Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. LiveVoice: LiveVoice is a live-audio platform for events that delivers simultaneous interpretation, AI voice and text translation, and real-time AI captions to attendees on their own phones and browsers. 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 LiveVoice when adding live ai captions and transcripts for accessibility at on-site, online, or hybrid events 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.
LiveVoice is a live-audio platform for events that delivers simultaneous interpretation, AI voice and text translation, and real-time AI captions to attendees on their own phones and browsers.
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
LiveVoice is a live-audio platform built for events, conferences, meetings, guided tours, and church services. It turns attendees' own smartphones and browsers into receivers, so audiences listen to interpreted audio or read live captions in their own language without dedicated hardware, headsets, or IT setup. The platform supports remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) by professional human interpreters working from anywhere through a multi-channel interpreter app, AI voice and text translation, or a combination of both. Its AI Live Captions feature transcribes a chosen audio channel in real time and can be configured in over 65 languages, displaying on the mobile app, web browsers, on-site screens, or as lower thirds in video streams. After an event, transcripts can be downloaded as text, CSV, SRT, or VTT files for sharing or repurposing. It works on iOS, Android, and Huawei devices and supports on-site, online, and hybrid events, integrating with video conferencing and livestreaming tools. It targets event organizers, conference planners, and accessibility teams.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); LiveVoice is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | LiveVoice |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Simultaneous interpretation via human interpreters (including remote RSI) |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | AI voice and text translation in real time |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI Live Captions configurable in over 65 languages |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Listen on attendees' own phones or browsers, no special hardware |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Downloadable transcripts in text, CSV, SRT, and VTT formats |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Caption delivery to app, browser, on-site screens, and video lower thirds |
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.
LiveVoice
Choose LiveVoice if you need providing multilingual interpretation and captions at conferences, churches, and guided tours — strengths include no dedicated receiver hardware or headsets needed; runs on attendees' own devices.
Buzz
LiveVoice
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while LiveVoice is strong for providing multilingual interpretation and captions at conferences, churches, and guided tours. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and LiveVoice 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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