Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Coconote: AI note taker by Quizlet that turns lectures, meetings, documents, videos, and audio into organized notes, transcripts, and study materials. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Coconote when professionals summarizing recorded meetings and training videos into transcripts and notes matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
AI note taker by Quizlet that turns lectures, meetings, documents, videos, and audio into organized notes, transcripts, and study materials.
Buzz is a widely used open-source desktop application that transcribes and translates audio offline on the user's personal computer, powered by OpenAI's Whisper. It is MIT-licensed and actively maintained, with v1.4.4 released in March 2026, and it has grown a large community with roughly 19.7k GitHub stars. Buzz runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux, with installation options including Flatpak, Snap, and PyPI. It supports both importing existing audio and video files and real-time transcription from microphone input, and it can export results in formats such as TXT, SRT, and VTT for subtitling and documentation. The app includes an advanced transcript viewer with search and playback controls, a watch folder for automatically transcribing new files, and a command-line interface for automation. It offers GPU acceleration through CUDA for Nvidia cards, Apple Silicon support, and Vulkan for many other GPUs, which makes faster transcription practical even on laptops. Buzz also provides speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio, plus a plugin system that adds capabilities like AI-generated summaries. Because all processing happens locally, recordings and transcripts remain on the user's machine rather than being uploaded to a cloud service. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Coconote is an AI note-taking app from Quizlet, Inc. that automatically generates organized notes, full transcripts, and study materials from a wide range of inputs. It accepts lectures, meetings, documents, PDFs, videos, web links, and audio files, and the app states it produces detailed, organized notes from any lecture, meeting, or document, so users with a backlog of recorded meetings or training videos can upload files and receive a structured summary and transcript in return. Alongside transcription and summarization, Coconote includes an AI chat feature that answers questions using the captured content, plus flashcard and quiz generation, study games, and the ability to convert notes into an AI-narrated podcast conversation. It supports more than 100 languages and syncs across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Android, and the web so notes are available on any device. The product is geared toward students and professionals and highlights benefits for people with ADHD or auditory-processing challenges, while positioning itself as a legitimate learning aid rather than a way to bypass academic honor codes. Coconote is free to download and use to get started, with an Unlimited Pass subscription that adds unlimited notes, priority support, and additional features. The app is actively operating. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Coconote is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Coconote |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Generates organized notes and full transcripts from audio and video |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Accepts lectures, meetings, documents, PDFs, videos, links, and audio |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI chat that answers questions from captured content |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Flashcard and quiz generation plus study games |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Converts notes into an AI-narrated podcast conversation |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Support for 100+ languages |
Buzz
Choose Buzz if you need transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline — strengths include fully offline so audio and transcripts stay on the user's computer.
Coconote
Choose Coconote if you need students turning lectures and conference talks into notes, flashcards, and quizzes — strengths include versatile input handling (lectures, meetings, documents, videos, links, audio).
Buzz
Coconote
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Coconote is strong for students turning lectures and conference talks into notes, flashcards, and quizzes. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Coconote is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Often yes: teams combine tools when one handles capture and another handles analysis.
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