Comparison

Summary vs Voice Notes

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

Head to head
About

Summary

This app records, transcribes, and summarizes conversations, making meetings more productive. It offers AI-powered summaries, speaker labels, and the ability to ask questions about the content. Ideal for professionals, students, and anyone needing to capture and recall spoken information.

Highlights
  • One-tap audio recording
  • Accurate transcription with speaker labels
  • AI-powered summaries and key points
  • Smart search and timestamp jumping
  • Ask questions about conversations
  • Export notes to PDF
  • Background recording
Features
Read full description

Summary AI makes meetings more productive by automatically recording, transcribing, and summarizing conversations. Whether it’s a business meeting, interview, classroom lecture, or podcast, Summary AI captures everything clearly so you can stay present and focus. With one tap, the app records audio, generates accurate transcripts with speaker labels, and creates easy-to-read summaries. You can even ask questions like, “What were the key action items from the marketing strategy session?” and get instant answers, thanks to built-in AI. Why Use Summary AI? Take and share professional meeting notes effortlessly Record and transcribe interviews, lectures, webinars, and podcasts Generate captions for people with hearing impairments or quiet audio environments Who Uses Summary AI? Professionals: Capture meeting notes, action items, and client discussions Students: Record and review lectures, study groups, and seminars Journalists & Researchers: Transcribe interviews with precision Everyone: From voice memos to webinars, it handles it all Key Features One-Tap Recording Start recording instantly and stay focused. Summary AI takes care of the rest. Unlimited Recording Time Record as much as you need, no time limits, no interruptions. Records in the Background or with Screen Locked Keep recording while your phone is locked or you're using other apps. Perfect for discreet, uninterrupted sessions. Accurate Transcription with Speaker Labels Transcripts that make sense, clearly labeled, searchable, and easy to review. AI-Powered Summaries & Key Points Don’t just get a transcript, get the big picture with bullet-pointed summaries. Smart Search & Timestamp Jumping Type a keyword, jump straight to that moment in the recording. Ask Questions About the Conversation Get instant answers from the AI like “Who was assigned the budget review?” Automatic Punctuation, Capitalization & Line Breaks Clean, easy-to-read transcripts without any manual formatting. Boost Your Productivity Save time reviewing meetings, just skim the summary Stay present in conversations, not distracted by note-taking Export notes to PDF, share with teams, or save for personal reference Never lose a detail, everything is searchable Your recordings and notes are private, always. Summary AI prioritizes security, and your data is never shared with third parties. Privacy Policy: https://summary.ai/privacy Terms of Use: https://summary.ai/terms

About

Voice Notes

Effortlessly convert spoken thoughts into actionable tasks with due dates and times. This app uses on-device AI for smart extraction and privacy, offering a seamless way to manage your to-do list without typing or cloud accounts.

Highlights
  • Convert speech to structured tasks
  • On-device AI for smart extraction
  • Natural date and time understanding
  • Task review and editing before saving
  • Private, no account or cloud needed
  • Offline core functionality
  • Multiple language support
Features
Read full description

Turn your thoughts into tasks, just by talking. Tap the mic, speak naturally, and get clear, structured tasks with due dates and times. No typing, no account, no cloud. CAPTURE THE WAY YOU THINK • Quick Task: say one thing and save it in seconds • Brain Dump: talk through everything on your mind and get a list of separate tasks • Live recording with waveform, timer, and pause/resume • Split a capture into separate tasks or keep it as a single note • Merge related tasks before saving • Review and edit everything first. Nothing is saved until you confirm SMART, ON-DEVICE UNDERSTANDING • On-device AI turns speech into structured tasks on devices that support Apple Intelligence • Works on other iPhones too, with built-in smart extraction • Understands natural dates: "tomorrow", "next Friday", "the 15th", "March 15", "end of the month" • Understands times: "at 10", "2pm", "this evening" • Highlights items it is less sure about so you can double-check them • Catches impossible or past dates before they are saved STAY ON TOP OF YOUR DAY • Today: overdue and due-today tasks in one place • Upcoming: future tasks grouped by month • Inbox: undated tasks, ready to schedule with a tap • Tap to complete, tap to reschedule, overdue tasks highlighted in red • Tasks move into Today automatically when their day arrives REMINDERS THAT WORK FOR YOU • Timed tasks: reminders the day before, 2 hours before, and at the time • Date-only tasks: a reminder the day before • All reminders are scheduled locally on your iPhone PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Speech recognition and task extraction happen on your device • No account and no server: your voice and tasks never leave your phone • Delete recordings after processing, export your data, or delete everything at any time FOR EVERYONE • Available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French and Arabic. Speak and capture in any of them • Full right-to-left layout for Arabic • Light, dark and system themes • VoiceOver labels, Dynamic Type and large touch targets • Core features work offline Speak it. Sort it. Get it done.

Screenshots

Summary4 screens
Voice Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Voice Notes at free against Summary's free with in-app purchases. Voice Notes also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Summary's advantage is ratings volume (57K vs 1) and chart position (#16 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Summary sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per 7 days and Voice Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Voice Notes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Summary has 57K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Summary ships an update every 6 days, Voice Notes every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Summary versus Voice Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSummaryVoice Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (57K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings57K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#16 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size186 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLabhouse MobileMd Nur Uddin Sabuj

Customer experience

Summary

All ratings56,423 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.0%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews2,499 reviews
Positive72.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative22.4%

Voice Notes

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

Bugs and requests

Summary

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Buttons don't function properly
  • Transcription never completes

Requested features

2 requests
  • More detailed and accurate transcription and summarization
  • Ability to handle longer meetings without issues

Voice Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Summary

Subscriptions8
  • Weekly Subscription7 Days trial$8.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial2 variants$8.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription2 variants$8.997 Days
Show 5 more
  • Summary AI Monthly7 Days trial$17.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription$79.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription$99.991 Year
1 purchases

Voice Notes

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Summary free?
Summary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Voice Notes free?
Voice Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Summary or Voice Notes?
Voice Notes is rated higher. Summary averages 4.7 out of 5 from 57K ratings, while Voice Notes averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Summary or Voice Notes have ads?
Neither Summary nor Voice Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Summary or Voice Notes?
Summary ships an update every 6 days, and Voice Notes every 2 weeks. Most recently, Summary was updated on November 9, 2026 and Voice Notes on November 6, 2026.

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