Reviews
Best Free Transcription App for iPhone (2026): What Free Really Includes
The best free transcription app for iPhone is Apple Voice Memos if you want free forever, and Audio Notes AI if you want a transcript with a summary, translation and imports in 60+ languages. The catch with every other option is the limit, and free limits are often smaller than they look. This page counts them.
What free really includes
| App | Free allowance | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Voice Memos | Unlimited, free forever | 10 languages, iPhone 12+ and iOS 18, no summary, no import |
| Audio Notes AI | First 3 notes or 60 minutes, one-time | Does not reset; needs internet; no speaker labels |
| Otter.ai | 300 min/month | 30-min cap per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports, 6 languages |
| Notta | 120 min/month | 3-min cap per recording, translation is paid |
| Voicenotes | Up to 3 long-form meetings | Allowance since February 2026; Pro is $9/month or $99.99/year |
Figures are from each vendor's pricing page as of August 2026.
Do the minutes math before you choose
A typical voice message runs 1 to 2 minutes, so 60 minutes covers dozens of them plus a lecture or two. Notta's 120 monthly minutes shrink fast under its 3-minute cap per recording: forty short clips, or four long ones. Otter's 300 monthly minutes are the largest pool, but a 30-minute conversation cap is shorter than most lectures and most of the pool is meant for meetings its bot joins.
If you transcribe a few things a month, the free tiers are the whole answer and you should never subscribe. If you transcribe daily, any paid plan beats per-minute human services: one hour with Rev at $1.99 per minute is $119.40.
1. Apple Voice Memos — free forever
Built in, private, and offline. The limit is what it does not do: no summaries, no translation, no importing audio from WhatsApp or video files, no way to ask questions about a recording. See how to transcribe Voice Memos on iPhone.
2. Audio Notes AI — best free allowance for files and voice messages
Share a voice message, audio file or video to the app and get a transcript, summary and action items in about 30 seconds. OpenAI's Whisper handles 60+ languages and the app translates into yours. The allowance is the first 3 notes or 60 minutes, whichever comes first, and it never resets. Honest limits: server-side transcription needs internet, there are no speaker labels, and it is iPhone only.
Try Audio Notes AI free on the App Store — your first 3 notes or 60 minutes of transcription are included, no card required.
3. Otter.ai — best free pool for meetings
If your audio is Zoom, Teams or Meet meetings its bot can join, 300 free minutes a month is the most generous pool here. For files you record yourself, the 3 lifetime imports run out quickly. See Audio Notes vs Otter.
4. Notta — free for very short clips
120 minutes a month with a 3-minute cap per recording suits short clips only. Pro raises the cap to 5 hours. See Audio Notes vs Notta.
5. Voicenotes — free for a few long meetings
Since February 2026 the free plan covers up to 3 long-form meetings. It is a good option if you also use Android, macOS or Windows. See Audio Notes vs Voicenotes.
Which one should you pick?
- Short private recordings: Apple Voice Memos.
- Voice messages, lectures, interviews and files, with a summary: Audio Notes AI.
- Recurring online meetings: Otter.
More: best iPhone transcription apps, free speech-to-text tools, transcribe audio in any language.
Download Audio Notes AI free on the App Store — your first 3 notes or 60 minutes of transcription are included, no card required.
Transcribe & Secure Your Audio
Record voice notes, generate instant summaries, and share them via secure expiring links with zero-knowledge encryption.
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