Transcription Pro vs Basil Private AI Note Taker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Transcription Pro
Effortlessly convert audio and video into text with remarkable accuracy, all processed offline for complete privacy. Supports batch processing and a wide range of languages, exporting to multiple formats.
- Offline transcription for enhanced privacy
- High accuracy and rapid results
- Batch processing of audio/video files
- Supports multiple languages
- Export to various file formats (TXT, CSV, SRT, PDF, etc.)
- Split transcripts by words, sentences, or time
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Automagically transcribe audio and video files with ease — single or batch. Be amazed by remarkable accuracy and rapid results. No internet required, everything runs offline for your privacy. Perfect for converting speech from meetings, lectures, movies, voice dictations, or interviews. Reliable even with distant speakers, background noise, and long recordings. Features • Pro features in a beautiful, simple UI • Complete privacy: Runs entirely on-device • High accuracy. Low latency. Peak efficiency. • Split transcripts by words, sentences, or time ranges • Supported languages: Cantonese, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish • Export as TXT, CSV, SBV, SRT, VTT, HTML, or PDF • Small in size. Big on craftsmanship. ⁂ Support If you need help or want to make a feature suggestion, I’d love hearing from you → https://appahead.studio/help/ Feedback Enjoying Transcription Pro? I’d love your support with a kind review on the App Store. About I’m Martin — designer, developer, and founder of App ahead. Since 2015, I’ve been creating ambitious apps for Apple devices, driven by a strong vision and thoughtful, forward-thinking design. Terms of Use: https://appahead.studio/terms Privacy Policy: https://appahead.studio/privacy
Basil Private AI Note Taker
This app provides private, on-device AI for meeting notes and transcriptions without cloud reliance. It securely records live meetings or processes uploaded audio/video files, offering AI-generated summaries and searchable notes. Your conversations remain offline and private, never shared or used for model training.
- On-device secure and private note-taking
- Offline meeting recording and transcription
- Automatic AI-generated summaries
- Searchable transcripts and export options
- Hands-free recording with Siri Shortcuts
- Support for over 60 languages
- Choice of transcription models (Apple/WhisperKit)
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Basil is a private AI note taker for meetings. Recording, transcription and summaries all run on your device. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no server holding your conversations. WHY ON-DEVICE MATTERS Most AI note takers send your audio to a cloud service to be transcribed and summarized. Basil doesn't. Transcription runs on the Neural Engine, and summaries are generated locally by Apple Intelligence. There is no account to create, no subprocessor list, and no server to subpoena. RECORD ANY MEETING • In Person — capture the room with your microphone. • Computer (Mac) — capture both sides of a Zoom, Teams or Meet call without putting a bot in the meeting. Nothing joins your call, and nothing leaves your Mac. • Import existing audio or video files. Basil extracts the audio locally. TRANSCRIPTS AND SUMMARIES • A fast live transcript while you record, then a refined, higher-accuracy pass right after the session. • Transcripts include speakers names and are fully exportable. • Summaries, action items, decisions and follow-ups, generated on device. • 60+ languages. • Full-text search across everything you have recorded. BASIL FOR LAW A legal edition for attorneys and firms: • Privilege attestation — an on-device provenance record documenting that a recording was captured and processed locally. • Consent log — a timestamped attestation, built to the strictest all-party-consent standard so one workflow works in every state. • Matters and clients — organize by matter rather than by date. • Privileged & Confidential labeling on recordings, transcripts and exports. These are record-keeping tools for legal professionals. They are not legal services or legal advice, and no software can guarantee a privilege outcome. Basil's contribution is architectural: your client conversations never leave your device. ACROSS YOUR DEVICES A universal app for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Your library syncs through your own iCloud account — your iCloud, not our servers. EXPORT Send notes to Apple Notes, Calendar, Reminders and Files. SUBSCRIPTIONS Basil Pro unlocks unlimited recording. Basil for Law adds the legal feature set above. Free trials are available on both. Current pricing and trial length are shown on the subscription screen in the app. - [Privacy Policy](https://basilai.app/privacy) - [Terms of Use](https://basilai.app/terms)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Basil Private AI Note Taker at every 5 days against Transcription Pro's every 3 weeks. Basil Private AI Note Taker also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 81%) and ratings volume (24 vs 7). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Transcription Pro sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Basil Private AI Note Taker sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Transcription Pro against 5.0 for Basil Private AI Note Taker. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 24 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Transcription Pro's written reviews are positive against 94% of Basil Private AI Note Taker's.
Transcription Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, Basil Private AI Note Taker every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Transcription Pro | Basil Private AI Note Taker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (24 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.8% of reviews | 94.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 24 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | App ahead GmbH | Michael Stajer |
Customer experience
Transcription Pro
Basil Private AI Note Taker
In-app purchases
Transcription Pro
- Monthly$5.991 Month
- Annual$34.991 Year
- One-Time Purchase$89.99
Basil Private AI Note Taker
- Basil AI Pro Weekly$4.997 Days
- Basil AI Pro Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Basil for Law Monthly3 Days trial$19.991 Month
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- Basil AI Pro Yearly (Save 17%)7 Days trial$99.991 Year
- Basil for Law Yearly7 Days trial$199.991 Year
- Basil AI Pro Lifetime$199.00
Questions
Is Transcription Pro free?
Is Basil Private AI Note Taker free?
Which has better reviews, Transcription Pro or Basil Private AI Note Taker?
Do Transcription Pro or Basil Private AI Note Taker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Transcription Pro or Basil Private AI Note Taker?
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