Comparison

toPhonetics Converter vs AV Phonetics

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

Head to head
About

toPhonetics Converter

This app provides interactive English phonetic transcriptions using the IPA. It allows users to listen to text read aloud, check word translations, and export results in various formats. Users can customize pronunciation and view transcriptions line-by-line with the original text.

Highlights
  • Interactive IPA transcriptions
  • Text-to-speech with visual cursor
  • Word and fragment translation (iOS 18+)
  • Export transcription to PDF and audio
  • British and American pronunciation options
  • Connected speech pronunciation variations
  • Customizable voice and speech rate
Features
Read full description

toPhonetics is an app that provides fully interactive transcriptions of English texts. It displays your input's phonemic transcription using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and allows you • to listen to it read aloud visually, following the narration with a cursor, • to quickly check the translation of individual words or selected fragments (requires iOS 18+), • to export and share the transcription results in various formats including PDF (via the Print option), • to export the audio of the text read using your chosen voice and speech rate. And much more: - See phonetic transcription of the whole text, not just the dictionary forms of separate words. - Choose between British and American* pronunciation. When British dialect is selected the [r] sound at the end of the word is only voiced if followed by a vowel, which follows British phonetic convention. - International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols used. - The structure of the text and sentences in it (line breaks, punctuation marks, etc.) is preserved in phonetic transcription output making it easier to read. - You can output the text and its phonetic transcription along each other line-by-line to make back-reference to the original text easier. - An option to vary pronunciation depending on whether words are in stressed or weak position in the sentence, as in connected speech. Weak forms are italicized in the output. - Words in CAPS are interpreted as acronyms if the word is not found in the database. Acronym transcriptions will be shown with hyphens between letters. - In addition to commonly used vocabulary the database contains a very substantial amount of place names (including names of countries, their capitals, US states, UK counties), nationalities and popular names. - Where a word has a number of possible pronunciations (highlighted in blue in the output) you can select the one that agrees with the context by tapping on it. - Print out the output results, share via email or copy to pasteboard. - Let the built-in speech synthesiser read your text out loud. Control the playback and follow IPA transcription of the current word with a highlight. Speech audio can be exported as a file. - Custom URL scheme to open toPhonetics from 3rd-party apps. Gestures (IPA transcription screen): 1. Single tap - Tap a word to set the cursor to it and speak it (you can mute/un-mute it with the button at your bottom-right). - Tap in a blank space to stop speech and hide the cursor. 2. Double-tap - Double-tap a word to open it in the built-in dictionary; if the word has multiple pronunciations you'll see the list of them first. - Double-tap in a blank space to reset the font to the size set in iOS preferences. 3. Pinch in or out to make the text smaller or larger. 4. Start to slide horizontally to select a part of your text. The Speak button respects current selection. *) American transcriptions are based on the open Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary.

About

AV Phonetics

Explore the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) with this interactive app. It offers clear graphic, audio, and textual descriptions of speech sounds, including animations of articulations. Practice consonants and vowels with comprehensive coverage of symbols.

Highlights
  • Interactive IPA chart
  • Graphic, audio, and textual sound descriptions
  • Consonant and vowel practice
  • Tonal symbol coverage
  • Articulations animations
Features
Read full description

To be able to read and provide accurate transcriptions of speech sounds is the most fundamental and yet most demanding task facing students of language and linguistics. This App has a unique interface for exploring the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). - Practice consonants and vowels with this fun and interatcive app. - Clear graphic, audio and textual descriptions of speech sounds. - Comprehensive coverage of the consonants, vowels and tonal symbols. Press on the symbols in the charts to see and hear them. - Cross-section animations illustrate the articulations of the speech sounds.

Screenshots

toPhonetics Converter4 screens
AV Phonetics4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AV Phonetics at Free against toPhonetics Converter's $3.99. AV Phonetics also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). toPhonetics Converter's advantage is ratings volume (92 vs 11). On rating, review sentiment, 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

AV Phonetics is free to download; toPhonetics Converter costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for toPhonetics Converter against 4.5 for AV Phonetics. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: toPhonetics Converter has 92 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of toPhonetics Converter's written reviews are positive against 80% of AV Phonetics's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

toPhonetics Converter ships an update every 4 months, AV Phonetics every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
toPhonetics Converter versus AV Phonetics: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametertoPhonetics ConverterAV Phonetics
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (92 ratings)4.5 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.2% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings92 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB159 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMu-sonicApps Resource Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University

Customer experience

toPhonetics Converter

All ratings92 ratings
Positive87.0%
Neutral1.1%
Negative12.0%
Written reviews109 reviews
Positive75.2%
Neutral4.6%
Negative20.2%

AV Phonetics

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

toPhonetics Converter

No in-app purchases

None

AV Phonetics

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is toPhonetics Converter free?
toPhonetics Converter costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AV Phonetics free?
AV Phonetics is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, toPhonetics Converter or AV Phonetics?
AV Phonetics is rated higher. toPhonetics Converter averages 4.4 out of 5 from 92 ratings, while AV Phonetics averages 4.5 from 11 ratings.
Do toPhonetics Converter or AV Phonetics have ads?
Neither toPhonetics Converter nor AV Phonetics shows ads.
Which is updated more often, toPhonetics Converter or AV Phonetics?
toPhonetics Converter ships an update every 4 months, and AV Phonetics every 6 weeks. Most recently, toPhonetics Converter was updated on October 24, 2026 and AV Phonetics on October 24, 2026.

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