Comparison

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.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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)
Features
Read full description

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

Transcription Pro4 screens
Basil Private AI Note Taker4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Transcription Pro versus Basil Private AI Note Taker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTranscription ProBasil Private AI Note Taker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (7 ratings)5.0 (24 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.8% of reviews94.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings724 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApp ahead GmbHMichael Stajer

Customer experience

Transcription Pro

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive80.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative19.2%

Basil Private AI Note Taker

All ratings24 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Transcription Pro

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Annual$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • One-Time Purchase$89.99
6 purchases

Basil Private AI Note Taker

Subscriptions5
  • 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
Show 2 more
  • Basil AI Pro Yearly (Save 17%)7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Basil for Law Yearly7 Days trial$199.991 Year
One-time1
  • Basil AI Pro Lifetime$199.00

Questions

Is Transcription Pro free?
Transcription Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Basil Private AI Note Taker free?
Basil Private AI Note Taker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Transcription Pro or Basil Private AI Note Taker?
Basil Private AI Note Taker is rated higher. Transcription Pro averages 4.9 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Basil Private AI Note Taker averages 5.0 from 24 ratings.
Do Transcription Pro or Basil Private AI Note Taker have ads?
Neither Transcription Pro nor Basil Private AI Note Taker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Transcription Pro or Basil Private AI Note Taker?
Transcription Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, and Basil Private AI Note Taker every 5 days. Most recently, Transcription Pro was updated on September 23, 2026 and Basil Private AI Note Taker on September 24, 2026.

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