Be My Eyes, Seeing AI, Envision or Ariadne Sense? An honest comparison of apps for blind people

The short answer

Choose Be My Eyes if you need help from another person. Choose Seeing AI if you want to read a label, identify a banknote or check a color quickly and for free. Choose Envision and Ally if you want your hands free and smart glasses with an AI assistant. Choose Ariadne Sense if you want an assistant that keeps describing your surroundings as you move and warns you about obstacles with vibration, without taking photos.

How we compared

The information in this comparison comes from the makers' public websites and the apps' store listings. To be upfront: Ariadne Sense is our own app. Even so, we want this comparison to be fair, so that everyone can find what they need. We want to build a world that is accessible to all, together.

Be My Eyes

Be My Eyes connects you by video with sighted volunteers who are available around the clock and speak more than 180 languages. The app also includes Be My AI: you take a photo, get a detailed description and can ask follow-up questions. Through its company directory you can also reach the customer support teams of selected companies directly. Everything is free; you just need to create an account. The app runs on iPhone and Android, Be My AI also works on Windows computers, and you can start a volunteer call by voice from Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

When it's the best choice: when you need a person. A volunteer can make sense of an unusual situation, help you pick out clothes, set up a device or find something you dropped, and can guide you step by step.

Seeing AI

Seeing AI is a free Microsoft app for iPhone and Android, available in 19 languages. It works in separate modes, each built for one task: short text read aloud as soon as it appears in frame, documents, scene descriptions, products by barcode, banknotes, colors and light. It also recognizes people you've saved and helps you find your things once you've taught it what they look like. Some simpler modes work offline, for example light and face detection, colors or finding saved objects. Each of these is a separate mode. More detailed descriptions need a connection.

When it's the best choice: for quick, specific tasks like reading a label, checking a banknote or the color of a piece of clothing, at no cost.

Envision and Ally

Envision makes several products. The Envision app has been free since 2022 and reads text in over 60 languages, and its quick text reading also works offline. The newer Ally is an AI assistant you talk to like a person: it can read a letter or a menu, describe your surroundings, check the weather or look something up online. The free version allows conversations of up to 10 minutes, and Ally Pro, without that limit, costs $9 a month or $90 a year. Ally works on iPhone, Android and in the browser, as well as on Envision Glasses and Ally Solos glasses. Ally Solos cost $699 in the Envision store, with a year of Ally Pro included.

When it's the best choice: when having your hands free matters. With glasses you don't need to hold your phone, which helps when cooking, going through your mail or traveling with a cane or guide dog.

Ariadne Sense

Ariadne Sense was built for getting around new, unfamiliar places. You hold your phone in front of you, and the assistant keeps telling you what's ahead: objects, people, the room and the path. You don't have to take photos yourself. The phone measures distance with the LiDAR sensor or, without one, a machine-learning model estimates it. Voice and vibration warn you about obstacles such as posts or walls: the closer you are, the stronger the vibration. Vibration works even without internet. When you need more, you can ask for a detailed description, talk with the assistant, look something up online, read a letter or a medication leaflet, or say “I'm looking for the remote” and the app will tell you when the lost item comes into view.

There's no account and no subscription. You get free tokens when you download the app, and after that you pay only for what you use. Unused tokens never expire. When it's the best choice: on the move, on your way somewhere, and anywhere you need ongoing information about your surroundings rather than a single photo.

You don't have to pick just one

These apps complement each other well. A typical setup is Ariadne Sense when you're out and about or somewhere new, Be My Eyes for things where you need a person, and Seeing AI for quick reading at home.