Does anybody use a good alternative to Whisper Memos?

Heard about Whisper Memos on the recent podcast. Looked at the app page, checked the “in-app purchases” section, saw there was a monthly option, and figured I’d give it a shot for a month to see if it works well.

I get into the app, and it offers a few free transcriptions - but the only way to subscribe is $40 for a year. Looked for the monthly option, sent a quick email to the dev, and it no longer exists.

I’m fine paying for an app, but especially in the evolving AI space I’d prefer to (a) not throw $40 at the app to test it out for a few weeks, and (b) support a dev that offers more flexibility.

Any alternate suggestions that you’ve actually used?

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Just Press Record has been working for me.

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Welcome, tegidllew!

I’ve used Just Press Record for several years. My JPR audio files go to a folder in iCloud and I have a reminder to check that folder twice every day, which I do on my Mac. Although Just Press Record can transcribe them, AI transcriptions are better. In JPR’s transcription, there’s no punctuation unless you say things like “period” and “question mark” while recording; I don’t do that because it interrupts the thought process. So what I’ve been doing instead is opening the JPR audio files with MacWhisper for an AI transcription. The transcriptions are more accurate and include punctuation. I had been using Aiko, but MacWhisper is faster and can transcribe multiple files at once.

That has worked, but after hearing David Sparks mention Whisper Memos, I tried it. Like David, I have it send the transcriptions to Drafts. That workflow is so efficient that I want to replace Just Press Record with it. But I am in the same situation as webwalrus: I’m using the few free transcriptions and am hesitant to spend $40 for an annual subscription. I was also disappointed that the monthly subscription is no longer available because that would make the most sense for me until I am certain that I would want to keep using Whisper Memos for a full year.

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Yeah. I politely suggested that the dev might want to consider bringing back monthly subscriptions so people like me could really try it out full-on for a month or so, and his reply was that I should try it for a year. He did give me a $10 off coupon code, but I’m not exactly thrilled by the customer service.

At one point I heard a lot about EmailMe, but I haven’t leaped on it just yet… perhaps there are folks on the forum who can review it?

I currently use it. AFAIK it uses on-device dictation, which is pretty bad much of the time. I’m hoping for an app that can kick stuff out to AI for transcription.

Hi, it’s good to see Whisper Memos here - creator of the app here.

We use OpenAI API for transcription, so the quality & speed is top notch, and I think we’re the only one with Apple Watch app, and we put a lot of effort into making it really reliable.

If anyone wishes to test the app for longer, just email me (from settings screen), and I’ll extend your trial so that you can make sure the quality is good enough for your needs.

I think it’s better than paying $5/mo for 2 months, and then switching to annual anyway. (Which works out to just $3.3/mo).

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Hey Vojto, any idea if WM will up from the 15 minute limit, or at least give us a way to know when we get close? Currently, if I record on my watch, if I hit the limit? I lose all of it. If I have an alarm go off ON the watch? I lose all of it.

And yes, I have raised this with support.

In the App Store, it still shows a monthly subscription and a promo for $29.99, neither of which seem to be an option when paying.

@vojto How does Whisper Memos handle recordings that exceed the current time limit. Right now this is the imitation I have. Most meetings are 30 mins and few that run an hour long. So capping at 15 mins is impractical.

At least a 30 mins makes more sense for Whisper Memos in a professional workspace.