Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Jamworks: AI note-taking and captioning tool that turns lectures and meetings into transcripts, summaries, captions and interactive study aids. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Jamworks when generating summaries and flashcards from recorded classes 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.
AI note-taking and captioning tool that turns lectures and meetings into transcripts, summaries, captions and interactive study aids.
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
Jamworks is an AI-powered note-taking application focused on lectures, classes and meetings, with a strong emphasis on accessibility for students and educational institutions. It records or ingests spoken sessions and produces live captions and word-for-word transcripts with speaker titles, while automatically enhancing a user's own typed or handwritten notes using the lecture transcript. From each recording Jamworks generates AI summaries and highlights, breaks long sessions into digestible chapters, and lets users review content as captioned video clips, audio chapters and full transcripts. A built-in personal AI tutor, JamAI, uses the transcript of each session as reference material so learners can ask follow-up questions and get explanations on demand in many languages, and the tool can turn highlights into interactive flashcards and quiz-style study modes. Jamworks supports transcription and learning features across a range of languages and is designed with accessibility in mind, including screen-reader compatibility and standards-based compliance, making it especially useful for neurodivergent and disabled students. It works across mobile, tablet, laptop and web and integrates with major learning management systems, serving students, universities and other learners who need to capture and revisit spoken material. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Jamworks is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Jamworks |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Live captioning and word-for-word transcripts with speaker titles |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | AI summaries and automatic chaptering of lectures and meetings |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Note enhancement that refines a user's own notes using the transcript |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | JamAI personal tutor that answers questions using session transcripts in many languages |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Interactive flashcards and quiz-style study modes generated from content |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Captioned video clips and audio chapters for review |
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.
Jamworks
Choose Jamworks if you need capturing and captioning university lectures for later study — strengths include strong accessibility focus suited to neurodivergent and disabled learners.
Buzz
Jamworks
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Jamworks is strong for capturing and captioning university lectures for later study. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Jamworks 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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