Whether you’re looking to record a podcast, capture a lecture at school, dictate notes, or capture a conversation for later reference, voice recording apps are the perfect tool for the job.

We think Rev Audio & Voice Recorder covers the needs of most people.

But there are audio recording apps designed for different uses.

In this roundup, we’ll cover the best voice recording apps of 2022 to get you recording like a pro quickly.

1. Rev Audio & Voice Recorder

With an emphasis on voice clarity, Rev Audio & Voice Recorder is actually a bit more than just a voice recorder. The app also offers full transcription services. However, you’ll have to pay for transcription features if you want them.

The app has great reviews for audio quality and reliability. Reviews for the transcription services are hit or miss. But since you get free transcription minutes each month, it’s easy to test it out and see if it meets your needs.

High- and low-quality recording options give you flexibility in terms of storage space while search and organization features make it easy to sort out or sift through your recordings should you need them later.

The app also features extensive integration with a range of note-taking and cloud storage providers. This means it only requires a few taps to get your recordings off your phone.

Price: Free recording with up to 10 minutes of free transcription + premium options (prices vary)
Get it: for Android | for iPhone

2. Otter Voice Notes

If you’re recording for business use, capturing lectures, or looking to refer to your recordings for any reason, Otter Voice Notes uses machine learning to automatically tag, organize, and transcribe all of your voice recordings.

On a basic level, you can use it simply for voice recording and playing back recordings. However, after a few minutes of processing, the app can also provide a transcript of your recording -- complete with separating multiple speakers, tagging the topics of conversation, and time stamps.

You can then listen to the recording and follow along in the transcript or tap a part of the transcript to hear the audio.

The app is free for 600 minutes a month. After that, you must sign up for the premium service. However, the generous 6000-minute allotment is more than enough for most people and the affordable price is well worth it if you’re recording often and want to review your recordings later.

Price: Free for 600 minutes per month + premium tier
Get it: for Android | for iPhone

3. Voice Recorder

If you’re looking for a basic voice recorder for Android without a bunch of extra services or AI assistants, all the bells and whistles, Voice Recorder is a great choice.

The interface is rather basic with a list of recordings and a large record button. But dive into the settings and you’ll find there are plenty of options for customizing the quality of your recordings.

The app also integrates with cloud storage, email, SMS/MMS, and popular messaging apps to make sending your recordings to another person or storing them for later use simple.

The free version is ad supported. However, reviewers note that the ads aren’t too intrusive. So if you will only use the app occasionally, the free version will suit your needs fine. If the ads annoy you, you can disable them by buying the Pro version for a small fee.

Price: Free version or $3.49 for Pro
Get it: for Android (Pro version)

NOTE: If you’re an iPhone user, this app isn’t available on iTunes. However, you can use your iPhone’s built-in Voice Memos feature to do many of the same things. Check out Apple’s Voice Memo’s support page for full instructions.

4. TapeACall Pro

Call recording is one of the more popular uses for voice recorders. If you’re an iPhone user, TapeACall Pro is one of the leading options. Unfortunately, there is no free version but reviews indicate the service is well worth the price.

Ranked #4 in Business on the iTunes store, you can trust TapeACall Pro to deliver on its promises.

Features include:

  • Unlimited recording of incoming and outgoing calls
  • Easy sharing of call recordings with others
  • Integration with cloud storage providers
  • Recording storage and organization

Unlocking many of the features requires a yearly subscription. However, if you record even a single call a month, we think the subscription price is affordable.

Price: $10.99 per year
Get it: for iPhone

NOTE: If you’re looking for call recording on your Android phone, recent updates by Google blocked the feature in most popular apps. Unless you can root your device, you will need to play calls over your speakerphone and then record the call using any standard voice recording app. Quality won’t be great, but it’s as good as you’ll get without complex equipment or complicated software modifications to your phone.


Verdict

Comparing the best apps, we feel that Rev Audio and Voice Recorder is the best fit for most users.

It’s not the most basic app in the roundup, but if you don’t want to use all the extra features, they stay out of the way and let you record and playback audio with ease.

While they don’t have a ton of reviews, the ones they have are solid. And the lack of reviews is understandable given they’re a business-focused service provider.

They also caption videos, transcribe bulk audio, and perform other business-related services. Their audio recorder is just an extra way to use their services.


How We Picked

We think the picks in this roundup are the top Android and iOS voice recording apps for most people.

We selected these apps based on analysis of expert reviews from around the web, user feedback on sites like the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store, forum comments on our site, social media discussions, and more.

When answering the question, “What’s the best scanning app for iPhones or iPads?”, we considered the following primary criteria:

Reliable Performance

Voice recording isn’t useful if your recordings disappear or the app won’t load consistently. And if you can’t trust an app, you won’t use it...

All the apps in this roundup have great reviews for stability, support, and updates to ensure you’ll have a great experience.

Voice Quality

While you might not use a voice recorder for professional voice work, you still want to clearly hear your recordings and understand what is said or what is happening in the recording.

All the apps in this roundup receive high marks for voice quality and offer options or tools to help you tweak the audio to suit your needs.

Ease of Use

Voice recording shouldn’t be complicated. The apps in this roundup are easy to use but offer plenty of customization if you want to dive into settings and change things. However, out of the box, they offer a good experience according to reviews.

Fair Pricing

Voice recording apps shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. It’s not a complicated task. While many of the apps in this roundup feature premium versions or add-ons, the prices are fair for what the app delivers.

We made our picks using a range of reviews across multiple sites to ensure that information is as accurate as possible.

With the information gathered, we compared the things most people consider when choosing a voice recording app for their mobile phone.

In short, we did the research -- so you don’t have to.


Final Thoughts

A voice recording app is only as good as the microphone on your phone and the place you’re recording.

When possible, try to pick a quiet place without too much echo before recording audio. Especially if you’re trying to record a lecture or an audio source far from you.

Always position yourself somewhere where you won’t pick up a lot of background noise -- such as other students talking or typing on their laptops.

Also, be sure to try the app out a few times to be sure you understand how it works and get an idea of how to best position the phone for good audio quality. This can save you a ton of frustration when you go to use your voice recording app at an important time and it doesn’t work as you’d expect.

Finally, if you’re recording anyone else, be sure to get their consent.

While laws vary by region, you might find that recording audio without permission is illegal.


P.S. Many of the best audio recording apps allow you to use bluetooth headsets. Most times, this will result in louder, clearer audio than using your phone’s microphones. Our bluetooth headset summaries can help you find the perfect headset to meet your recording needs.

Disclosure: You should know that in some cases, we may receive a referral fee (at no additional cost to you) for products purchased through the links on our site. These links help support our work but they do not influence our content. Our editorial recommendations are always genuine and we try to feature only the best products and services. Why trust us?