Comparison

Earshot Live Transcription vs ArchiveLab

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

Head to head
About

Earshot Live Transcription

This app provides real-time, on-device captioning for conversations, lectures, and ambient sounds. It prioritizes privacy and offline functionality, making speech accessible without cloud processing. It also offers translation and urgent sound alerts.

Highlights
  • Real-time captioning
  • Ambient sound recognition
  • Speech translation
  • Offline functionality
  • On-device processing
  • Save and share transcripts
Features
Read full description

Earshot is real-time, on-device captioning for iPhone - for conversations, lectures, doctor visits, anywhere you want to read what's being said. It's a free app that captions speech and ambient sound in real time, inspired by a Deaf researcher who'd spent his career on captioning. Having a disability shouldn't cost you money or your privacy. So I built Earshot. • Free — no sign-up, no sign-in, no ads, no upsells. • Private — everything runs on your device. The only network call is to download or update the local speech model so conversations never go to the cloud. • Offline — works with no Wi-Fi or cellular connection. • Multilingual — 99 languages, and it can translate any of them into English. • Ambient-sound aware — recognizes hundreds of environmental sounds, with full-screen alerts for urgent ones: smoke alarm, carbon monoxide, doorbell, crying baby, phone ringing, sirens. Accessibility tools shouldn't themselves be inaccessible. Free should mean free. Private should mean private. WHAT IT DOES • Real-time captions in a clean, focused screen, plus a chat-style "feed" layout. Tap the cog for text size, vibration, and ambient-sound options. • Translate non-English speech to English on the fly. • Full-screen urgent-sound alerts with strong haptics; ambient-sound tags shown in the corner when you want them. • Save transcripts on your device as readable documents. Star the ones to keep, filter by 1:1 or group, by alerts, by starred. • Share any transcript as plain text — it never leaves your device unless you send it. WHO IT'S FOR Built for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community as a private alternative to cloud captioning. Also useful in loud environments, for language learners, and for anyone who wants to read or save what was said. PRIVACY Audio never leaves your device. No accounts, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. The AI model downloads once on first launch (~244 MB) — the only network request the app makes. Full policy at briankemler.github.io/LiveTranscribe/privacy. REQUIREMENTS iPhone on iOS 17 or later. Works offline after the one-time model download. CONTACT brian.kemler@gmail.com

About

ArchiveLab

Features
Read full description

Turn screenshots into a searchable library. You screenshot everything. You never find it again. ArchiveLab fixes this by turning your screenshot chaos into a connected, searchable visual library. Extract text offline, link ideas on an infinite canvas, and find any saved post, idea, or reference in seconds. 100% private — no cloud, no account. HOW IT WORKS Import screenshots from your gallery Offline OCR extracts text instantly on device Drag, connect and map items on an infinite visual canvas Organize by platform (Instagram, TikTok, X) with Social Spaces, folders & tags Search any word or image in seconds KEY FEATURES Infinite Canvas – Spatially link screenshots & text Offline OCR – Ultra fast, no internet required Full Text Search – Find any word, comment or tweet instantly Social Spaces – Separate views for Instagram, TikTok, X, etc. Smart Folders & Tags – Build your own visual memory system Local & Fast – All data stays on device, even with huge libraries Export – TXT/CSV sharing of extracted content PRIVACY FIRST No cloud. No accounts. No tracking. Your data never leaves your phone. PERFECT FOR Creators saving visual inspiration Students & researchers archiving sources Social media lovers who never want to lose a post Anyone tired of endless scrolling through screenshots

Screenshots

Earshot Live Transcription4 screens
ArchiveLab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Earshot Live Transcription at none against ArchiveLab's shown. ArchiveLab's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Earshot Live Transcription ships an update monthly, ArchiveLab every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and July 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Earshot Live Transcription versus ArchiveLab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEarshot Live TranscriptionArchiveLab
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrian KemlerEL MEHDI OUHAMMOU

In-app purchases

None

Earshot Live Transcription

No in-app purchases

None

ArchiveLab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Earshot Live Transcription free?
Earshot Live Transcription is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ArchiveLab free?
ArchiveLab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Earshot Live Transcription or ArchiveLab have ads?
ArchiveLab shows ads; Earshot Live Transcription does not.
Which is updated more often, Earshot Live Transcription or ArchiveLab?
Earshot Live Transcription ships an update monthly, and ArchiveLab every 2 weeks. Most recently, Earshot Live Transcription was updated on September 9, 2026 and ArchiveLab on July 6, 2026.

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