Two apps with the same starting point
Of all the tools we compare ourselves with, Summarify is the closest in shape. Both apps are native to iPhone and iPad. Both take a YouTube video, read its captions and write a summary. Both let you ask questions about the video and jump to the moment an answer comes from. Both export to PDF and Markdown.
The difference is in which direction each one has grown.
Summarify goes deeper on YouTube
Summarify is a YouTube specialist, and its feature list shows it:
- More than 15 summary styles, against SumAI’s five.
- Search inside a video.
- Summaries of a custom selection, so you can summarize just a part.
- Transcript download, and export as plain text as well as PDF and Markdown.
- In-app search for videos, as well as the share sheet.
- A companion Chrome extension that uses the same account, and a Mac version.
If YouTube is the only thing you summarize, that depth is a real reason to choose it.
SumAI goes wider and adds study tools
SumAI covers more kinds of source and does more with each one after the summary:
- PDFs and web articles, in the same library as your videos.
- A mind map of every summary.
- A quiz and flashcards generated from every summary.
- Summaries in more than 60 languages, chosen independently of the video’s language.
- Listen, to have a summary read aloud.
- Support for iOS 16, where Summarify requires iOS 17.6.
Summarify’s App Store description does not list mind maps, quizzes, flashcards or read-aloud. That is not proof it lacks them, only that its own listing does not mention them.
Price
The yearly plans are the same price in the US App Store: $29.99. Summarify also offers a monthly plan at $4.99. SumAI offers a weekly plan at $2.99. Both apps are free to download, and Summarify’s listing says it includes a limited number of free summaries.
What they share
Both need captions on the video. Both produce AI summaries that deserve a check against the source when a detail matters, and both make that check easy with timestamps.
How to decide
Ask what else you need to summarize. If the answer is “nothing, only YouTube”, try Summarify first. If you also read papers and articles, or you are studying and want the mind map, quiz and flashcards, SumAI is the better match.
