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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
User consensusAlternativesIs it worth it?
Is it worth paying for

Live Transcribe

65
Value score / 100 Worth paying? Depends It depends

Live Transcribe is a highly effective and life-changing app for many with hearing loss, but its pricing structure, limited usage, and customer service issues make it a questionable value for frequent users.

Free + in-app purchases seen up to $80 4.6★ lifetime (7,303) since 2020

Live Transcribe is praised for its accuracy and speed, significantly improving communication for the hard of hearing, even in noisy environments R2R13. However, many users find the subscription plans confusing, expensive, and restrictive, with limited hours even after paying for annual subscriptions R4R5R14R18. Customer service and billing issues are also frequently reported, leading to frustration and unexpected charges R1R16R17R22.

Free vs paid

The app offers a limited free trial, which some users report as being very short, sometimes only an hour or a day, despite being advertised as a 3-day trial R27R59R87R129. The basic transcription functionality may not work well R14. Paid subscriptions, such as the $9.99 monthly plan or annual plans up to $80, provide more hours, but even these often have strict time limits R4R14R18. Users frequently complain about having to purchase additional time even after subscribing R32R40R59. Some paid plans are described as offering only 5 hours per month, which is insufficient for many users R18.

Value complaints

  • Subscriptions are too expensive, especially for those who need it most, like deaf and disabled individuals on fixed incomes.R5R15R51R105
  • Even paid subscriptions have strict time limits (e.g., 5 hours/month), requiring users to buy more time, which is seen as a 'money grab' or 'extortion'.R4R14R18R32
  • Deceptive charging practices and confusing subscription plans lead to unexpected bills, double billing, and difficulty getting refunds.R16R17R22R35
  • The free trial is often much shorter than advertised (e.g., 1 hour instead of 3 days), making it difficult to properly evaluate the app.R27R59R87R129
  • The app is not truly free, as even basic use quickly leads to paywalls.R38R109R115R120

Where it delivers

  • The app is highly accurate and fast, even in noisy environments, making it a 'lifesaver' for people with hearing loss.R2R3R6R9
  • It significantly improves participation in conversations and social situations, reducing isolation for the hard of hearing.R2R3R6R8
  • The app is easy to use and provides clear, legible text.R10R11R72
Worth paying if

It is worth paying if you have severe hearing loss and find other apps ineffective, as many users report this app's accuracy and speed are superior, making it a 'lifesaver' for specific, critical conversations like doctor visits or family gatherings R2R9R11. It is also valuable if you only need it for occasional, short-duration use and can manage within the limited hours provided by lower-tier subscriptions R18.

Skip / stay free if

You should skip paying if you need unlimited or extensive daily use, as the app becomes prohibitively expensive with its time-limited subscriptions and additional hour purchases R4R5R14R18. Users on fixed incomes or with disabilities who rely heavily on such tools often find the pricing discriminatory and unaffordable R5R15R51. Also, skip if you are wary of confusing billing practices, unexpected charges, or unresponsive customer service, as these are common complaints R1R16R17R22.

Evidence note: The reviews are heavily skewed towards pricing and subscription complaints, even among users who praise the app's core functionality. Many positive reviews mention the app is 'affordable' but do not provide specific pricing details or usage patterns, making it difficult to reconcile with the numerous complaints about high costs and limited hours. The lifetime rating of 4.6 is significantly higher than what recent reviews suggest, indicating a potential decline in user satisfaction due to monetization changes.

Frequently asked

Is Live Transcribe truly free?
No, Live Transcribe is not truly free; while it may offer a short trial period, users quickly encounter paywalls and must subscribe to continue using it, with some reporting the trial is only an hour or a day despite being advertised as three days R27R38R59R87.
How much does Live Transcribe cost?
Live Transcribe has various price points, including a $9.99 monthly subscription and annual subscriptions that can range up to $80, with some users reporting options over $300 for a year or even $1600 annually for unlimited use R5R16R40R67.
Are there usage limits even with a paid subscription?
Yes, even with a paid subscription, many users report strict time limits, such as only 5 hours per month, and often have to purchase additional time to continue using the app R4R14R18R32.
How accurate is Live Transcribe?
Live Transcribe is generally praised for its accuracy and speed, even in noisy environments, with some users calling it 'amazing' and 'the best transcription app' R2R13R21. However, some users report issues with background noise, accents, or multiple speakers, and the basic transcription may not work well R14.
Are there customer service or billing issues with Live Transcribe?
Yes, many users report significant frustration with customer service, including unresponsiveness, difficulty getting refunds, double billing, and subscription issues where the app doesn't recognize a paid subscription R1R16R17R22.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R5] 1/5 · US Pricing Creates a Barrier for Those Who Need It Most: I’m deaf and disabled, and I truly need this feature. It’s very disappointing that it requires a $9.99 monthly subscription. Instead of making essential accessibility features more affordable for customers who depend on them, it feels like you’re putting them behind a paywall. I simply can’t afford another monthly expense, and I hope you’ll rec
  2. [R15] 3/5 · US Affordable?: How can deaf people afford this? Many can’t afford subscription??
  3. [R51] 3/5 · US Overpriced.: I am am hard of hearing and rely on my cochlear implants but I do have a lot of issues with them in places like church and gyms and especially in month setting. I need to use this 24/7 and like many people with disabilities are on welfare and social security so I feel like they think we are that desperate to use our whole entire social security check to have this on a daily basis. Not
  4. [R105] 1/5 · US $9.99 monthly??: No thank you but thank you for helping the deaf community. Again $9.99 a month?? Nah.. Should be free just alike tty and VP.. due to communicate accessibility for deaf community.
  5. [R4] 3/5 · US Way too expensive: I thought getting the yearly subscription will have unlimited use but there is a time limit per month. This is absurd and a money grab!!
  6. [R14] 3/5 · US Not bad: The basic transcript doesn’t work well and not pick up all the conversation. I like the pro but I use more hours a month than what’s offer. It’s becoming too expensive for me to keep adding more hours that month. The basic not reliable and I pad for a whole year. I maybe will cancel out if I find something better.
  7. [R18] 1/5 · US Nope: Generally useless. It’s a great tool if you want to drop bunches of money, for very little time. Dont expect a reasonable amount of usage. If you use the starter plan you get a whopping 5 hours of transcribing which means don’t plan on restaurants, group activities. So only dr visits, maybe a lawyer chat, and spare use. Very expensive.
  8. [R32] 1/5 · US More $ after paying for subscription: Insane how you have to buy more time to continue transcriptions even after you pay for the subscription. Deceptive practices.
  9. [R16] 1/5 · US Ripoff: I signed up for the monthly $9.99. Just got billed $324.00 after less than a month of use. Ripoff company. Never recommending and it didn’t really help my elderly Aunt very much.
  10. [R17] 1/5 · US Upsetting: My 90 year old father wanted to try this app for his hearing loss. Thought he was signing up for trial period, turns out, he purchased a one year subscription. We cancelled subscription as soon as we realized what had happened, attempted to get a refund, after much searching and frustration, we finally found how a refund could be requested. But alas, we were told this item is not eligib
  11. [R22] 1/5 · US It works, but….: I am deaf, this app is my link to the hearing world. It is fairly accurate and does handle background noise pretty well. I have tried several other apps and none work as good as this one. The glaring problem with this app is the customer service. They frequently change subscription plans. The first time I got double billed for a year. The second time the app is now locked up com
  12. [R35] 1/5 · US Do not recommend: Deceptive and overpriced.
  13. [R27] 1/5 · US Trial time too short: I really wanted to like this app. It seems to work well for the short time I was able to try it. I signed up for the three day trial, but it turns out I only got one day (maybe one hour actual time during dinner) and 30 minutes on the second day because it had a limit on the transcription amount/time. To continue the trial, my only choice was sign up for the annual subscripti
  14. [R59] 2/5 · US Costs money if you need to use it all the time: I purchased this app for my elderly mother who lost her hearing. It was supposed to be a free 3-day trial. After 3 hours I was told the free trial ended. Then after a few weeks of using the app we find out there was a limit to the hours and we have to purchase more time if we cant wait 2weeks until her free hours kick in. Will be cancelling this app
  15. [R87] 1/5 · US App will demand $79 per year for significant use.: The app claims to have a 3 day trial period, but after roughly a day of use the app got locked in a mode where it demanded setting up automatic renewing payments. Upon agreeing, the app signed me up to something that was useless to me. In fact, the app has many versions, with differing capabilities, along with weekly, monthly, and yearly automat
  16. [R129] 1/5 · US Misleading practices: Be aware that the “three day trial“ is actually a one hour trial over three days. Might’ve been a great app for my elderly mother, but one hour was not enough to convince her. And the misleading come on for the “3 day trial period” left me with no trust for this developer.
  17. [R38] 1/5 · US No good this one min that not free must pay. That bad. Point is none: good this one min that not free must pay. That bad. Point is none
  18. [R109] 1/5 · US Not free as advertised: Very expensive
  19. [R115] 1/5 · US I am at theater for FREE app: But it force me to buy HELP HELP US TO LISTEN!!
  20. [R120] 1/5 · US Seems to work but extremely expensive: They want a monthly fee for something thats free on base android phones
  21. [R2] 5/5 · US Helpful: I have severe hearing loss. I am 80 so I don’t need a lot of bells and whistles. (Speaker identification, translation). But I need this at family gatherings, dr appointments, neighborhood events, Mahjongg, church, book club, meetings. I basically can’t manage without it. I feel so fortunate to live long enough for these life improvement apps. I’m going for subtitling glasses when there a
  22. [R3] 5/5 · US 🧡: I love this! It’s so nice to sit with my family and understand what they are saying!!!
  23. [R6] 5/5 · US Actually able: I love that I can actually able to have a conversation with my daughter, without having to ask em to repeat it.♥️
  24. [R9] 5/5 · US Now I can get it right: This is save me a lot of embarrassment and money. I took my dog to the vet how much to neuter and they said I thought they said $50. When it was all done, I just didn’t hear the 200 in front of it. So I don’t talk to doctors or anybody like that unless I have this money lifesaver you keep up the good work and I hope you stay in encourage there a lot of people out here who
  25. [R8] 5/5 · US Senior neighbor: I signed up for this to show a neighbor that he doesn’t have to miss out on conversations. He was lukewarm until I placed the phone in front of him…he got so excited watching our words appear. I told him he can use it for doctor visits too. He was always involved in conversation it made me sad to see how quiet he was as he couldn’t decipher our words. He’s will get new hearing
  26. [R10] 5/5 · US Life-changing App!: This app is a godsend! It has changed my life. I’ve continued to recommend it to everyone I know who is hearing impaired - and they all love it! It’s easy to use, affordable, and makes a tremendous difference in my ability to participate in conversations, even in noisy environments. A special thank you to the development team.
  27. [R11] 5/5 · US Great app!: Just what I needed! My sister came to live with me and she has become deaf late in life. This live transcription is a lifesaver. It gives us a chance to communicate without having to write things down.
  28. [R72] 5/5 · US The world with subtitles. Hooray!: This is the app I’ve been waiting for. Perfect for people like me with moderate hearing loss. Nice big legible print. In time, I may even start remembering to turn off the mic when I’m done ;-)
  29. [R40] 3/5 · US Adding time: I had to google to learn I could find options on the app. When I tried to add time with the app open, telling me I had zero time left, there was a $29.00 option, but when I clicked to upgrade, the choice was over $300. for a year. I wish I had known at that time that I should go back to the app itself.
  30. [R67] 3/5 · US Works well but deceptive charging practices: Works as advertised. However, there was no monthly subscription available so I had to pay $80 for a year of service.
  31. [R13] 5/5 · US My mom couldn’t hear: I pulled up this app at an event that I was attending with my family after I saw my mom start to check out because the audio system was so bad she couldn’t understand. I could barely make it out myself but the app picked up the six panel interviewees voices amazingly well with little errors. My dad even leaned in and we all ended up just reading what was being said. I loved t
  32. [R21] 5/5 · US The best app ever: This is the best transcription app I ever had , very fast and doesn’t delay on dictation . It’s the best .
  33. [R1] 1/5 · US Frustration: The app is amazing. It’s changed my life. The customer service is absolutely horrible. The frustration trying to deal with these people takes away from how good the app works. Sadly it’s time to look for a different app

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store