BBnotes vs BeginClass
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BBnotes
This app acts as an AI-powered study companion, helping you prepare for classes, take precise notes during lectures, and review material effectively. It offers features like AI summarization, parallel translation, audio-note synchronization, and automatic mistake book creation for exam preparation.
- AI-powered PDF summarization
- Parallel language translation
- Audio-note synchronization
- Handwriting recognition
- AI Tutor for explanations
- Automatic mistake book
- One-click export to study guides
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BBnotes is an AI notebook for international students studying in a second language. Follow lectures with live bilingual captions, translate PDFs side by side, handwrite with Apple Pencil and ask an AI tutor about the exact passage, formula or note on the page—all in one study workspace. FOLLOW LECTURES IN TWO LANGUAGES • Record a lecture and see bilingual captions as your lecturer speaks, on supported devices. • Review a timestamped bilingual transcript after class. • Jump back to the relevant moment instead of searching the entire recording. SUMMARIZE A WHOLE LECTURE • Turn a full recording into an overview and timestamped key points in one tap. • Tap any key point to replay that moment in the recording and transcript. READ AND TRANSLATE PDFs • View the original text and its translation side by side. • Scroll both versions together to keep the same passage aligned. • Tap an unfamiliar word to save it to your word book with its meaning and source page. ASK AI IN CONTEXT • Circle a passage, formula or handwriting and ask directly from the page. • Work through problems by hand while the AI tutor checks each step and hints at the next one. • Keep each question and explanation connected to the source material. WRITE, ORGANIZE AND REVIEW • Take handwritten notes with Apple Pencil on iPad. • Generate an outline to navigate long documents. • Bring reading, writing, translation, lecture audio and AI support into one notebook, synced across iPhone, iPad and Mac. BUILT AROUND THE STUDY DAY Use BBnotes before class to prepare, during class to follow along, and after class to return to what was said and where it appeared in your notes. Download BBnotes for free. New users get a 14-day Pro trial. Optional Pro plans and AI point packs are available as in-app purchases. Pricing is determined by your local App Store. Available on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Live captions require iOS/iPadOS 26. Some features require compatible devices and system versions, and feature availability may vary by platform. Terms of Use: https://bbnotes-legal.liushenpeng1.workers.dev/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://bbnotes-legal.liushenpeng1.workers.dev/privacy.html Apple Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
BeginClass
This app provides live lecture transcription, real-time translation, and AI-generated study notes for international students and multilingual learners. It helps users follow along with classes, review recordings, and organize course materials efficiently.
- Live lecture transcription
- Real-time translation
- AI class summaries
- Import audio/video files
- Photo and conversation translation
- System audio transcription
- Organize course notes
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Live lecture transcription, classroom translation, bilingual captions, and AI study notes for international students. BeginClass is a 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. Use it for lectures, seminars, 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. MULTILINGUAL LEARNING Supports English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, Turkish, Dutch, Polish, Ukrainian, and Malay. Transcription and translation availability differs by device and language pair. Follow English-taught lectures, Japanese seminars, or Korean classes with captions, then review the original and translated notes. 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. Automatic refinement and summaries are enabled after first-launch consent and can be disabled in Settings. Manual and eligible automatic summaries send transcripts online. 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 Recognize and translate text from slides, handouts, and whiteboard photos. 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. ORGANIZE YOUR COURSE NOTES Group notes by course or topic, and merge recordings from separate sessions into one audio note for review. 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. Once language resources are ready, live transcription and 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BeginClass at none against BBnotes's 10. BeginClass also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (37 vs 9). BBnotes's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. BBnotes sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. BeginClass asks for nothing beyond the download.
BeginClass holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 37 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
BBnotes ships an update every 3 days, BeginClass weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BBnotes | BeginClass |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (9 ratings) | 4.8 (37 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 37 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 甡朋 刘 | Beijing Zaomeng Shidai Technology Co., Ltd. |
Customer experience
BBnotes
BeginClass
In-app purchases
BBnotes
- Pro Monthly$8.991 Month
- Pro Semester (3 Months)$19.993 Months
- BBNotes Premium Monthly$19.991 Month
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- BBNotes Premium 3-Month$54.993 Months
- Pro Yearly$69.991 Year
- BBNotes Premium Annual$199.991 Year
- 500 AI Points$2.99
- 1000 AI Points$4.99
- 3000 AI Points$12.99
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- 10000 AI Points$24.99
BeginClass
No in-app purchases








