Cleft vs Whisper Memos
We give Cleft a 3.2 GPA and Whisper Memos a 2.6, out of 4.0. Cleft grades higher on value for money, the free plan and platforms. Whisper Memos grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cleft
Voice notes turned into structured notes on Apple devices
Free plan · from $39.99/yr
Whisper Memos
Voice memos transcribed and emailed from iPhone or Apple Watch
Free trial · from $5.83/mo
How we grade them
| 3.2GPACleftVery good | 2.6GPAWhisper MemosGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ACleft Plus is $39.99 a year, well under what a typical notes subscription here costs, and Family Sharing covers up to 5 people. Pay monthly and it's $6.99, which is a much worse deal. The pricing page calls the yearly plan a 52% saving. | B$69.99 a year, which works out to $5.83 a month, or $9.99 month by month. That's about what its voice-note rivals charge, and close to the $5.99 typical for notes apps. One plan includes everything, with no cap on the number of memos. |
| Free plan and trial | ABasic is free and has the main event: on-device transcription, structured notes, 3 built-in styles, tags, search, export and Local Sync. The limit is 5 minutes a recording. For quick thoughts, most people could stay here. | CThere's no free plan. The app is free to try before you subscribe, but the vendor doesn't say how long the try lasts or how many memos it covers. So you can have a go, and we can't tell you how far you'll get. |
| Features | BIt does one job and does it fully: transcription in 99 languages, notes shaped by AI, recording from the Watch, CarPlay, the Lock Screen or Siri, and a Markdown editor with tags and search. It's about capture more than filing, and appending, attachments and custom styles are Plus only. | AIt does one thing and does it fully: recording from the Lock Screen, Action Button, Siri or a Watch with no phone nearby, more than 50 languages, a choice of transcription models, summaries from your own prompts and a Meeting mode that splits the transcript by speaker. |
| Ease of use | BPress record and talk, from the Lock Screen or the Action Button if you like. You do have to sign in, and a note is only finished once the device is back online. There's no App Store rating on record to go by, so a B. | B4.58 from about 420 App Store ratings, a whisker under our line for an A. One tap starts a recording and the transcript turns up in your email, so there's nothing to file. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and CarPlay. Notes can go on to Notion and Zapier with Plus, or to Obsidian and Apple Notes through the share sheet and Local Sync. All Apple, though. No Android, Windows or web version is listed. | DiPhone and Apple Watch only, which we grade the same as an app that's Android only. No Android or web app is offered. It does send memos out well, to Notion, Reflect, Todoist and anything on Zapier or a webhook. |
| Best for | talking a thought into a tidy note on Apple gear | voice notes from your Apple Watch to your inbox |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cleft and Whisper Memos. How we grade
Where they differ
- Cleft starts at $39.99 per year (or $6.99 billed monthly). Whisper Memos starts at $5.83 per month, billed annually ($69.99 per year).
- Cleft has a free plan. Whisper Memos does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Cleft lists a macOS app.
- Cleft also covers Markdown.
- Whisper Memos also covers meeting notes.
In commoniOSAI featuresTranscriptionNotes
At a glance
| Cleft | Whisper Memos | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $39.99 per year (or $6.99 billed monthly) | $5.83 per month, billed annually ($69.99 per year) |
| Free plan | Basic plan: recordings up to 5 minutes with on-device transcription, structured notes, 3 built-in output styles, tags, search, export, Local Sync, widgets and Siri Shortcuts. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free to try before subscribing; the vendor does not state how long or how many memos the trial covers. |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Cleft AI Limited | Median Tech, s.r.o. |
| Price read from | cleftnotes.com | whispermemos.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Cleft
- People who think out loud and want the ramble turned into a tidy note
- Apple users capturing ideas from a Watch, a car or the Lock Screen
- Passing voice notes on to Notion, Obsidian or Apple Notes
Whisper Memos
- Capturing ideas on a walk or in the car from an Apple Watch
- People who want voice notes to arrive in their email inbox
- Recording in-person meetings or interviews with speakers separated
Worth knowing
Cleft
- Apple only: the apps are for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and CarPlay, with no Android, Windows or web version listed.
- Basic recordings stop at 5 minutes; 30-minute recordings need Cleft Plus.
- Notion and Zapier integrations, attachments, custom styles, appending and password-protected links are Plus only.
- Sign-in is required. Recording and transcription work offline, but the note is finished once the device is back online.
Whisper Memos
- iPhone and Apple Watch only: the App Store listing says it is designed for iPhone and not verified for macOS, and no Android or web app is offered.
- There is no free plan. The app is free to try, then needs a subscription at $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year.
- Transcription happens online: memos recorded offline are saved on the device and uploaded once a connection returns.
- Each recording is limited to 90 minutes, and imported audio must be an audio-only file; video files are rejected.
Key features
Cleft
- On-device transcription
- Recordings are turned into text locally on iPhone, iPad or Mac using Whisper, in 99 languages, including when the speaker switches language mid-sentence.
- Structured notes from rambles
- An AI step pulls out the main points and actions and titles the note. Three built-in styles are Structured, Structured Prose and Clean Transcript; Plus adds custom styles.
- Capture from Watch, CarPlay and Siri
- Recording can start from an Apple Watch, the CarPlay screen, the Lock Screen, Dynamic Island, Control Center, the iPhone Action Button or a Siri request.
- Send notes to other apps
- Notes go to any app through the share sheet. Local Sync writes Markdown and optional audio to a folder, and Plus adds direct Notion and Zapier integrations.
- Markdown editor, tags and search
- Notes can be edited with headings, bold, lists and code blocks, tagged by project or topic, and searched across the whole collection.
- Append and continue
- With Plus, a new recording can be added to an existing note so one topic stays in one place, and recordings can run to 30 minutes.
Whisper Memos
- One-tap recording on iPhone and Watch
- Recording starts from a Lock Screen widget, an Apple Watch complication, the Action Button, Back Tap or Siri. The Watch app records on its own without the iPhone nearby.
- Transcripts delivered by email
- Each memo is transcribed, split into readable paragraphs and emailed with its summary by default, so it can be dealt with later from the inbox.
- Choice of transcription models
- An Automatic setting picks a model for each recording, or you can choose one yourself, such as OpenAI Whisper or ElevenLabs Scribe. More than 50 languages are supported.
- Summaries with custom prompts
- Every memo gets an AI summary, and extra summary tabs can be defined with your own prompts, for example one that pulls out action items.
- Meeting mode
- Turning on Meeting mode produces a transcript organized by speaker, with an optional hint that up to 2 to 6 people will talk. Each speaker can then be given a name and a color.
- Integrations and agents
- Built-in Notion and Reflect integrations, Mail Drop, Zapier and webhooks send memos elsewhere, and named agents route a memo when its name is spoken at the start.
Plans
Cleft
Basic$0
5-minute recordings, on-device transcription, structured notes, 3 built-in output styles, tags, search and export.
Cleft Plus$39.99
per year, or $6.99 per month billed monthly
30-minute recordings, append to existing notes, custom output styles, attachments, Notion and Zapier integrations, and Family Sharing for up to 5.
Whisper Memos
Pay annually$5.83
per month, billed $69.99 per year
Every feature: unlimited memos, 90-minute recordings, the Apple Watch app, AI summaries, audio import and Zapier integrations.
Pay monthly$9.99
per month, billed monthly
The same features as the annual option, billed month to month.
Ways to pay less
Cleft
- Annual discount
Save 52% with annual billing
Cleft Plus costs $6.99 a month or $39.99 a year. The pricing page labels the annual plan a 52% saving, under $3.50 a month.
Whisper Memos
- Annual discount
Save 42% with annual billing
Paying annually costs $69.99 a year, which the vendor shows as $5.83 a month and a 42% saving against the $9.99 monthly price.
