If you often want to capture thoughts while walking, showering, or during interviews and meetings, you're probably using Voice Memos or a cloud transcription service. Apple's Voice Memos has poor transcription accuracy and limited features. Cloud services like Otter.ai and Wispr Flow offer better features, but upload your audio to their servers. Whisper Notes is different: full transcription with complete privacy.
Whisper Notes vs iOS Voice Memos
iOS Voice Memos has basic transcription since iOS 17, but accuracy is limited. Whisper Notes uses OpenAI's Whisper model—far more accurate, and can even pick up whispered speech (hence the name).
| Feature | iOS Voice Memos | Whisper Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Transcription accuracy | Basic, often misses words | ✅ OpenAI Whisper, picks up whispers |
| Import audio files | ❌ No | ✅ MP3, WAV, M4A |
| Languages | Limited | ✅ 100+ with auto-detect |
| Export & share | ❌ Audio only | ✅ Text, timestamps, SRT |
| Text search | ❌ No | ✅ Full-text search |
| Privacy | ❌ iCloud sync by default | ✅ Never leaves device |
| Price | Free | $4.99 once |
Voice Memos is fine if you just need audio recordings. Whisper Notes is for when you want searchable text you can read, copy, and use.
Whisper Notes vs Cloud Services
Otter.ai, Wispr Flow, and similar services offer great transcription. But they upload your audio to their servers and charge monthly fees.
| Feature | Otter.ai / Wispr Flow | Whisper Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | ❌ Uploads to servers | ✅ 100% on-device |
| Works offline | ❌ Requires internet | ✅ Fully offline |
| Price | $10-20/month subscription | ✅ $4.99 once, forever |
| Processing speed | ✅ Fast (cloud) | Slower (on-device) |
| Heavy accents/noise | ✅ Better handling | May struggle |
| Data retention | Their servers, their policy | ✅ Your device only |
Cloud services are faster and handle noisy audio better—but your voice goes to their servers, you pay monthly, and you have no control over your data. Whisper Notes is for people who value privacy and don't want another subscription.
Why Offline Matters
Most voice apps upload everything to the cloud. Sure, it's faster processing. But your recordings end up on someone else's servers—accessible to employees, hackers, and law enforcement.
Whisper Notes processes everything locally using OpenAI's Whisper model:
- • Your recordings stay on your device
- • Works without any internet connection
- • Zero tracking or analytics
- • No server breaches possible—there's no server
Lock Screen Widget
Lock screen widget with Live Activity. Tap to record, 1 second to start.
- • Live Activity shows duration while you talk
- • Faster than finding and opening Voice Memos
- • Works with gloves, in rain, while exercising
Lock screen widget with Live Activity for instant recording
Transcription Quality
Offline transcription usually means poor accuracy. Whisper Notes is different—it runs OpenAI's Whisper model locally and achieves near-cloud accuracy.
Clean interface with instant transcription
What works well:
- • Accuracy rivals cloud services for clear speech
- • 100+ languages with automatic detection
- • Automatically formats into paragraphs
- • Highlights text as audio plays—easy to follow along
Playback and Export
Reviewing recordings is where Whisper Notes really shines:
- • Timestamps: Every paragraph links to that moment in the audio. Tap to jump.
- • Text highlighting: Words highlight as audio plays—like karaoke for your notes
- • Export options: Plain text, timestamped text, SRT subtitles
- • Share anywhere: Copy to Notes, Messages, email, or any app
Timestamped paragraphs with synchronized playback
Import Existing Audio
Already have recordings? Import them for offline transcription:
- • Formats: MP3, WAV, M4A, and more
- • No size limits: Transcribe hour-long meetings
- • Batch processing: Import multiple files at once
- • Still offline: Nothing uploads—ever
Trade-offs
To be honest about the limitations:
Known Limitations
- • Processing speed: Slower than cloud services. 10 min audio takes ~1-2 min on iPhone 15. Older phones are slower.
- • Heavy accents: Accuracy drops with strong accents or background noise.
- • Very long recordings: 2+ hour files use significant memory during processing.
- • No Android: iPhone and Mac only.
For most daily voice memos, these trade-offs are worth the privacy. If you need cloud-speed processing or Android support, look elsewhere.
Bottom Line
Whisper Notes does what iOS Voice Memos should have done years ago: transcribe your recordings without sending them to the cloud.
$4.99 once. Works on iPhone and Mac. No subscriptions, no cloud uploads, no tracking. Your voice memos stay yours.
Download Whisper Notes - $4.99