  • Improved handling of accented/regional speech

BeginClass

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

LectMate

Subscriptions8
  • LectMate 会员3 Days trial2 variants$5.997 Days
  • LectMate Pro3 Days trial2 variants$5.997 Days
  • LectMate 会员3 Days trial2 variants$6.997 Days
Show 5 more
  • LectMate Pro3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • LectMate Pro3 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • LectMate 会员$49.991 Year
  • LectMate Pro4 variants$49.991 Year
  • LectMate 会员$59.991 Year
None

BeginClass

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LectMate free?
LectMate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BeginClass free?
BeginClass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LectMate or BeginClass?
LectMate and BeginClass are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 665 and 20 ratings respectively.
Do LectMate or BeginClass have ads?
Neither LectMate nor BeginClass shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LectMate or BeginClass?
LectMate ships an update every 3 weeks, and BeginClass every 9 days. Most recently, LectMate was updated on September 30, 2026 and BeginClass on September 30, 2026.

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