Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. OpenWhispr: Open-source, privacy-first voice-to-text desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux that also transcribes meetings into AI-organized notes. 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 OpenWhispr when turning rough in-meeting notes into structured summaries and action items 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.
Open-source, privacy-first voice-to-text desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux that also transcribes meetings into AI-organized notes.
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
OpenWhispr is an open-source desktop application for macOS, Windows, and Linux that converts speech to text and includes a meeting notes capability built on the same engine. Its core function is global-hotkey dictation that inserts transcribed text at the cursor in any application, but it also ships an AI Notepad for meetings, an AI Chat that can reference past meetings, and an audio upload feature for transcribing recorded files. For meetings it captures the computer's audio directly rather than sending a bot into the call, transcribes the conversation in the background, and combines rough notes with the transcript to produce structured minutes that highlight decisions, action items, and next steps. Transcription can run locally using bundled Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet models or connect to cloud models with a bring-your-own-key setup, and the project emphasizes that audio can be processed and discarded for privacy. The codebase is publicly available on GitHub and the app is actively maintained through 2026. It is aimed at developers, writers, and individuals or small teams who want a private, auditable, cross-platform transcription and meeting-notes tool. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); OpenWhispr is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | OpenWhispr |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Open-source and auditable, with code published on GitHub |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Cross-platform desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Local transcription via bundled Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet models |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Bring-your-own-key cloud model option for flexibility |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | AI Notepad that turns rough meeting notes plus transcript into structured minutes |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Full-text search and AI Chat across captured meetings |
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.
OpenWhispr
Choose OpenWhispr if you need privately transcribing computer-audio meetings without a bot joining the call — strengths include fully open source, so users can inspect and self-host the code.
Buzz
OpenWhispr
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while OpenWhispr is strong for privately transcribing computer-audio meetings without a bot joining the call. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and OpenWhispr is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Often yes: teams combine tools when one handles capture and another handles analysis.
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