ENGoogle Recorder vs Murlivo: on-device transcription on Pixel or any Android phone
Checked by the Murlivo team.
Quick answer
If you own a Pixel phone, Google Recorder is free, transcribes on the phone and adds summaries (Pixel 8 and later), speaker labels (US English) and a web backup. If you have any other Android phone, or you want your transcripts saved as Markdown notes in your own folder with no account, use Murlivo.
Google Recorder and Murlivo have more in common than most voice apps: both turn speech into text on the phone itself, instead of sending every recording to a server, and both can record from a watch. They differ in which phones they run on, in the extras they add, and in where your notes end up.
Google Recorder and Murlivo side by side
| What | Google Recorder | Murlivo |
|---|---|---|
| Where transcription runs | On the phone: Recorder sends the audio to an on-device Google service. Transcribing again may process audio on Google servers, and summaries run in the cloud.2, 3 | On your phone, offline, after a one-time speech model download. Nothing is uploaded to be transcribed.8, 10 |
| Price | Free on Google Play.1 | Free, with no ads, no subscription and no in-app purchase.8, 11 |
| Account | Not needed for recordings kept on the phone. Backup, the web app and share links need a Google Account, and the watch must use the same Google Account as the phone.2, 4, 5, 6 | None. No sign-up, email or password.8 |
| Phones | Pixel phones only: Pixel 3 and later, and Pixel Tablet.2, 4 | Any Android phone with Android 11 or newer.8 |
| Watch apps | Listed for Wear OS on Google Play. On a Pixel Watch it records up to 30 minutes and keeps the recording on the watch; you sync it to a Pixel phone for the transcript.1, 4 | Wear OS 3 or newer. The watch records, keeps the audio until the phone is in range, and the phone transcribes it offline.8, 9 |
| Languages | Text while you record in 8 languages (15 with regional versions) on Pixel 6 and later, fewer on older Pixels. Transcribing again offers about 40 languages and regional versions.3 | Detects the spoken language, or you choose one of 20.8 |
| Speaker labels | Labels who is speaking, in US English.7 | Marks who is speaking in recordings of 3 minutes or more; you can rename each speaker in that recording.8 |
| Where your notes go | Inside the Recorder app, with optional backup to your Google Account at recorder.google.com. You can share the audio, a .txt transcript, a copy in Google Docs or a link.5, 6 | One plain Markdown file per day, in an Inbox folder inside a folder you choose, such as an Obsidian vault. The audio is kept in a subfolder.8 |
What Google Recorder does better
- Text while you speak. Recorder shows the transcript in real time as you record, on Pixel 3 and later.3
- Summaries. On a Pixel 8 or later, Recorder can summarize a transcript in 7 languages.3
- Search for sounds. You can search a recording for words, and also for sounds like music or applause.3
- Backup and sharing. Recordings can back up to your Google Account and open at recorder.google.com, and you can share a link or send a transcript to Google Docs.5, 6
- More languages when you transcribe again. About 40 languages and regional versions.3
What Murlivo does better
- Any Android phone. Murlivo runs on Android 11 or newer from any brand. Recorder works only with Pixel phones.2, 4, 8
- Transcribed offline, every time. Every Murlivo transcript is made on the phone, with no internet after the one-time model download, and the audio is never uploaded to be transcribed. In Recorder, transcribing again and summaries can use Google servers.3, 8, 10
- Notes in your own files. Each transcript lands in a plain Markdown file in a folder you choose, ready for Obsidian or any text editor. Recorder keeps recordings in its app, and you share or export them from there.5, 8
- Long recordings from the wrist. Recorder on a Pixel Watch records up to 30 minutes. Murlivo stops at 2 hours by default, and you can change that limit or turn it off.4, 8
- No account, ever. Murlivo has no sign-up at all, also when you use the watch.8
Who should pick which
Pick Google Recorder if you have a Pixel phone and want live text as you speak, summaries or a backup in your Google Account.
Pick Murlivo if your phone is not a Pixel; if no recording should go to a server; if you want your transcripts as files in Obsidian or another notes folder; or if you record for longer than 30 minutes from a Wear OS watch.
Know Murlivo's limits before you choose: it makes no summaries, labels speakers only in recordings of 3 minutes or more, has no cloud copy of your notes, and how fast it transcribes depends on your phone, because the phone does the work.8
How we compared
We make Murlivo and wrote this page, so read it knowing that. We compared the two apps from Google's own help pages and the Recorder listing on Google Play, and from Murlivo's product facts, all checked on . Every claim about Recorder links to its source in the References. Recorder is called "Recorder" on Google Play; we say "Google Recorder" so it is clear which app we mean. If anything here is wrong or out of date, write to support@murlivo.com and we will fix it.
Google is a trademark of Google. Murlivo is not linked to, sponsored by or endorsed by Google. We name Google Recorder only to compare the two apps.
References
- Recorder (Google) on Google Play, checked .
- Pixel Phone Help: Create, edit & delete a recording on your Pixel device, checked .
- Pixel Phone Help: Create, edit & manage transcriptions, checked .
- Google Pixel Watch Help: Record audio on your Pixel Watch, checked .
- Pixel Phone Help: Save & share recordings & transcripts, checked .
- Pixel Phone Help: Find, back up & manage recordings on your Pixel device, checked .
- Pixel Phone Help: Use speaker labels in a recording, checked .
- Murlivo product facts, checked .
- Murlivo on Google Play, checked .
- Murlivo privacy policy, checked .
- Murlivo pricing, checked .