CallVault or Phone by Google?
Google’s own phone app, with call recording on certain devices and carriers. Every fact about it below comes from its own page.
Last checked
When Phone by Google is the better pick
- You want everyone on the call to hear that it is being recorded: Google’s app announces it, and CallVault does not.
- Your phone and country support it, and a copy on the phone is all you need.
When CallVault is
- Backup, if you want a copy that survives a lost phone. Google says its recordings are not saved or backed up off the device.
- It isn’t limited to Google’s list of devices and carriers, though what it hears still depends on your phone.
What each one costs
| Call recording | Google’s help page states no price for call recording. source |
|---|
| Free | Free | 2 GB of private backup |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | 4.99 USD a month or 39 USD a year | 20 GB of private backup |
| Family | 9.99 USD a month or 79 USD a year a seat | 30 GB of private backup |
Side by side
| What it does | CallVault | Phone by Google |
|---|---|---|
| Records phone calls on Android | Yes | Partly source |
| Starts recording by itself | Yes | Not stated on their site |
| Records WhatsApp and other internet calls | No | Not stated on their site |
| The other person is clear without the speaker | Partly | Not stated on their site |
| Announces the recording on the call | No | Yes source |
| Works without rooting the phone | Yes | Not stated on their site |
| Installs from Google Play | No | Yes source |
| Says recordings stay on the phone | Yes | Yes source |
| Copies recordings off the phone | Yes | No source |
| Plays recordings in a web library | Yes | No source |
| Imports recordings other apps made | Yes | Not stated on their site |
| Writes a transcript of the call | No | Not stated on their site |
| Shows no ads | Yes | Not stated on their site |
| Open source | No | Not stated on their site |
Moving across
CallVault can import from a folder another recorder writes to, and it has been built around phone makers' recorders and BCR-compatible ones. We haven't tested Phone by Google's files, so try one first. The steps are in the docs.