AudioPen
Records a rambling voice memo and rewrites it as a clean, structured note.
why this verdict
Cancel it — switch to Wispr Flow
Wispr Flow and Voicenotes now cover the same core job on a free tier, so the $8/mo is optional.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- Free voice transcription and cleanup in ChatGPT and in the phone keyboard itself. OpenAI, April 15, 2025 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers all of it editorial call
- The whole core job — the thing the subscription was actually for.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 3 of 3 listed replacements have a usable free tier: Wispr Flow, Voicenotes and ChatGPT.
- What the call is worth $96/yr
- $8/mo at the entry paid tier — $96 a year per seat.
- Threatened by
- OpenAI
- Since
- April 15, 2025
- List price
- $8/mo
- Per year
- $96
The backstory
AudioPen was a small, well-loved indie tool that took messy spoken thoughts and returned tidy prose, with style presets to match how you write. It was a single prompt wrapped in a very pleasant interface. That prompt is now free in every assistant, and on-device dictation cleans up speech before it reaches the app. A one-feature wrapper cannot survive the feature becoming an operating system default.
Escape hatches
switching could free up $96/yrSystem-wide dictation that formats as you speak
wisprflow.ai open_in_newKeeps a searchable archive of everything you record
voicenotes.com open_in_newVoice input and rewriting at no extra cost
chatgpt.com open_in_new3 of 3 replacements have a usable free tier.