Free
$0
always free
- Unlimited recordings
- On-device transcription (always free)
- Basic notes and folders
- Limited semantic search
On-device transcription. Private by design.
Record once.
Understand forever.
Humble Zen turns your voice, videos, and PDFs into summaries, flashcards, quizzes, and a knowledge base you can actually search. On-device transcription. One-time price.
$0 To start
100% On-device
6 tools Per note
On-Device TranscriptionSemantic SearchAI SummariesFlashcardsQuizzesCheat SheetsChatPrivate by DesignPay OnceNo SubscriptionOn-Device TranscriptionSemantic SearchAI SummariesFlashcardsQuizzesCheat SheetsChatPrivate by DesignPay OnceNo Subscription
Features
From recording to understanding
Every tool you need to capture, learn, and actually remember.
AI Summaries
Turn recordings into clean summaries
The key ideas, structured with chapters and timestamps. Not a wall of bullet points — a synthesis you can scan in under a minute. Tap any chapter to jump to that exact moment.
Flashcards & Quiz
Actually learn the material
Automatically generated quizzes and flashcards for active recall. Every question links back to the exact timestamp in your recording so you can hear it again in context.
Ask Your Notes
Ask anything, get precise answers
Chat with your notes like a study partner who actually read everything. Answers are grounded in your content with timestamps so you can always verify.
YouTube Import
Turn any YouTube video into study notes
Paste a URL. Humble Zen pulls the transcript and generates a full note — summary, flashcards, quiz, and all. No recording required.
Pricing at a glance
Start free. Upgrade once.
On-device transcription is always free. Pro is a one-time $19.99 unlock.
Transcription is always free, always private, and always on-device.
Pro
$19.99
one-time payment
- Unlimited semantic search
- Full folder organization
- AI credits included at purchase
- Priority transcription queue
AI credits: Summaries, flashcards, quizzes, chat, and cheat sheets use credits you buy as needed. No expiry, no subscription.
How it works
Simple by design.
No setup. No learning curve. Four steps to clarity.
1
Capture anything
Record live audio, import an audio or video file, drop in a PDF, or paste a YouTube URL.
2
Transcribe privately
Transcription runs on your device using embedded Whisper. No upload, no waiting, no privacy risk.
3
Get study materials
Generate summaries, flashcards, quizzes, cheat sheets, or chat directly with your notes.
4
Search everything
Ask a question in plain English. Semantic search surfaces relevant content across all your notes.
Supports: YouTubeMP3MP4WAVM4APDF
Use cases
Built for how people actually learn and work.
Three common workflows. One app that helps you retain what matters.
Walk into finals already prepared
Turn lecture recordings into summaries, flashcards, and quizzes so review time becomes active recall, not passive rereading.
- Find exact concepts across weeks of class recordings
- Generate flashcards automatically from what your professor actually said
- Test weak spots before the exam does
Close the loop after every meeting
Capture client calls and internal syncs once, then get instant summaries, decisions, and searchable context across projects.
- Skip re-listening and get action-ready meeting summaries
- Ask: "What did they decide about budget?" and find it fast
- Bring a one-page cheat sheet into high-stakes conversations
Build a personal knowledge library
Capture books, podcasts, PDFs, and videos in one place and keep the key ideas searchable when you need them.
- Import content from audio, PDF, and YouTube in one workflow
- Create memory hooks with quizzes and flashcards
- Ask your notes by meaning, not exact keywords
Why this exists
Built by one person, on purpose.
Hi — I'm Carmen, the one person behind Humble Zen. I built it because I was tired of paying $15–20 every month for note apps that gave me a transcript, a bland summary, and a pile of recordings I never opened again.
So Humble Zen works differently. Transcription runs on your iPhone — your audio never touches my servers, because the architecture makes that impossible, not because a policy promises it. The AI study tools run on credits you buy only when you need them. And the Pro unlock is a one-time purchase, because software you use every day shouldn't hold your notes hostage for a monthly fee.
No growth team, no dark patterns, no investors pushing me to squeeze you. Just an app I wanted to exist. If you try it and something's not right, email me — I read everything: [email protected]
Carmen Ferrara Humble Media · Boston
FAQ
Common questions.
Humble Zen is an AI-powered note-taking app that turns voice recordings, audio files, PDFs, and YouTube videos into summaries, flashcards, quizzes, cheat sheets, and a searchable knowledge base.
Humble Zen uses an embedded Whisper model that runs directly on your iPhone. Your audio is transcribed locally — nothing is uploaded to any server. It works offline too.
You can record live audio, import MP3, MP4, WAV, or M4A files, drop in a PDF, or paste a YouTube URL. One app for every type of source material.
Instead of matching exact keywords, semantic search understands the meaning of your question and finds relevant content across all your notes and folders. Ask in plain English and get precise results.
Summaries, flashcards, quizzes, chat, and cheat sheets use a small amount of AI compute. Credits are purchased in packs — no expiry, no subscription, no surprises. Transcription is always free.
Transcription happens entirely on your device. When you use AI features, only the transcript text is sent to generate the result — never your audio. Humble Zen does not sell your data or use it to train AI models.
$19.99 one-time unlocks Pro for life. AI features run on credits you can buy in small or large packs. The free tier includes unlimited recordings and on-device transcription.
No. Humble Zen is a one-time purchase. No subscription, no annual renewal, no trial that silently charges your card. Pay once, own it forever.
Get started
Your next insight starts here.
Record once. Understand forever. On-device transcription, one-time price, total privacy.