TapeACall records by merging your call into a three-way call with its own recording line. That works, but it costs you an action on every call, it depends on what your carrier allows, and what you get back is a recording with a transcript. Ajora runs fully automatically: outgoing you dial from the app, incoming runs through call forwarding, and there is no button to forget mid-call. Once you hang up, a summary with action items is waiting, encrypted on servers in Germany.
Everything below about TapeACall comes from public sources you can check yourself: the App Store, Google Play, their own site and support pages, and their owner’s privacy policy. Checked on 06-09-2026. The sources are listed at the bottom.
What is TapeACall?
TapeACall is an American app for recording phone calls, now owned by Bending Spoons. What you get back is a recording with a transcript, and nothing beyond that: no summary, no action items, no decisions.
TapeACall is an American app for recording phone calls, and one of the oldest of its kind. It is now owned by Bending Spoons, the Italian company that also bought Evernote, WeTransfer, Meetup and Vimeo. In the App Store the app is published by Mosaic S.r.l., with the copyright of Bending Spoons Operations S.p.A. underneath it.
What the app does is tightly scoped: record, transcribe and share. They claim transcription at 99 percent accuracy, plus exports to Dropbox, Google Drive and email. What is not in there is the step after that. There is no summary, no action items and no decisions. You get an audio file with the text next to it, and the rest is up to you.
How does TapeACall record a call?
Through a three-way call. The app dials its own recording line and you merge it into your call with Merge calls, after which the call runs over their line. Two conditions come with that: your carrier has to allow three-way calling, and you have to do it yourself on every call.
TapeACall has no access to your call audio, because iOS and Android do not hand it over. So they solve it with a three-way call. You put the other person on hold, the app dials their recording line, and you press Merge calls. From that moment the call runs through their line and gets recorded. In the newer free app that can happen automatically for outgoing calls.
Two things come with that. Your carrier has to allow three-way calling, and you have to do it yourself on every call. TapeACall says so in the App Store: SimpleTalk and H2o Wireless in the United States do not offer it, and EE in the United Kingdom no longer does on new plans. Their own support article about the merge button points at the carrier first when it fails.
What do users say about TapeACall?
In the Dutch App Store the app sits at 3.6 out of 1,117 ratings, in the United States at 4.3 out of 38,131. Five complaints come back from different people: merging fails, it does not work with every carrier, call costs add up, ‘lifetime’ turned out not to be lifetime, and support does not reply.
In the recent reviews in the App Store and Google Play, sorted by date, five complaints keep coming back, from different people, in 2025 and 2026.
1. The merge fails, or takes too long
This is the most common complaint. A Play Store review from 26-06-2026: every attempt dropped all the calls. Another one from 17-06-2026 describes a wait of roughly thirty seconds before the merge button appears, which means the start of the conversation is gone. In the App Store, 27-07-2026 puts it plainly: when I press Merge Calls, nothing happens. Older reviews report empty recordings and static instead of voices.
2. It does not work with every carrier
Because the recording leans on a three-way call, the app falls over the moment your carrier does not support one. On 25-02-2026 a Play Store reviewer writes that it only works if you are with a major carrier that allows conference calls. Dutch users hit something worse in March 2024: the Dutch recording number was unreachable for days, and the workaround was dialling a foreign number instead.
3. The bill grows on two sides
You dial the recording line yourself, so those minutes run through your own plan. Anyone routed to a foreign number pays foreign rates. One user reports a phone bill of 174 dollars on top of the subscription (23-12-2025), another names 170 dollars (10-09-2025). A Dutch review from 2024 describes exactly the same thing: high charges for calls to North America, with no warning up front.
4. Lifetime turned out not to be lifetime
The biggest source of angry reviews is the move to subscriptions. People who paid once for the Pro version years ago were locked out and asked to pay again, sometimes with their old recordings behind the paywall. Reviews from 21-10-2025, 24-08-2025 and 04-08-2025 describe this independently. On top of that comes the price: from around 20 dollars a year to 70 dollars a year, or to a weekly plan. A review from 16-05-2026 works out that he ends up at 520 dollars a year.
5. Support does not answer
The complaint that runs underneath all the others. People email about vanished recordings or an app that will not open, and hear nothing back, or land at a chatbot. Reviews from 15-05-2026, 12-10-2025 and further back say the same thing. A Dutch review from March 2024: reaching the help desk is not possible, there is only a chatbot.
In the Dutch App Store the free TapeACall app sits at 3.6 out of 1,117 ratings, and at 3.6 in Google Play. That same app sits at 4.3 out of 38,131 ratings in the US App Store. That gap between home market and Europe is exactly the pattern in the complaints above: it falls over on the things that are different here, like your carrier and the recording number.
What does Ajora do differently from TapeACall?
Ajora asks nothing of you while you are on the phone. With TapeACall you start every recording yourself; with Ajora it is on the moment you call or are called, so there is no button to forget and no start to miss. And you get a summary with action items rather than an audio file, with call minutes included in the subscription.
It runs fully automatically
You switch on forwarding once and after that there is nothing left. Outgoing you dial from the Ajora app with your own contacts in it, incoming your calls come along on their own, including when the phone rings while you are driving or walking into a client meeting. There is no button to forget and no waiting time in which the start of the call has already gone. Setting that up is covered in set up call forwarding.
Which matters most if you call a lot
At two calls a week, one action per call is fine. At twenty a day it is not: it fails on exactly the calls you needed most, because the unexpected call from a client is the one you want to read back later. Automatic means you never think about it, and never find out afterwards that nothing was captured.
You get a debrief, not a file
Within a few minutes of hanging up there is a summary waiting, with the action items and decisions pulled out and the full transcript underneath. That is the difference that matters in practice: a recording still has to be listened back, a debrief is read in thirty seconds.
Conversations around a table too
Sitting in someone’s office or in a meeting? Pick Physical recording in the app and put your phone down. You get the same debrief, and with several people at the table Ajora recognises who says what.
Calling minutes are in the price
The Individual plan includes 600 calling minutes a month. So there is no second bill from your carrier for dialling a recording line in another country.
European storage and encryption
Your transcripts sit on servers in Germany and are encrypted with a key tied to your account, so Ajora cannot read them either. Your calls are never used to train AI models; that is in writing with the processors. If you cancel, your key is destroyed first. The details are on security, and the data processing agreement sits next to it.
Ajora or TapeACall: what are the differences?
TapeACall gives you a recording with a transcript and asks for an action on every call; Ajora gives you a summary with action items and asks for nothing during the call. The full comparison is in the table below.
| TapeACall | Ajora | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting a recording | Merge into their recording line yourself. Outgoing can be automatic in the new app. | Dial from the app. There is no extra action during the call. |
| Incoming calls | Put the caller on hold and merge yourself. | Automatic, once forwarding is on. |
| What you have to remember | Remember on every call, and start the recording yourself. | Nothing. Set it up once and it runs on its own. |
| Depends on your carrier | Your carrier has to allow three-way calling. | Your carrier has to allow call forwarding. If it does not, you add Ajora by hand. |
| What you get back | A recording and a transcript. | Summary, action items, decisions and the full transcript. |
| Conversations in person | No separate feature for it. | Yes, with speaker recognition. |
| Call charges | You dial their recording line on your own plan. Users report foreign rates. | 600 calling minutes a month are included. |
| Where your data sits | The Bending Spoons privacy policy names transfers to the United States. | Servers in Germany. |
| Who can get to it | Recordings and transcripts are stored with their cloud storage and telecom provider. | Encrypted with a key tied to your account. Ajora cannot read them either. |
| Keeping and deleting | Up to three years after your last use, five years for legal obligations. | On cancellation your key goes first, then your data within 30 days and the backups within 90 days. |
| Data processing agreement | Not published on their site. The app points to the general Bending Spoons privacy policy. | On the site and ready to sign. |
| Price | The Pro app costs €11.99 in the Dutch App Store, with subscriptions on top. Users name amounts from a few euros a week to around 70 dollars a year. | €15.99 a month, or €12.80 a month billed yearly. Teams from €19.00 per user. |
| Last update | The Pro app on 13-02-2025, the free app on 20-04-2026. | The app has been in the App Store since 29-08-2026. |
When is a plain recording app enough?
When you record an interview a few times a year and only want to keep the audio file. The moment calling is part of your job it tips over: one action per call stops being a detail and becomes the reason the call that mattered most never got captured.
Ajora is built for that second case. You are on the phone all day, your calls are about agreements, quotes and case files, and afterwards you want to know what was promised without listening back to an hour of audio. That is why it is on the moment you call or are called, and why you get a summary with action items instead of a file.
What about the record button on your iPhone?
That button has existed since iOS 18.1, but Apple does not ship call recording in the European Union. So you will not see it in the Netherlands, and that is exactly why apps like TapeACall and Ajora exist here.
Since iOS 18.1 Apple’s Phone app has its own record button, with a transcript in Notes. Useful, but not here: Apple states that call recording is not available in the European Union. So in the Netherlands you will not see that button at all. That is exactly why apps like TapeACall and Ajora exist here.
On what you may and may not do when recording a call under Dutch law, there is a separate piece: is it legal to record a call.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best TapeACall alternative in the Netherlands?
Ajora. A recording app hands you an audio file you still have to listen back to; Ajora joins the call automatically, incoming calls included, and puts a summary with action items under it within minutes. Call minutes are part of the subscription, transcripts are encrypted on servers in Germany, and there is a data processing agreement the moment you work with client data.
Which app records phone calls fully automatically?
Fully automatic means incoming calls too, without you doing anything while on the phone. That only works when the recording sits on the line rather than behind a button in an app. With Ajora you switch on forwarding once and every call comes along after that. With TapeACall only the outgoing merge can be automatic; an incoming call you start yourself.
Does TapeACall record automatically?
On outgoing calls the newer free app can do the merging for you. On an incoming call it cannot: you put the caller on hold, dial the recording line and merge. With Ajora, incoming calls are covered automatically as soon as call forwarding is on.
Does TapeACall work with every carrier?
No. The recording relies on a three-way call, so your carrier has to allow it. TapeACall names carriers where it does not work in its own App Store listing, and its support article about the Merge calls button points at the carrier first. Ajora relies on call forwarding, which works on KPN, Vodafone/Ziggo and Odido, and where a carrier does not allow it you add Ajora by hand.
Is TapeACall free?
There is a free app to try, but recording sits behind a subscription or a purchase. In the app stores that is the most common disappointment: people find out the price only after entering their phone number, and your carrier’s bill for dialling the recording line comes on top. With Ajora you know up front: €15.99 a month with 600 calling minutes included, and seven days money back.
Does the other person hear that you are recording?
With TapeACall the other person notices the call turning into a conference call, and in certain countries they also get a beep or a notice. With Ajora there is no beep or spoken notice, so the other person does not pick up on anything by themselves. Announcing it is on you: say at the start of the call that you are having it transcribed. It is the decent thing to do, and for business use article 13 of the GDPR requires it.
Does TapeACall work in the Netherlands?
Yes, but it is clearly less well sorted here than in its home market. The rating is lower, and in 2024 Dutch users reported the Dutch recording number being unreachable for days, with dialling a foreign number as the fallback. Ajora is built in the Netherlands for the Dutch market: your own Ajora number, call minutes in the subscription, and support from the people who build it.
Can I take my recordings out of TapeACall?
Sharing works per recording, through email, Dropbox or Google Drive, but there is no way to take everything with you at once; it has to be done one by one. Reviews from people who cancelled report that they could no longer reach their old recordings afterwards, so download everything before you cancel. With Ajora every debrief also lands in your inbox, so what was discussed sits outside the app as well.
What does Ajora cost?
Individual costs €15.99 a month, or €12.80 a month if you pay for a year up front. That includes 600 calling minutes a month. Teams pay €19.00 per user per month, from three users up. The monthly plan can be cancelled every month, and the first seven days come with a money-back guarantee.
Can anyone at Ajora read my calls?
No. Your transcripts are encrypted with a key tied to your account only. They sit on servers in Germany and are never used to train AI models.
Want to try it? Create an account, download the app, and after a day of calls look at what your debriefs say. Questions about privacy or the data processing agreement go through contact; you get an answer from a founder.
Sources
- TapeACall: Call Recorder in the App Store, with ratings and the most recent reviewsApple App Store, accessed 06-09-2026
- TapeACall Pro in the App Store, version 5.11.12 dated 13-02-2025Apple App Store, accessed 06-09-2026
- TapeACall: Call Recorder on Google Play, with the most recent reviewsGoogle Play, accessed 06-09-2026
- The Merge Calls button is not working. What should I do?TapeACall Support
- TapeACall, features and ownershiptapeacall.com, accessed 06-09-2026
- Privacy policy with retention periods and transfers to the United StatesBending Spoons, accessed 06-09-2026
- Record and transcribe a call on iPhone, including the countries where it is unavailableApple Support
One of the three co-founders of Ajora. Jort focuses on user experience and growth.