Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Meetingnotes: Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key. 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 Meetingnotes when individuals who prefer paying per-use api costs over subscriptions 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.
Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key.
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
Meetingnotes is a free, open-source AI meeting notetaker for macOS created and maintained by developer Owen Gretzinger. It is designed for professionals who want private meeting notes without recurring subscription costs. The app captures both microphone and system audio directly on the user's Mac, so it works across any meeting platform without adding a bot to the call. It then provides a live transcript and generates AI-enhanced summaries that combine the transcript with any manual notes the user takes during the meeting. Transcription and summarization run through the user's own OpenAI API key, meaning users pay only for the API usage they consume rather than a flat subscription, and meeting data stays stored locally on the device. The source code is published on GitHub under the LGPL-3.0 license, so it can be inspected, modified, and contributed to. The project lists integrations such as Slack and Notion, with additional features in development. Meetingnotes is best for engineers and individuals who want a lightweight, transparent, bring-your-own-key meeting notetaker that keeps their data on their own machine. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Meetingnotes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Meetingnotes |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Captures both microphone and system audio on macOS |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | No meeting bot required to join calls |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Live transcription plus AI-generated summaries |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Bring-your-own OpenAI API key cost model |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Local storage of meeting data |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Open-source codebase on GitHub (LGPL-3.0) |
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.
Meetingnotes
Choose Meetingnotes if you need engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker — strengths include free and open source with a transparent codebase.
Buzz
Meetingnotes
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Meetingnotes is strong for engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Meetingnotes 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.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Buzz and Meetingnotes.
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