Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Genio: Assistive note-taking tool (formerly Glean) that records and transcribes lectures and classes for students. 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 Genio when learners with disabilities using captions and transcripts for support matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Assistive note-taking tool (formerly Glean) that records and transcribes lectures and classes for students.
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
Genio, formerly known as Glean, is an assistive note-taking platform that helps students capture and learn from lectures and classes. It records class audio and provides live captions during the session, then generates a full transcript afterward, letting students focus on understanding rather than frantically writing notes. Genio lets learners add their own notes, organize material with AI-generated outlines, import slides and reading material, and review with study features such as quizzing, tying recorded audio together with class content. The platform is widely used by students, including learners with specific learning difficulties, and is adopted by educational institutions that provide it as a study and accessibility support tool. It works online or offline across devices, which suits classroom and lecture-hall environments. Genio is positioned as a mainstream learning tool that also supports accessibility needs. It is actively operating in 2025 and 2026, reporting use by well over a hundred thousand students and more than a thousand institutions, with active sign-in, pricing, and ongoing product development. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Genio is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Genio |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Class and lecture audio recording with live captions |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Full transcript generation after the session |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI outlines and student-added notes tied to the recording |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Import of slides and reading materials into notes |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Offline and cross-device capture for classrooms |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Class and lecture audio recording with live captions |
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.
Genio
Choose Genio if you need university students recording and reviewing lectures — strengths include purpose-built for education and lecture capture.
Buzz
Genio
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Genio is strong for university students recording and reviewing lectures. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Genio is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
You can — some teams pair them when each covers a different part of the meeting workflow.
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