Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. MinutesLink: AI meeting assistant for Google Meet and Zoom that records via a bot or Chrome extension and delivers transcripts and action-item summaries. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and MinutesLink when logging sales or recruiting conversations into a crm 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.
AI meeting assistant for Google Meet and Zoom that records via a bot or Chrome extension and delivers transcripts and action-item summaries.
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
MinutesLink is an AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes online meetings. It offers two capture methods so users can choose what fits their workflow: an auto-joining meeting bot that connects to scheduled calls from a connected calendar, or a Chrome extension that records the meeting without adding a visible bot participant. After a call, MinutesLink produces speaker-labeled transcripts in many languages and AI-generated summaries that highlight key topics, decisions, and action items, and it lets users chat with past meetings to retrieve information. It supports Google Meet and Zoom, with Microsoft Teams listed as coming soon, and includes recording storage and organization, shareable note and transcript links, and integrations with CRM platforms such as HubSpot and Salesforce. The product targets sales teams, recruiters and HR, remote managers, marketing teams, business leaders, and students who want automated meeting documentation. With its mix of bot and bot-free recording plus CRM connections, MinutesLink is aimed at people who run frequent virtual meetings and want consistent notes without manual minute-taking. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); MinutesLink is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | MinutesLink |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Speaker-labeled transcripts in 100+ languages |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Choice of auto-joining meeting bot or bot-free Chrome extension capture |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI summaries with key topics and action items |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Chat to query previous meetings |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | CRM integrations (e.g., HubSpot, Salesforce) |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Shareable notes and transcript links with recording storage |
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.
MinutesLink
Choose MinutesLink if you need automatically capturing and summarizing google meet and zoom calls — strengths include flexible recording: bot or extension depending on the situation.
Buzz
MinutesLink
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while MinutesLink is strong for automatically capturing and summarizing google meet and zoom calls. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and MinutesLink 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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