Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Grain: Grain is an AI notetaker and conversation intelligence platform that records, transcribes, and summarizes video calls and Slack huddles, with or without meeting bots. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Grain when recording and summarizing client or team meetings for action items 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.
Grain is an AI notetaker and conversation intelligence platform that records, transcribes, and summarizes video calls and Slack huddles, with or without meeting bots.
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
Grain is an AI meeting assistant and conversation intelligence platform that automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings, generating AI notes, action items, and shareable video clips. It supports Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams (plus Slack huddles), and can capture audio without a meeting bot via bot-free desktop capture, or join calls with a recording bot. Transcription covers 100+ languages. On higher tiers, Grain syncs meeting notes and insights to CRMs including HubSpot and Salesforce, making it useful for sales and customer success teams tracking deal conversations. The Business tier also adds AI coaching, custom AI follow-up emails, trackers, and team interaction metrics. The Free plan includes unlimited meetings with a 45-minute recording limit, AI notes and action items, 30-day meeting history, and unlimited free viewer seats; paid seats unlock unlimited meeting duration, history, and uploads.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Grain is from $15/mo (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Grain |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | AI meeting notes & action items |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Multi-language transcription (100+ languages) |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Shareable video clips & highlight reels |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | CRM sync (HubSpot & Salesforce) |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Bot-free desktop capture |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | AI meeting notes & action items |
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.
Grain
Choose Grain if you need sales and customer success teams capturing call insights synced to a crm — strengths include records and transcribes meetings with or without a bot, including bot-free desktop (computer-audio) capture.
Buzz
Grain
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Grain is strong for sales and customer success teams capturing call insights synced to a crm. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Grain is from $15/mo. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary.
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