Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Convo: Bot-free real-time AI meeting assistant for Mac and Windows that transcribes calls, suggests replies live, and syncs notes to Slack, Notion, and HubSpot. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Convo when capturing and summarizing slack huddles and voice calls that lack native recording matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Bot-free real-time AI meeting assistant for Mac and Windows that transcribes calls, suggests replies live, and syncs notes to Slack, Notion, and HubSpot.
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
Convo (itsconvo.com) is a native desktop AI meeting assistant for macOS and Windows that captures audio locally from your device rather than joining calls as a bot. It works across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Slack Huddles, so it is not locked to a single conferencing platform. During a call, Convo listens in real time and surfaces on-screen suggestions such as talking points and objection handling that only the user can see, positioning it toward sales and customer-facing conversations. After the call, it produces structured summaries, extracts action items, and can draft follow-up emails. A notable part of its design is the integration layer: Convo turns conversations into structured data that can be pushed to CRM, documentation, and project tools, with marketplace-style connectors for Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Salesforce, and others, plus automation via Zapier, Make, IFTTT, and Power Automate and a public API. Audio is processed locally for privacy, with optional cloud processing only when a user chooses to save a recording. Pre-meeting preparation pulls context from past conversations. The product is actively operating and listed across software directories in 2025/2026. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Convo is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Convo |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Bot-free local audio capture from the desktop (macOS and Windows) |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Real-time on-screen suggestions and talking points during calls |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Automatic transcription with post-call structured summaries and action items |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Follow-up email drafting and searchable meeting history |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Works across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Slack Huddles |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Marketplace-style integrations to Slack, Notion, HubSpot, and Salesforce plus Zapier, Make, IFTTT, Power Automate, and a public API |
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.
Convo
Choose Convo if you need sales reps wanting live prompts and objection handling during prospect calls — strengths include no meeting bot joins the call, avoiding participant-list notifications and lobby admission.
Buzz
Convo
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Convo is strong for sales reps wanting live prompts and objection handling during prospect calls. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Convo 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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