Captio AI vs Hearing Buddy

Captio AI and Hearing Buddy side by side: iPhone or Android, free captions, captions without internet, shared captions, languages, who is talking and price.

Facts checked 28 October 2026 on each company's own pages. How we compare

Hearing Buddy

by Krager Labs

iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch; Mac and Vision Pro with Buddy+

Website App Store

Captio AI

Our app

iPhone, iPad, Android

Website App Store Google Play

The short answer

Use Hearing Buddy if you have an iPhone or iPad on iOS 26 or later and want free, unlimited captions that run on the phone and work without internet, with the phones around you reading along in their own language. Use Captio AI if you have an Android phone or an older iPhone, need one of 60+ languages, or want one phone to show who is talking (by name on iPhone, with Recognize Voices) and recordings you keep with their audio and turn into summaries.

Choose Hearing Buddy if

you have an iPhone or iPad on iOS 26, want free captions with no limit that work without internet, or want everyone at the table to read along on their own iPhone.

Choose Captio AI if

you use Android or an older iPhone, need captions or translation in more than 8 languages, want one phone to name people by their voice (Recognize Voices on iPhone), or want to keep recordings and turn them into notes and to-dos.

Side by side

Captio AI vs Hearing Buddy, feature by feature

Tap any fact to see the details and the page it comes from.

Captio AI vs Hearing Buddy: features compared, facts checked 28 October 2026
Feature	Captio AICaptio AI	Hearing BuddyKrager Labs
Works onThe phone you already have decides what you can use.	Captio AI Yes: iPhone, iPad, Android On the App Store (also listed for Apple silicon Macs and Apple Vision) and on Google Play since October 2026. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Google Play listing	Hearing Buddy Yes: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch; Mac and Vision Pro with Buddy+ Apple devices only: there is no Android version and no web app. Live captions on Mac and Apple Vision Pro are part of Buddy+. A search of Google Play finds no Hearing Buddy app. Sources: Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Google Play search
NeedsOlder phones are often left out of built-in features.	Captio AI Yes: iOS 15.1 or later The App Store lists iOS 15.1 or later for iPhone. Source: Apple App Store listing	Hearing Buddy Yes: iOS 26 or later iPhone and iPad need iOS 26 or later, and Apple Watch features watchOS 10 or later. Buddy's Notes (summaries) need iOS 27 on an iPhone with Apple Intelligence. Hearing Buddy calls the iOS 26 requirement its biggest weakness. Sources: App Store data (US) (Apple), Apple App Store listing, Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Captions people in the roomSpeech picked up by the phone's microphone, for face-to-face conversations.	Captio AI Yes, from the phone's microphone Speech in the room appears as text while the person is still talking. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Live Captions (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Yes, from the phone's microphone Speech picked up by the microphone becomes text as people speak, with no minute meter and no session cap. It does not caption audio from other apps. Sources: Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing
Group conversationsAt a table or in a meeting, voices come from every side.	Captio AI Partly: One phone: speaker labels, names, direction One phone captions the whole table and labels each speaker. On iPhone it can name people by their voice, and on iPhone 16 and later a wave shows which side a voice comes from. Shared folders let several people add recordings to one place; live captions are not joined across phones. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Recognize voices (Captio AI) (Captio AI), Speaker direction (Captio AI) (Captio AI), Live Captions (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Yes: Share Captions: nearby iPhones and iPads One phone captions the room and others read along on their own iPhone or iPad; more people can turn on their microphone and every voice goes into one transcript. Devices connect directly, with no internet, account or server. Free, same room only, and every reader needs the app on iOS 26. Sources: Share Captions — Group Captioning for the Room (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC) privacy policy
Languages for live captionsThe number of spoken languages it can caption live.	Captio AI Yes: 60+ languages Captions and translation in 60+ languages, including speech that switches languages mid-sentence. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Live Captions (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Yes: 8 languages (18 regional options) English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese, in 18 language and regional options. Captions can be translated into 10 reading languages. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Live Translation — Read Conversations in Your Language (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Live captions without internetPlanes, basements, hospitals and trips abroad often have no signal.	Captio AI Partly: Records offline, captions later Live captions need internet. Without a connection it keeps recording and transcribes automatically when the phone is back online. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Live Captions (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Yes, captions run on the phone On-device captions work with no signal. Translation works offline after a one-time download of each language. Enhanced Accuracy, an optional mode you turn on, makes captions in the cloud. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Live Translation — Read Conversations in Your Language (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Shows who is talkingWithout it, a group conversation is one block of text.	Captio AI Yes, live and saved; names by voice on iPhone Separates speakers (Speaker 1, Speaker 2). On iPhone it can learn saved voices and show their names instead. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Recognize voices (Captio AI) (Captio AI), Live Captions (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Partly: By name per phone; Buddy+ colours for 4 voices In shared sessions each person's words appear by name in their own colour. On one phone, Hearing Buddy's own comparison (July 2026) and educator pages describe Speaker Labels in Buddy+: colours for up to four voices, reset after each session. The App Store listing does not list Speaker Labels. Sources: Ava vs Hearing Buddy (Hearing Buddy) (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), For educators & disability services (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Share Captions — Group Captioning for the Room (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Remembers people's voicesCaptions that say "Mum" instead of "Speaker 2", every time she talks.	Captio AI Yes, Recognize Voices (iPhone) Save someone's voice once (about 20 seconds of talking, or an audio file) and their name and emoji show on every line they say, live and in saved recordings, instead of "Speaker 2". Voiceprints are made on the iPhone and never uploaded. When someone new talks for a while, Captio AI asks who it is. Free plan: your own voice plus one other person; Plus: more people. Source: Recognize voices (Captio AI) (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy No, labels reset after each session Buddy+ Speaker Labels tell up to four voices apart by colour without training anyone's voice, and reset when the session ends. Source: Ava vs Hearing Buddy (Hearing Buddy) (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Shows where a voice comes fromAt a busy table, knowing where to look helps you follow who is talking.	Captio AI Yes, on iPhone 16 and later With the iPhone flat on the table, a wave grows at the edge of the captions on the side the voice comes from, in that speaker's colour, while new words appear. It uses the iPhone's spatial microphones (not AirPods or an external mic), works in Live Captions and Live Translator, is calculated on the phone, and is free. Source: Speaker direction (Captio AI) (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Not stated
Alerts for soundsDoorbells, alarms and a baby crying, as a notification.	Captio AI Yes, sounds in the captions; alerts vibrate Recognize Sounds (iPhone and iPad) writes sounds into the captions where they happen, like [doorbell rings], in Live Captions, Live Translator and uploaded files. A doorbell, knocking, a smoke alarm, a siren, a phone ringing or a baby crying makes the phone vibrate, with a notification when the screen is locked during a recording. It works while Captio AI is recording, not as an always-on alarm. Recognized on the phone; free; not on Android yet. Source: Recognize sounds (Captio AI) (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Not stated Hearing Buddy alerts you when someone says your name or asks you a question (Buddy+). Its pages don't describe alerts for sounds like a doorbell or an alarm. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Live translationFor a conversation in a language you don't read.	Captio AI Yes, live, two-way mode Live translation next to the original captions, with a two-way mode where each person reads the other in their own language. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Live Translator (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Yes: Live, on the phone, 10 languages; Buddy+ alone Captions are translated on the phone into English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, or Simplified or Traditional Chinese, offline after a one-time download. Free for everyone in a shared session; translating your own captions alone needs Buddy+. Cantonese can't be translated. Sources: Live Translation — Read Conversations in Your Language (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing
Saves transcriptsTo read a lecture, appointment or meeting again later.	Captio AI Yes, with audio, synced Recordings are saved with their audio in a searchable library and synced to your account. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Captio AI privacy policy	Hearing Buddy Yes, text on the phone, free Every session is saved on your phone automatically. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account; a deleted transcript is gone. Sources: Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Export and shareTo send notes to yourself, a carer or a colleague.	Captio AI Yes: Text, link, PDF, email Share a transcript or summary as text, a link, a PDF, an email, or a prompt for an AI chat. Source: AI Summary (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Partly: Copy and share; formats not stated You can copy and share transcripts for free; the file formats are not stated. The Mac companion app saves transcripts as text files. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Hearing Buddy Everywhere (Mac App Store) (Apple App Store)
Transcribes audio and video filesFor recordings and videos that have no captions.	Captio AI Yes: Audio and video files Upload audio or video and get a full transcript with speaker labels. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Audio Transcription (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Not stated Hearing Buddy's pages describe live captions from the microphone, not transcribing audio or video files. Sources: Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
AI summariesKey points and to-dos from a long transcript.	Captio AI Yes: Summary, key points, to-dos Turns transcripts into summaries, key points, notes, to-dos and follow-up messages. Free plan: 3 summaries in total. Sources: Apple App Store listing, AI Summary (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Yes: Buddy+ only (Buddy's Notes) Conversation summaries are part of Buddy+. Buddy's Notes, written when you finish, need iOS 27 on an iPhone with Apple Intelligence. Apple's award page says the summaries are made with Apple's on-device frameworks. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple Design Awards 2026 (Apple Developer)
Add your own words and namesNames, medicines and jargon are the words captions miss most.	Captio AI Yes, words and names Add names, medical terms or specialist words so they are recognised. Source: Live Captions (Captio AI)	Hearing Buddy Partly: Word list for Enhanced Accuracy (cloud) The App Store notes mention a Cloud Enhanced dictionary for adding words, and the privacy policy says your name and word list help Enhanced Accuracy spell them right. A word list for the on-device captions is not described. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC) privacy policy
Where speech is processedOn the phone or in the cloud, and whether audio is kept.	Captio AI Yes: Cloud; audio not stored on its servers Speech is processed by third-party speech recognition after you agree. Audio is not stored on Captio AI's servers; content is never sold or used to train AI models. Source: Captio AI privacy policy	Hearing Buddy Yes: On the phone; optional cloud mode By default speech recognition runs on the device and audio and transcripts are not collected. Enhanced Accuracy, off until you turn it on, streams audio to a cloud speech-recognition provider; the privacy policy says neither Hearing Buddy nor the provider stores the audio or captions. Shared captions go directly between nearby devices. Sources: Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC) privacy policy, Apple App Store listing, Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Account neededSome people want to open the app and start, with no sign-up.	Captio AI Partly: Optional Sign in with Apple or Google to sync, or skip and use it on one phone. Source: Captio AI privacy policy	Hearing Buddy No account needed Captions work the first time you open the app, with no sign-up and no credit card. Sources: Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Free planWhat you can do without paying.	Captio AI Yes: 100 free credits a day + 3 summaries Free every day: 100 free credits a day for live captions or transcription, and 3 AI summaries in total. Sources: Apple App Store listing, Captio AI for AI assistants (llms.txt)	Hearing Buddy Yes: Unlimited captions; 30 free cloud minutes Free with no account or card: unlimited live captions, Share Captions, translation inside shared sessions, background listening, saved transcripts, copy and share, and text size. The cloud Enhanced Accuracy mode has 30 free minutes. Sources: Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing
Paid plansPrices as listed by the company, with the country and date.	Captio AI Yes: US$14.99/month or US$79.99/year Captio AI Plus on the US App Store, October 2026. No free trial. Prices differ by country. Source: Apple App Store listing	Hearing Buddy Yes: Buddy+ US$14.99/month or US$89.99/year Buddy+ on the US App Store listing, October 2026, with 20 hours a month of Enhanced Accuracy (240 a year on Annual) and hour packs for more. Hearing Buddy's website lists lower prices: US$9.99 a month, US$59.99 a year or US$7.99 a week, and a 14-day free trial. The website also sells Buddy+ Lifetime (no price shown). Sources: Apple App Store listing, Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Best live captioning apps for iPhone (Hearing Buddy) (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Terms of Service (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))

Key differences

What actually sets them apart

Does Hearing Buddy work on Android or an older iPhone?

No. Hearing Buddy runs only on Apple devices and needs iOS 26 or later; it calls this its biggest weakness. Captio AI runs on iPhones with iOS 15.1 or later and on Android.

Sources: Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Google Play search, App Store data (US) (Apple), Apple App Store listing, Google Play listing

Does Hearing Buddy work without internet?

Yes. Its captions run on the phone, so they work with no signal, and translation works offline once a language is downloaded. Captio AI needs a connection for live captions; without one it keeps recording and transcribes when the phone is back online.

Sources: Apple App Store listing, Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Live Translation — Read Conversations in Your Language (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Live Captions (Captio AI)

How many languages does Hearing Buddy caption?

Eight: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese, in 18 regional options, with translation into 10 reading languages. Captio AI captions and translates 60+ languages.

Can several phones share the captions?

With Hearing Buddy, yes: Share Captions lets nearby iPhones and iPads read the same captions, each in their own language, free and with no internet, but only in the same room. Captio AI captions the whole table from one phone and labels each speaker; its live captions are not joined across phones.

Sources: Share Captions — Group Captioning for the Room (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC) privacy policy, Apple App Store listing, Recognize voices (Captio AI) (Captio AI), Speaker direction (Captio AI) (Captio AI), Live Captions (Captio AI)

Can Hearing Buddy tell you who is talking by name?

Yes, when each person joins from their own phone: in a shared session, their words appear by name in their own colour. On one phone, Buddy+ Speaker Labels tell up to four voices apart by colour, without learning anyone's voice, and reset after each session. Captio AI's Recognize Voices on iPhone shows the names of people whose voices you saved, like "Mum" instead of "Speaker 2", live and in saved recordings. On iPhone 16 and later, Speaker Direction shows which side a voice comes from.

Sources: Ava vs Hearing Buddy (Hearing Buddy) (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), For educators & disability services (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Share Captions — Group Captioning for the Room (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Recognize voices (Captio AI) (Captio AI), Speaker direction (Captio AI) (Captio AI)

What does each one cost?

Hearing Buddy's live captions are free with no limit. Buddy+ costs US$14.99 a month or US$89.99 a year on the US App Store listing (October 2026); its website shows lower prices. Captio AI is free with 100 free credits a day; Captio AI Plus costs US$14.99 a month or US$79.99 a year on the US App Store (October 2026), with no free trial.

Sources: Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Best live captioning apps for iPhone (Hearing Buddy) (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Terms of Service (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Captio AI for AI assistants (llms.txt)

Honest take

Where each one wins

Where Hearing Buddy is the better choice

Live captions are free and unlimited, with no daily limit. Captio AI's free plan gives 100 free credits a day.
Sources: Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Apple App Store listing, Captio AI for AI assistants (llms.txt)
Captions run on the phone and keep working with no signal, and translation works offline after a one-time download.
Sources: Apple App Store listing, Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Live Translation — Read Conversations in Your Language (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Share Captions lets the iPhones and iPads in the room read the same captions, each in their own language, for free and with no internet or account.
Sources: Share Captions — Group Captioning for the Room (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC) privacy policy
With Buddy+, an Apple Watch taps your wrist when someone says your name or asks you a question.
Source: Apple App Store listing
With Buddy+, Boost Audio turns AirPods or other headphones into a sound amplifier for quiet voices.
Source: Boost Audio — Turn Your Headphones Into a Sound Amplifier (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))

Where Captio AI is the better choice

It runs on Android and on iPhones with iOS 15.1 or later, and captions and translates 60+ languages live. Hearing Buddy needs iOS 26 and an Apple device, captions 8 languages and translates into 10.
Sources: Apple App Store listing, Google Play listing, Live Captions (Captio AI), Live Translator (Captio AI), Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple App Store listing, Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live Captions (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Google Play search, App Store data (US) (Apple), Live Translation — Read Conversations in Your Language (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Recognize Voices (iPhone): save someone's voice once and their name, like "Mum" instead of "Speaker 2", shows on every line they say, live and in saved recordings. Voiceprints stay on the iPhone. Hearing Buddy's one-phone Speaker Labels are colours for up to four voices, with Buddy+, and reset after each session.
Sources: Recognize voices (Captio AI) (Captio AI), Ava vs Hearing Buddy (Hearing Buddy) (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), For educators & disability services (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Share Captions — Group Captioning for the Room (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
Speaker Direction (iPhone 16 and later): with the phone flat on the table, a wave at the edge of the captions shows which side a voice comes from.
Source: Speaker direction (Captio AI) (Captio AI)
Recognize Sounds (iPhone and iPad): sounds like "[doorbell rings]" are written into the captions where they happen and stay in the saved recording, and a doorbell, a smoke alarm or a baby crying makes the phone vibrate. Hearing Buddy's pages don't describe alerts for sounds like a doorbell.
Sources: Recognize sounds (Captio AI) (Captio AI), Apple App Store listing, Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC))
It keeps recordings with their audio, synced to your account, and transcribes audio and video files. Its free plan includes 3 AI summaries; Hearing Buddy's summaries need Buddy+.
Sources: Apple App Store listing, Captio AI privacy policy, Audio Transcription (Captio AI), AI Summary (Captio AI), Apple App Store listing, Features — What Hearing Buddy Does (Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC)), Apple Design Awards 2026 (Apple Developer)

Try Captio AI free

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Which one should you use?

It depends on where you are

Hearing Buddy

No signal on a plane or in a basement

Hearing Buddy captions on the phone with no internet. Captio AI only records and transcribes later.

Hearing Buddy

A lecture where you sit at the back

Put one iPhone by the speaker and read the captions on your own iPhone with Hearing Buddy's Share Captions, if everyone uses Apple devices.

Captions for this situation

Either one

A family dinner or a group

If everyone has an iPhone on iOS 26, Hearing Buddy lets each person read along on their own phone. If one phone sits in the middle, Captio AI labels each speaker, shows saved voices by name on iPhone, and on iPhone 16 and later shows which side a voice comes from.

Captions for this situation

Captio AI

A doctor's appointment you want to read again

Captio AI keeps the recording with its audio, synced to your account, and turns it into a summary and to-dos.

Captions for this situation

Captio AI

Travelling abroad

Captio AI captions and translates 60+ languages. Hearing Buddy translates into 10 languages, offline once downloaded.

Captions for this situation

Captio AI

An Android phone or an older iPhone

Hearing Buddy needs iOS 26 and has no Android app. Captio AI runs on Android and on iPhones from iOS 15.1.

How we compare

Facts you can check, not opinions.

From their own pages

Every fact comes from the company's website, help pages, privacy policy or store listing. Tap any fact to see the page it comes from.

Checked 28 October 2026

Each source has the date we opened it. If a company doesn't say something publicly, the table says "Not stated" instead of guessing.

We make Captio AI

So it's described with the same rules as every other app, limits included, and each page says where the other app is the better choice.

Something out of date? hello@captioai.app

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is Hearing Buddy really free?

Its live captions are: unlimited, with no minute meter, no account and no card. Share Captions, translation inside shared sessions and saved transcripts are free too. Buddy+ adds summaries, solo translation, Apple Watch name alerts and Boost Audio. Captio AI's free plan gives 100 free credits a day and 3 AI summaries in total.

How much does Buddy+ cost in the US?

The US App Store listing says US$14.99 a month or US$89.99 a year (October 2026), with 20 hours a month of cloud Enhanced Accuracy. Hearing Buddy's website lists US$9.99 a month, US$59.99 a year or US$7.99 a week. Captio AI Plus costs US$14.99 a month or US$79.99 a year on the US App Store (October 2026), with no free trial.

Is there a Hearing Buddy app for Android?

No. Hearing Buddy is made for Apple devices only and says there is no Android version or web app. Captio AI is on Google Play as well as the App Store.

Does Hearing Buddy work offline on a plane?

Yes. Its standard captions run on the phone, so they work with no signal, and translation works once the language is downloaded. Captio AI needs internet for live captions; offline it keeps recording and transcribes when the phone reconnects.

Can Hearing Buddy translate Spanish into English?

Yes. Spanish is one of its 8 caption languages, and English one of its 10 reading languages, translated on the phone. It is free in a shared session; on your own it needs Buddy+. Captio AI captions and translates 60+ languages live, with a two-way mode.

Does Hearing Buddy show who is talking at a family dinner?

In a shared session, each person's words appear by name from their own phone. On one phone, Hearing Buddy's own pages describe Speaker Labels in Buddy+ that colour up to four voices and reset after each session. Captio AI labels each speaker from one phone. On iPhone, Recognize Voices shows the names of people whose voices you saved, live and in saved recordings, and on iPhone 16 and later Speaker Direction shows which side of the table a voice comes from.

Does Hearing Buddy send my conversations to the cloud?

Not by default: speech recognition runs on the phone and audio and transcripts aren't collected. The optional Enhanced Accuracy mode streams audio to a cloud speech-recognition provider while it is on. Captio AI processes speech in the cloud after you agree; its privacy policy says audio is not stored on its servers and your content is never used to train AI models.

Can Hearing Buddy caption phone calls or FaceTime?

Not on iPhone: Hearing Buddy says iOS doesn't let microphone apps reach call audio, and it points to Apple's Live Captions. Its privacy policy says the Mac version can caption calls playing on a Mac. Captio AI doesn't caption calls either; it is made for speech in the room around you.

Try Captio AI

Free to start, iPhone and Android

Download for free

QR code to download Captio AI on the App Store for iPhone

Download on theApp Store

QR code to download Captio AI on Google Play for Android

Get it onGoogle Play

Compare

More comparisons

Captio AI vs Ava

Live captioning app for deaf and hard of hearing people, with group conversations, offline mode, sound alerts and optional human captioners.

Captio AI vs Apple Live Captions

A free accessibility feature built into iPhone, iPad and Mac that captions people nearby, calls and any app's audio on the device.

Captio AI vs Live Transcribe

Google's free Android app that captions in-person speech through the phone's microphone and alerts you to sounds like alarms and doorbells.

All comparisons

Sources

Every page this comparison uses, with the date we checked it.

Captio AI

Live Captions - Captio AI on the App StoreApple App Store, checked 28 October 2026
Captio AI on Google PlayGoogle Play, checked 28 October 2026
Live CaptionsCaptio AI, checked 28 October 2026
Recognize Voices: Captions That Show Who Is Talking by NameCaptio AI, checked 28 October 2026
Speaker Direction: See Where a Voice Is Coming FromCaptio AI, checked 28 October 2026
Recognize Sounds: Doorbells and Alarms in Your CaptionsCaptio AI, checked 28 October 2026
Live TranslatorCaptio AI, checked 28 October 2026
Privacy PolicyCaptio AI, checked 28 October 2026
AI SummaryCaptio AI, checked 28 October 2026
Audio TranscriptionCaptio AI, checked 28 October 2026
Captio AI for AI assistants (llms.txt)Captio AI, checked 28 October 2026

Hearing Buddy

Features — What Hearing Buddy DoesHearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026
Hearing Buddy - Speech To Text (App Store, United States)Apple App Store, checked 28 October 2026
Real-Time Transcription — Unlimited Free Live CaptionsHearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026
Google Play search for "Hearing Buddy" (US)Google Play, checked 28 October 2026
Hearing Buddy - Speech To Text (App Store lookup data, US)Apple, checked 28 October 2026
Share Captions — Group Captioning for the RoomHearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026
Privacy Policy - Hearing BuddyHearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026
Live Translation — Read Conversations in Your LanguageHearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026
Ava vs Hearing Buddy: Honest Captioning App Comparison (2026)Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026
For educators & disability servicesHearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026
Hearing Buddy Everywhere (Mac App Store, United States)Apple App Store, checked 28 October 2026
Apple Design Awards - 2026 winners and finalistsApple Developer, checked 28 October 2026
Best live captioning & speech to text apps for iPhone (2026)Hearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026
Terms of Service - Hearing BuddyHearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026
Boost Audio — Turn Your Headphones Into a Sound AmplifierHearing Buddy (Krager Labs LLC), checked 28 October 2026

Published 28 October 2026. App names and trademarks belong to their owners. This page is not affiliated with or endorsed by the companies it compares.