BeAware Conference Captioning: AI real-time captioning and translation app for live in-person and hybrid events, with on-screen overlays and multilingual attendee access. Handy: Handy is a free, open-source, cross-platform push-to-talk app that transcribes your speech to text completely offline and pastes it into any text field. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist BeAware Conference Captioning when providing accessible live captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing conference attendees matters most, and Handy when privacy-sensitive voice-to-text where audio must stay on-device matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
AI real-time captioning and translation app for live in-person and hybrid events, with on-screen overlays and multilingual attendee access.
Handy is a free, open-source, cross-platform push-to-talk app that transcribes your speech to text completely offline and pastes it into any text field.
BeAware Conference Captioning is an AI-powered real-time transcription and translation tool designed for live in-person, seminar, and hybrid event settings, with a focus on accessibility for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and non-native-language attendees. Built by BeAware (founded by Saamer Mansoor), the product transcribes a speaker in real time and can translate the output into more than 25 languages, with simultaneous translation into several languages at once. Attendees can follow captions on event screens or join on their own devices via a QR code or URL without downloading an app, and the captioning view can be customized for overlay design, text size, and background color to suit different venues and broadcast setups. The system integrates with production tooling such as Bitfocus Companion and supports remote control over a local network, making it suitable for AV-driven stage productions. It also generates AI summaries and follow-up questions based on the live talk and provides offline access to transcripts and translations after the event. A companion app is available on Apple platforms and is actively maintained, with the latest version released in mid-2026, confirming the product is currently operating. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Handy is a free, open-source desktop application that turns your voice into text completely offline, with no audio ever leaving your computer. You press a configurable keyboard shortcut, speak, and release (push-to-talk), or use a toggle mode to start and stop; Handy transcribes what you said and automatically pastes the result into whatever text field is active. Because it runs entirely on-device, it is built for privacy-conscious users who want dictation without cloud uploads or subscriptions. Under the hood it is built with Tauri (a Rust backend with a React/TypeScript frontend) and supports multiple local speech-recognition models, including OpenAI's Whisper variants with GPU acceleration and the CPU-friendly Parakeet V3 model with automatic language detection. Silero Voice Activity Detection filters out silence so only speech is processed. Handy runs on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows, and Linux, and is released under the MIT license. It positions itself as an accessible, extensible alternative to paid dictation tools, and is best suited for hands-free typing rather than recording multi-party meetings.
Best suited for
BeAware Conference Captioning is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Handy is open source (open source). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | BeAware Conference Captioning | Handy |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Real-time AI transcription with translation into 25+ languages | Push-to-talk and toggle dictation modes with a configurable global keyboard shortcut |
| Standout feature | Simultaneous translation into multiple languages within seconds | Fully offline, on-device transcription with no cloud uploads |
| Team usage | Customizable on-screen caption overlays (design, text size, background) | Multiple local speech models including Whisper (GPU-accelerated) and Parakeet V3 (CPU, auto language detection) |
| Integrations | Attendee access via QR code or URL with no app download required | Silero Voice Activity Detection to filter silence and process only speech |
| Languages & capture | Integration with Bitfocus Companion and local-network remote control | Automatically pastes transcribed text into any active application text field |
| Best-fit workflow | AI-generated summaries and follow-up questions plus offline transcript access | Cross-platform desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux) built with Tauri |
BeAware Conference Captioning
Choose BeAware Conference Captioning if you need providing accessible live captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing conference attendees — strengths include purpose-built for live in-person and hybrid stage events and av workflows.
Handy
Choose Handy if you need hands-free dictation into emails, documents, chat apps, and code editors — strengths include completely free, open-source (mit) with no subscription or paywall.
BeAware Conference Captioning
Handy
It depends on your workflow. BeAware Conference Captioning is strong for providing accessible live captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing conference attendees, while Handy is strong for hands-free dictation into emails, documents, chat apps, and code editors. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
BeAware Conference Captioning is a free tier with paid upgrades and Handy is open source. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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