Comparison

Captionify vs BeginClass

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

Head to head
About

Captionify

This app converts speech to text in real-time using on-device AI, offering live translation and AI-powered summaries. It prioritizes privacy by keeping all processing and data local, with no cloud reliance or account needed.

Highlights
  • Real-time transcription
  • Live translation
  • Face-to-face conversation mode
  • AI summaries
  • Apple Watch support
  • Save and search transcripts
  • On-device processing
Features
Read full description

Captionify turns speech into text in real time, entirely on your device. Transcribe meetings, lectures, and conversations. Translate across languages instantly. No subscription. No account. Nothing sent to the cloud. REAL-TIME TRANSCRIPTION Using on-device AI, Captionify converts spoken words to text the moment they're said — no internet connection required. Ideal for lectures, meetings, interviews, and noisy environments where you can't afford to miss a word. LIVE TRANSLATION Understand any language as it's spoken. Captionify translates speech in real time so you can follow along in any conversation, anywhere in the world. FACE-TO-FACE CONVERSATION MODE Talking with someone who speaks a different language? Face-to-Face mode lets two people hold a natural bilingual conversation on a single device — one speaks, the other reads, then you swap. No interpreter. No awkward pauses. AGENT MODE Talk to an on-device AI assistant that can use tools, connect to your own MCP servers, and remember saved chats — all without sending anything to the cloud. CUSTOM PIPELINE (BETA) Mix and match independent transcription, translation, and voice engines — on-device or your own custom endpoint — to build a live pipeline that's entirely your own. AI SUMMARIES Powered by Apple Intelligence, Captionify distills long transcripts into the key points that matter. Everything runs on-device — your words never leave your phone. APPLE WATCH SUPPORT See live captions on your wrist and control recording remotely. Keep your phone in your pocket while staying connected to every word. SAVE & SEARCH YOUR TRANSCRIPTS Every session can be saved and searched later. Build a personal library of transcripts — no cloud storage, no account, no limits. PRIVACY BY DESIGN Captionify uses Apple's on-device AI for all processing. Your voice and your transcripts stay on your device always. 100% FREE No subscription. No paywall. No account required. Every feature, available from the moment you open the app.

About

BeginClass

This app transforms lectures and classes into searchable text, translations, and AI-generated summaries. It allows users to follow live transcripts, review recordings with synchronized text, and import audio/video files for transcription. Ideal for students and professionals needing to capture and study information from various learning environments.

Highlights
  • Live lecture transcription with timestamps
  • Real-time and post-class translation
  • Synchronized recording, transcript, and bookmarks
  • AI-powered class summaries
  • Import and transcribe audio/video files
  • Photo and conversation translation
  • System audio transcription and floating captions
Features
Read full description

Turn every class into text, translations, and study-ready highlights you can revisit anytime. BeginClass is a smart 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. It is useful for university lectures, online courses, seminars, interviews, meetings, 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. 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. The transcript is sent to the AI service only when you explicitly request a summary. 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 Capture or choose slides, handouts, whiteboards, and other images to recognize and translate their text. 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. 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. Lecture transcription and real-time 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

Captionify4 screens
BeginClass4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: BeginClass at 20 against Captionify's 1. Captionify's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Captionify holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BeginClass has 20 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Captionify ships an update every 10 days, BeginClass every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Captionify versus BeginClass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCaptionifyBeginClass
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.8 (20 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings120 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size133 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJonathan GregorioBeijing Zaomeng Shidai Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Captionify

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

BeginClass

All ratings20 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Captionify

No in-app purchases

None

BeginClass

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Captionify free?
Captionify is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BeginClass free?
BeginClass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Captionify or BeginClass?
Captionify is rated higher. Captionify averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while BeginClass averages 4.8 from 20 ratings.
Do Captionify or BeginClass have ads?
Neither Captionify nor BeginClass shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Captionify or BeginClass?
Captionify ships an update every 10 days, and BeginClass every 9 days. Most recently, Captionify was updated on October 7, 2026 and BeginClass on September 30, 2026.

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