Captio AI vs Ava

The current App Store version (October 2026) needs iOS 18.6 or later; Ava's help centre still lists iOS 15.0. Android needs version 10 or later.

Sources: What system requirements does Ava have? (Ava Help Center), Apple App Store listing

Ava uses the phone's microphone to caption the person you are talking to, and captions start when you open the app.

Sources: Using Ava for Casual Conversations (in-person) (Ava Help Center), Discover Ava App, one-tap captions for instant conversations (Ava Help Center), Apple App Store listing

Others join by QR code or link from their own phone or computer, with no app or account needed, and each phone works as a microphone.

Sources: Captioning Group Conversations on Ava (Ava Help Center), Using Ava for Casual Conversations (in-person) (Ava Help Center), New Android App [beta] (Ava Help Center)

In a group conversation each person who joins from their own phone appears in their own colour with their name. SpeakerID on a single phone (up to 5 speakers) is a Premium-only beta you must be given access to.

Sources: Captioning Group Conversations on Ava (Ava Help Center), Using Ava for Casual Conversations (in-person) (Ava Help Center), SpeakerID for Live Captioning on Mobile [Beta] (Ava Help Center), Ava (Transcense, Inc.) pricing page

Ava's help centre (June 2026) lists 23 languages, with 19 more on some devices. Its website says 20+ in one place and 50+ in another, and the App Store says 16. Captioning in a language other than your phone's language needs a paid plan.

Sources: What Languages and Countries Are Supported by Ava? (Ava Help Center), Professional & AI-Based Captions for Deaf & HoH (Ava (Transcense, Inc.)), Ava (Transcense, Inc.) pricing page, Apple App Store listing

The mobile apps have an offline mode with somewhat lower accuracy. It works only one to one (solo mode), only in your default language, and not on web or desktop.

Sources: Does Ava work with little or no internet connection? (Ava Help Center), Ava (Transcense, Inc.) pricing page, Google Play listing

You pick a spoken language and a language to translate into during a conversation; it needs Premium captions, which come with paid plans. Ava's translation article lists 23 languages, but its languages article lists only a few pairs, such as English with French or Spanish.

Sources: How to translate a conversation with Ava (Ava Help Center), What Languages and Countries Are Supported by Ava? (Ava Help Center), How to change the settings in a conversation (Ava Help Center), Ava (Transcense, Inc.) pricing page

Turn on automatic saving or save at the end; an unsaved conversation can't be recovered. Transcripts are text, with no audio. One help article says they stay on the phone, while the Google Play listing says they are saved in the cloud.

Sources: How to save, delete, edit, or share a transcript on Ava (Ava Help Center), How does Ava guarantee privacy and safety of my data? (Ava Help Center), Using Ava for Casual Conversations (in-person) (Ava Help Center), Google Play listing

Smart Recap turns a saved transcript into key points. A July 2024 help article says everyone gets 5 free on iOS, Pro gets unlimited, and it is not on Android yet.

Sources: Generating a Smart Recap of Your Transcript on iOS (Ava Help Center), Professional & AI-Based Captions for Deaf & HoH (Ava (Transcense, Inc.))

Vocabulary Boost adds names, acronyms and jargon. The help centre says it comes with Ava Pro, and the pricing table shows the custom dictionary only for Pro and Enterprise.

Sources: How do I boost the transcript accuracy in Ava (Ava Help Center), Ava (Transcense, Inc.) pricing page

Sound Detection shows a small alert during a conversation when it hears sounds such as a doorbell, an alarm clock, a baby or a phone ringing. Only in the mobile apps.

Source: Sound Detection for Ava Mobile (Ava Help Center)

Ava Connect joins a Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call from the link and captions it with speaker names. Web and desktop only, listed for Canada, France and the US, and part of the Pro plan on the pricing page.

Sources: Caption Online Meetings with Ava Connect (Ava Help Center), Professional & AI-Based Captions for Deaf & HoH (Ava (Transcense, Inc.)), Ava (Transcense, Inc.) pricing page

A human captioner corrects the AI captions live, for about 99% accuracy (Ava's figure). It needs a Pro, Welcome or Enterprise plan plus bought Scribe time, booked 6 hours ahead for guaranteed service on weekdays.

Sources: Discover Ava Scribe (Ava Help Center), Ava (Transcense, Inc.) pricing page

Credentialed ASL interpreters (and Spanish Sign Language) over video in the desktop and mobile apps, billed per minute with no minimum. No price is published.

Source: Remote ASL Interpreting Services (Ava (Transcense, Inc.))

Speech is processed on Ava's servers, not the phone. Its privacy policy (January 2025) says it trains its speech recognition on audio segments and their text if you consent; an older help article (July 2024) says it uses voice data to learn how people sound, not what they said.

Sources: How does Ava guarantee privacy and safety of my data? (Ava Help Center), Ava (Transcense, Inc.) privacy policy, Apple App Store listing

The pricing page and App Store describe free basic captions in sessions of up to 40 minutes that you can restart. An older answer on the pricing page still mentions 5 free hours a month. It is not an ADA-compliant plan.

Sources: Ava (Transcense, Inc.) pricing page, Apple App Store listing

Community on the US App Store, October 2026 (the pricing page shows US$9.99 a month billed yearly), with 3 hours a month of Premium captions and extra hours at US$4.99. Pro, Enterprise and event plans have no public price. Paid plans show a 15-day free trial.

Sources: Ava (Transcense, Inc.) pricing page, Apple App Store listing, Ava Advocacy (Ava (Transcense, Inc.))