Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Mr. Transcription: Japanese AI transcription service (文字起こしさん) that converts audio, video, images, and PDFs to text and can auto-summarize recordings into meeting minutes. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Mr. Transcription when transcribing interviews and lectures with speaker separation 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.
Japanese AI transcription service (文字起こしさん) that converts audio, video, images, and PDFs to text and can auto-summarize recordings into meeting minutes.
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
Mr. Transcription (文字起こしさん) is a Japanese AI transcription service that converts audio, video, image, and PDF files into text directly in the browser. While it is a general-purpose transcription tool, it includes meeting-oriented capabilities: it can transcribe meeting recordings and then use AI to automatically summarize results into meeting minutes with key points. The service supports very large inputs (files up to roughly 1GB or several hours), generates subtitle files in SRT and VTT formats, and offers translation across more than 100 languages with automatic language detection for mixed-language audio. It is built around a privacy stance, with paid plans described as keeping no logs and not learning from user data. Mr. Transcription includes a customizable dictionary that improves recognition of frequently used or specialized terms over time, speaker recognition to distinguish multiple participants, and noise handling for clearer results in imperfect recording environments. The service operates a free tier offering a limited amount of daily audio and image transcription after registration, alongside several paid monthly and annual plans that scale up monthly transcription hours. It is currently operating and is used for meeting minutes, interviews, lecture notes, and subtitle creation, with broad multilingual coverage centered on Japanese. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Mr. Transcription is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Mr. Transcription |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Transcription of audio, video, image, and PDF files in the browser |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | AI summarization that turns recordings into meeting minutes with key points |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Subtitle generation in SRT and VTT formats |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Translation across 100+ languages with automatic language detection |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Speaker recognition and a customizable terminology dictionary |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Privacy-focused paid plans described as keeping no logs |
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.
Mr. Transcription
Choose Mr. Transcription if you need creating meeting minutes and summaries from uploaded recordings — strengths include handles large files and a wide range of input formats including pdfs and images.
Buzz
Mr. Transcription
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Mr. Transcription is strong for creating meeting minutes and summaries from uploaded recordings. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Mr. Transcription 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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