Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Mem: AI second-brain notes app that organizes captured information automatically and can record, transcribe, and summarize meetings. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Mem when asking questions across an entire personal knowledge base 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.
AI second-brain notes app that organizes captured information automatically and can record, transcribe, and summarize meetings.
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
Mem is an AI-powered notes application positioned as an AI thought partner and second brain, built around the idea that users should not have to manually file information into folders and tags. Users capture notes through typing, voice brain dumps, a Chrome extension for web clipping, and mobile messaging for quick capture on the go, and Mem's AI organizes that material automatically into collections. For meetings, Mem can record, transcribe, and take notes, attaching both the audio and transcript for reference and cleaning up the result into structured notes. Its chat interface lets users ask questions in plain language across their entire note history, with answers synthesized from their own notes and cited to specific sources, so they can recall facts, summarize a span of meetings, or reorganize content by project or topic. A Heads Up feature surfaces related notes and timelines as context. Mem is aimed at knowledge workers, researchers, founders, and anyone who attends many meetings and wants a low-friction way to capture, retrieve, and synthesize information without spending time on manual organization. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Mem is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Mem |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Automatic AI organization of captured notes into collections |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings with audio and transcript attached |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Chat across your note history with cited answers from your own notes |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Voice brain dumps turned into organized notes |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Chrome extension for web clipping and mobile quick capture |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Heads Up feature that surfaces related notes and context |
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.
Mem
Choose Mem if you need capturing and summarizing meetings alongside everyday notes — strengths include removes the need to manually organize notes with folders and tags.
Buzz
Mem
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Mem is strong for capturing and summarizing meetings alongside everyday notes. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Mem is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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