Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Dictanote: Dictanote is a browser-based, cross-device notes app with built-in real-time speech-to-text voice typing in 50+ languages, plus an AI assistant that transcribes and summarizes voice notes. 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 Dictanote when professionals capturing voice memos and turning them into clean, summarized text with action items 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.
Dictanote is a browser-based, cross-device notes app with built-in real-time speech-to-text voice typing in 50+ languages, plus an AI assistant that transcribes and summarizes voice notes.
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
Dictanote is a dictation-powered note-taking app that lets you write notes by speaking instead of typing. Its core voice-typing engine transcribes speech to text in real time across more than 50 languages and 80+ dialects, and supports voice commands for inserting punctuation, paragraphs, and symbols, as well as keyboard shortcuts for starting, stopping, and switching dictation languages. Notes sync across devices and can be organized into notebooks, with offline editing available (though live dictation needs connectivity). Its AI layer, AudioScribe, takes raw voice notes and rewrites them into clean, summarized text—automatically adding punctuation and stripping filler words, repetitions, and "umms." Users can choose summarization levels, apply custom writing styles (such as a business memo or to-do list), dictate in one language and output in another, and connect output to other apps via Zapier or webhooks. It targets writers, students, journalists, and professionals who prefer speaking over typing. Dictanote also offers a companion Chrome extension, Voice In, for dictating into other web apps.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Dictanote is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Dictanote |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Real-time speech-to-text voice typing in 50+ languages and 80+ dialects |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Voice commands for punctuation, paragraphs, symbols, and dictation control |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Custom voice commands to automate text entry and correct errors |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | AudioScribe AI assistant that transcribes and summarizes voice notes, removing filler words |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Notebooks for organizing notes, with cloud sync across devices and offline editing |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Multilingual AI output (dictate in one language, write in another) and Zapier/webhook integrations |
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.
Dictanote
Choose Dictanote if you need students and writers drafting notes, articles, or book content hands-free by voice — strengths include strong multilingual coverage with 50+ languages and 80+ dialects.
Buzz
Dictanote
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Dictanote is strong for students and writers drafting notes, articles, or book content hands-free by voice. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Dictanote is a free tier with paid upgrades. 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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