Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. InnoCaption: InnoCaption is a real-time call and meeting captioning service for people with hearing loss, providing live captions for phone calls and video conferences via mobile apps and the web. 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 InnoCaption when making and receiving captioned phone calls independently 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.
InnoCaption is a real-time call and meeting captioning service for people with hearing loss, providing live captions for phone calls and video conferences via mobile apps and the web.
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
InnoCaption is a captioning service built for deaf and hard-of-hearing users in the United States that displays real-time text of what others say during phone calls and video meetings. Users speak with their own voice and read captions generated either by live human stenographers or by automated speech recognition, switching between the two as needed. The mobile apps run on iOS and Android phones and tablets, and InnoCaption Web brings captioning to a browser. For virtual meetings, the InnoCaption Bot can join Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex calls from a pasted meeting link, showing live captions with speaker identification; a dial-in method is also supported. Past call and meeting transcripts are saved and can be reviewed, emailed, or shared via a live-caption link that others open in any browser without logging in. The service is FCC-certified and funded through the federal Telecommunications Relay Services Fund. It is aimed at individuals with hearing loss who need accessible phone and meeting communication.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); InnoCaption is free (free). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | InnoCaption |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Real-time captioning of phone calls and video meetings |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Choice of live human stenographers or automated speech recognition |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | InnoCaption Bot joins Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex with speaker identification |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | InnoCaption Web for captioning calls and meetings in a browser |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Saved call and meeting transcripts that can be reviewed or emailed |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Shareable live-caption link viewable in any browser without login |
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.
InnoCaption
Choose InnoCaption if you need captioning work video meetings on zoom, teams, meet, or webex for hard-of-hearing participants — strengths include free to eligible users, funded by the fcc telecommunications relay services fund.
Buzz
InnoCaption
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while InnoCaption is strong for captioning work video meetings on zoom, teams, meet, or webex for hard-of-hearing participants. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and InnoCaption is free. 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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