Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Lyrebird Health: Lyrebird Health is an AI medical scribe that listens during clinical consultations and automatically generates transcribed, structured clinical notes and documents. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Lyrebird Health when generating referral letters, medical certificates, and other clinical documents from consultation audio matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Lyrebird Health is an AI medical scribe that listens during clinical consultations and automatically generates transcribed, structured clinical notes and documents.
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
Lyrebird Health is an AI medical scribe built for healthcare practitioners. It listens in the background during a consultation, transcribes the conversation into text in real time, and then generates a structured clinical note (such as SOAP format or a custom template) within seconds of the consultation ending. Beyond notes, it can draft documents like referral letters and medical certificates ready for review. The product runs in the browser (Chrome recommended) on desktop and mobile, supports terminal-server and remote-desktop environments, and is compatible with in-person and telehealth (phone and video) consultations. It offers direct dictation and AI-driven "smart dictate" modes, learns each clinician's documentation style, and includes a translation feature for non-English consults. Lyrebird integrates with electronic medical record systems including Best Practice, Genie/Gentu, and FHIR-compliant systems for one-click note transfer. It is aimed at doctors, specialists, nurses, allied health professionals, dentists, psychologists, and other clinical roles across solo practices, clinics, and enterprise healthcare organizations.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Lyrebird Health is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Lyrebird Health |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Background listening with real-time voice-to-text transcription during consultations |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Automatic generation of structured clinical notes (SOAP and customizable templates) |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Drafting of clinical documents such as referral letters and medical certificates |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | EMR integrations including Best Practice, Genie/Gentu, and FHIR-compliant systems for one-click transfer |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Direct dictate and AI-powered smart dictate modes |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Telehealth-compatible and browser-based with desktop and mobile support |
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.
Lyrebird Health
Choose Lyrebird Health if you need automating clinical note-taking for doctors and specialists during in-person or telehealth consultations — strengths include purpose-built for clinical documentation and adapts to each clinician's note-taking style.
Buzz
Lyrebird Health
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Lyrebird Health is strong for automating clinical note-taking for doctors and specialists during in-person or telehealth consultations. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Lyrebird Health is a free tier with paid upgrades. 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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