Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Memoro: German, locally-running AI note-taker that records or uploads conversations and produces structured, searchable notes without a meeting bot. 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 Memoro when students and educators recording and summarizing lectures or sessions 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.
German, locally-running AI note-taker that records or uploads conversations and produces structured, searchable notes without a meeting bot.
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
Memoro is an AI note-taking application operated by Memoro GmbH and is built and hosted in Germany. It lets users capture conversations and meetings by recording directly within the app or by uploading existing audio files such as MP3 or WAV, and it includes an offline mode option, so no bot needs to join a call as a participant. Memoro automatically transcribes audio across many languages and generates AI summaries, with speaker recognition for multiple participants. It structures and organizes the output, performs topic detection, and stores notes as searchable 'Memories,' and it offers customizable 'Blueprints,' which are templates tailored to different meeting or conversation types. Output can be exported to formats including Word, PDF, and Markdown, and full-text search lets users find content across past recordings. The product is available on iOS, Android, web, and desktop. Memoro emphasizes privacy and compliance for European users, stating GDPR compliance, German data storage, encryption in transit, and regular security audits. It is aimed at professionals and organizations in sectors such as education, office administration, and the trades who want a privacy-conscious way to capture spoken information. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Memoro is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Memoro |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Record in-app or upload audio files, with an offline mode |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Automatic transcription across many languages |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI summaries and speaker recognition for multiple speakers |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Customizable Blueprints (templates) for different conversation types |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Searchable 'Memories' with full-text search and topic detection |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Export to Word, PDF, and Markdown across iOS, Android, web, and desktop |
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.
Memoro
Choose Memoro if you need privacy-sensitive professionals capturing meetings without a bot — strengths include made and hosted in germany with a privacy-first, bot-free local capture model.
Buzz
Memoro
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Memoro is strong for privacy-sensitive professionals capturing meetings without a bot. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Memoro 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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