Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. NoteMeeting: AI meeting notetaker and live voice translator delivered as a Chrome extension and desktop app, supporting Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and NoteMeeting when capturing calls across google meet, zoom, and teams from one tool 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 meeting notetaker and live voice translator delivered as a Chrome extension and desktop app, supporting Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.
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
NoteMeeting is an AI meeting note taker that combines automatic transcription, AI summarization, and live voice translation, distributed as a Chrome extension as well as a desktop application for macOS and Windows. The Chrome extension works with Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams calls, transcribing conversations in real time and then producing AI-generated summaries that pull out action items and decisions once the meeting concludes. A distinguishing capability is its live bidirectional voice translation, which the product positions for Vietnamese-English communication and broader multilingual meetings, making it relevant for cross-language teams and international calls. The desktop application extends platform coverage to additional tools such as Skype and Discord, giving users a way to capture conversations outside the browser. NoteMeeting emphasizes a quick setup and provides searchable summaries so users can return to past meetings and find key points. It targets product managers, founders, and distributed teams who need both accurate notes and real-time language support during meetings, positioning itself as a notetaker that addresses transcription, summarization, and translation in a single workflow rather than transcription alone. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); NoteMeeting is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | NoteMeeting |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Real-time transcription for Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | AI summaries with extracted action items and decisions |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Live bidirectional voice translation during meetings |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Chrome extension plus desktop apps for macOS and Windows |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Desktop coverage for additional platforms such as Skype and Discord |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Searchable meeting summaries and history |
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.
NoteMeeting
Choose NoteMeeting if you need cross-language meetings that need live translation alongside notes — strengths include combines transcription, summarization, and live translation in one tool.
Buzz
NoteMeeting
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while NoteMeeting is strong for cross-language meetings that need live translation alongside notes. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and NoteMeeting 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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