Items14The creator’s order
  1. 1Live TranscribeLive TranscribeThe free Android starting point, because one app does two jobs. Live Transcribe turns speech into scrolling text and also labels non-speech sounds such as a doorbell or music, while Sound Notifications listens in the background for smoke and fire alarms, sirens, baby sounds, knocking, a doorbell or…0
  2. 2Apple Live CaptionsApple Live CaptionsIf you live on an iPhone, iPad or Mac, this is already there and costs nothing. Live Captions works across whatever is playing: phone and FaceTime calls, video meetings, social video and the person in front of you through the microphone. In a FaceTime group call it attributes each line to the…0
  3. 3Apple Sound RecognitionApple Sound RecognitionThe iPhone's answer to a visual doorbell and baby monitor, switched on in Accessibility settings. It listens for the sounds you pick, including fire and smoke alarms, sirens, a doorbell or knock, a baby crying, running water and appliances, and shows a notification on screen, waking the Lock Screen…0
  4. 4Ava (Live Captioning App)Ava (Live Captioning App)The step up when free phone captions stop being enough: meetings, lectures and group conversations where you need to know who said what. Ava runs on phones, the web and Windows and Mac desktops, and Ava Connect brings captions into Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. The free plan covers…0
  5. 5AirCaps Captioning GlassesAirCaps Captioning GlassesCaption glasses solve the problem phone apps cannot: looking down at a screen means missing faces, lips and signs. AirCaps put the captions on a private display inside the lenses, so you keep eye contact while reading what is said, and basic captioning in nine languages is free with no…0
  6. 6InnoCaptionInnoCaptionUS only. For people who speak for themselves on the phone but cannot follow the other side, InnoCaption turns a smartphone into a captioned phone at no cost: it is certified by the FCC and paid for through the federal relay fund, and signing up needs a self-certification of hearing loss rather than…0
  7. 7CapTel Captioned TelephoneCapTel Captioned TelephoneA US service. The pick for a parent or grandparent who still wants a phone on the kitchen counter rather than an app: CapTel works like an ordinary phone and shows every word the caller says on its screen. Captions come from speech recognition, with a live communications assistant stepping in at…0
  8. 8Relay UKRelay UKUK only. Relay UK is the national text relay service: you type, a Relay Assistant speaks your words to the hearing person and types back their reply, so you can phone a doctor's office, a bank or a plumber who would never answer a text. The service is free apart from normal call charges, and it…0
  9. 9Convo (Sign Language Relay and Interpreting)Convo (Sign Language Relay and Interpreting)US video relay, for signers. Captions are a workaround; for someone whose first language is ASL, a call should happen in ASL. Convo's video relay service puts a qualified ASL interpreter on your phone calls at no cost to you, and its video remote interpreting covers face-to-face conversations too,…0
  10. 10Sorenson VRSSorenson VRSUS video relay, for signers who want dedicated hardware. Sorenson connects you with an ASL interpreter for phone calls at no cost, paid from a federally administered fund, once you are eligible and registered in the FCC's user database. Where it differs is the range of ways in: mobile and desktop…0