Compass vs AudioPen
AudioPen cleans up one note. Compass connects all of them.
Compass is an iPhone app for founders who think out loud, in early access now.
Updated . We make Compass. Here is where each tool fits.
The short answer
AudioPen turns a messy voice note into clean writing in the style you pick, and it works almost everywhere, including as a keyboard. It is the better tool when what you want is a polished paragraph. Compass is for the notes you want to keep and build on: it files each one by founder topic, links it to people and past notes and shows you patterns over weeks.
Choose Compass if
- You want your voice notes filed and connected, not only cleaned up
- You want a weekly review of what you keep coming back to
- You want X and LinkedIn drafts from your notes
Choose AudioPen if
- You want custom writing styles and control over how much gets rewritten
- You want voice typing in any app on iPhone, Android, Mac or Windows
- You want a free tier, or a pass you pay for once
You can polish a paragraph in AudioPen and keep the thinking behind it in Compass.
Keep AudioPen for polished paragraphs. Keep your thinking in Compass.
Join the early access list in seconds
14-day free trial, then $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr.
Price will increase to $19.99/mo after the first 100 founding members.
Compass vs AudioPen at a glance
| Feature | Compass | AudioPen |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 14-day free trial, then $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr, early access price. Price will increase to $19.99/mo after the first 100 founding members. | Free (2-minute recordings, up to 20 recordings). Prime: $33 for 3 months, or a one-time pass of $99 for a year or $159 for 2 years. |
| Platforms | iPhone only (iOS 17 or later) | Web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch, Mac, Windows and a Chrome extension |
| What you get back | A cleaned-up transcript plus an Enhanced read: takeaways, risks, action items | Polished text in a preset or custom style, with control over how much it rewrites |
| Recording length | Quick voice notes, plus conversation mode for longer conversations | Up to 2 minutes free, up to 15 minutes on Prime |
| Organizing | Every note filed into founder categories automatically | Tags and folders |
| Across notes | Chat, insights on patterns and contradictions, and a weekly review | Prime can combine notes with SuperSummaries and connect notes to ChatGPT or Claude. |
| Voice typing in other apps | Capture happens inside the Compass app | iPhone and iPad keyboard, Android floating bubble and a Mac or Windows hotkey |
| Turning notes into posts | Drafts X and LinkedIn posts from your notes and publishes when you tap | Rewrite a note in a style you choose, then paste it where you post |
Why use Compass if you already use AudioPen?
It keeps the thread between notes
AudioPen makes each note read well. Compass files each one by founder topic and links it to the people and decisions in it, so note forty still connects to note three.
It tells you what you keep saying
Insights flag the question you keep circling and the plan that contradicts something you said last month. A weekly review pulls it together.
Conversations, not only monologues
Conversation mode records a conversation on your iPhone, separates the speakers and files it with the rest of your notes.
Posts from your notes
Compass drafts X and LinkedIn posts from your notes in your voice, and publishes to your own account when you tap Post.
Where AudioPen is better
Writing styles are the whole point
AudioPen has preset styles, custom styles you describe or match to a writing sample, a Low, Medium or High setting for how much it rewrites, and it can write in a different language from the one you spoke.
Voice typing everywhere
Its iPhone and iPad keyboard, Android floating bubble and Mac and Windows hotkey put clean text wherever your cursor is. Compass only captures inside its own app.
A free tier, a one-time pass and more platforms
The free tier is a real product with limits. Prime is a pass you pay for once, $99 for a year or $159 for two years, rather than a subscription that renews. AudioPen runs on the web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch, Mac, Windows and Chrome.
Audio does not stay on its servers
AudioPen says voice notes are deleted from its servers soon after they are processed, and that your data is encrypted at rest and never used to train AI.
AudioPen is a sharp, focused tool, and it is better than Compass at its core job.
That job is turning a ramble into clean text. Compass does a different job: keeping every ramble, sorting it around your company and showing you what it adds up to.
If the output you want is a paragraph you can paste into an email, AudioPen is hard to beat. If the output you want is a clearer view of your own company over time, that is what Compass is built for.
Common questions
Is there an AudioPen alternative that remembers past notes?
Compass is one. It files every note by founder topic, keeps the people, lessons and commitments in it and uses all of it for chat, insights and a weekly review. AudioPen Prime members can combine notes with SuperSummaries and let ChatGPT or Claude search their notes, read-only.
Does Compass rewrite notes in my style?
Not the way AudioPen does. Compass cleans up your transcript and writes an Enhanced read with takeaways, risks and action items. For social posts, it drafts X and LinkedIn posts in your voice. If you want a custom writing style for any paragraph, AudioPen is the better tool.
Which one is cheaper?
AudioPen, especially if the free tier is enough or you buy two years at once. The free tier allows 2-minute recordings and up to 20 recordings, and Prime is a one-time pass: $99 for a year or $159 for two years. Compass has no free tier. 14-day free trial, then $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr. Everyone on the early access list keeps $9.99/mo for as long as their subscription stays active. Price will increase to $19.99/mo after the first 100 founding members. Join the early access list now and subscribe when Compass is live.
Can I use AudioPen and Compass together?
Yes. Use AudioPen when you need polished text in another app, and Compass for the thinking about your company that you want to keep, connect and review.
Sources
We checked each claim about AudioPen against these pages. Features and prices change, so check the latest before you decide.