Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Otter.ai: Real-time meeting transcription, summaries and conversational AI search 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 Otter.ai when note-taking for interviews and lectures 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.
Real-time meeting transcription, summaries and conversational AI search
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
Otter.ai joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams calls to transcribe them live, identify speakers, and generate summaries with action items. The free Basic plan includes 300 transcription minutes per month; paid plans raise the minute cap, allow longer meetings, and add advanced AI workflows and team features. Otter integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier, and offers an MCP server for AI assistants.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Otter.ai is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Real-time transcription |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | OtterPilot auto-join agent |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI summaries and action items |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Searchable meeting notes |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Live highlights and comments |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Real-time transcription |
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.
Otter.ai
Choose Otter.ai if you need real-time meeting transcription — strengths include fast, accurate real-time transcription.
Buzz
Otter.ai
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Otter.ai is strong for live transcription you can read during the meeting. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Otter.ai is from $8.33/mo. 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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