Comparison

Tom vs Typebell

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

Head to head
About

Tom

Convert audio and video files to text securely and privately on your device. This app handles long recordings, identifies speakers, and supports multiple languages, all without needing an internet connection.

Highlights
  • 100% local processing
  • Handles long audio files (2-3 hours)
  • Speaker identification
  • Multilingual support
  • Search and manage transcriptions
  • Copy or export text
Features
Read full description

Transcribe audio & video with the engine that fits the job — three options, all 100% on-device. Tom turns sound into clean, editable text right on your iPhone. Lectures, WhatsApp voice notes, screen recordings, interviews, podcasts, long meetings — pick your engine, drop in the file, read the transcript. No account, no upload. Built originally for a friend who is deaf, Tom is for anyone who needs to read what was said. TRY IT, THEN DECIDE Five transcriptions are on the house — from files or recorded live, with any engine, no time limit and no minute counter. Enough to put your own audio through it and see what comes out. Tom Pro — a single payment, no subscription, no ads — removes the limit on new transcriptions, and adds subtitle export in SubRip and WebVTT plus re-transcribing a file with a different engine, keeping every version. Whatever you've already transcribed stays yours either way: read it, edit it, search it, play it back and export it as text, with or without Pro. Bought Tom back when it was a paid app? You already have Tom Pro, free, forever. Nothing to do. CHOOSE YOUR ENGINE • Apple Speech — fast, low memory, built into iOS. Great default for live recording and short files. 25 languages. • Whisper — OpenAI's recognizer, running locally. Six sizes from Tiny (80 MB) to Large v3 (3.1 GB), including Turbo for the best speed/quality balance. Up to 99 languages. • Parakeet v3 — high-accuracy European transcription from FluidAudio, on-device. 25 European languages. KEY FEATURES • Live recording — tap once and watch the transcript appear as you speak. • File import — any video from your library, or audio from the Files app (WhatsApp voice notes included). • Multiple engines + re-transcribe — pick Apple Speech, Whisper, Parakeet or Nemotron per file, and (with Tom Pro) re-run the same audio through a different engine without losing the previous transcript. • Editable segments — long-press a segment to fix a word the recognizer got wrong. Your edit stays on the device. • Subtitle export — save any transcript as plain text, or as SubRip (.srt) and WebVTT (.vtt) with Tom Pro. • Player with smart controls — tap-to-seek, follow the highlighted segment, skip ±10s, switch speed to 1.5x or 2x. • Honest hallucination flag — when Whisper invents text on silence or music, suspect segments are clearly marked. We never silently strip your transcript. • Long files — chunked processing for meetings, lectures and full episodes. • Model management — downloaded models live in Documents, visible in the Files app. Delete one from Settings or Files to reclaim space anytime. • Wi-Fi only downloads — on by default, so large models never eat your cellular data. • Smart storage — custom titles, search by title or content, activity log on every step. WHO IS IT FOR • Students extracting notes from lectures, videos, or screen recordings. • Professionals transcribing interviews, meetings, or long audio files. • WhatsApp users who want to read voice messages instead of listening. • Content creators turning audio or video into text or subtitles for TikTok, Reels, Shorts, or blogs. • Podcasters making episodes accessible with .srt subtitles. • Anyone who is deaf or hard of hearing and needs private, reliable transcription. WHY CHOOSE TOM Most transcription apps upload your audio to a server. Tom does the opposite: every engine — Apple Speech, Whisper, Parakeet, Nemotron — runs entirely on your iPhone. No account, no upload, no subscription: Tom Pro is a one-time purchase. With multiple engines, re-transcribe-and-compare, segment editing, subtitle export and an honest hallucination flag, Tom covers the whole flow from "I said this" to "here's a clean text I can share" — without ever sending a byte off your device. Note: the app needs permission for the microphone (live recording), the photo library (video import), and Apple's speech recognition. Your audio stays on your device. Offline models are downloaded once on first use.

About

Typebell

Features
Read full description

Turn everyday notes into a writing ritual. Typebell brings the character of a classic typewriter to iPhone and iPad, with mechanical keys, moving typebars and letters that appear as they strike the paper. WRITE WITH CHARACTER Tap the carriage-return paddle or slide it to start the next line. Turn the paper-feed knob, choose a black or red ribbon, and adjust margins and line spacing. Enable automatic line return when you want to keep writing without pausing at the margin. Key sounds are optional. SPACE FOR YOUR WORDS Capture quick ideas, keep a journal, draft a story or write a poem. Switch to Focus for a simple text editor and word count. Create, rename and search notes by title or content. Use portrait or landscape layouts on iPhone and iPad, with support for a physical keyboard. EXPORT AND SHARE Save your writing as PDF, editable DOCX or plain text. Share a document or just the text using the system share sheet. Exports contain readable text rather than a reproduction of the mechanical page or ribbon colors. YOUR NOTEBOOK, ON YOUR DEVICE Notes save locally and writing works offline. No account is required. Typebell does not provide its own cloud sync. Classic keys. Modern notes. Your next page is waiting.

Screenshots

Tom4 screens
Typebell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Tom at Free against Typebell's $2.99. Tom also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3). On update cadence, ads, device support 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

Tom is free to download; Typebell costs $2.99 up front. Typebell sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. Tom asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tom ships an update every 2 months, Typebell every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Tom versus Typebell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTomTypebell
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.6 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarco TiniSensonet

In-app purchases

None

Tom

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Typebell

Subscriptions1
  • Todo+: 1 year subscription$0.991 Year
One-time2
  • Todo+: 1 Day TrialFree
  • Todo+: Lifetime Access$2.99

Questions

Is Tom free?
Tom is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Typebell free?
Typebell costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Do Tom or Typebell have ads?
Neither Tom nor Typebell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tom or Typebell?
Tom ships an update every 2 months, and Typebell every 5 weeks. Most recently, Tom was updated on October 24, 2026 and Typebell on October 29, 2026.

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