Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Owll: AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls and meetings into summaries and prioritized action items. 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 Owll when capturing in-person meetings on a phone or watch matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls and meetings into summaries and prioritized action items.
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
Owll is an AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes meetings and other audio and turns them into organized summaries and action items. It supports real-time transcription on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, and can record meetings live or process recordings after the fact, along with phone recordings and other audio sources. After transcription, Owll generates automated summaries, extracts action items, applies priority tags, and converts transcripts into structured smart notes that users can review and share. The product is available across platforms, with iOS and Android mobile apps that include Apple Watch support, plus web-based access and cloud storage for recordings and summaries, making it usable both at a desk and on the move for in-person capture. Owll is aimed at professionals and teams who attend frequent virtual or in-person meetings and want a single place to capture conversations, retrieve decisions, and follow up on tasks without manual note-taking. Its mobile-first design makes it suitable for capturing both online calls and face-to-face discussions. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Owll is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Owll |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Real-time transcription for Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Live or post-call recording, plus phone and other audio sources |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Automated summaries with extracted, priority-tagged action items |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | iOS and Android apps with Apple Watch support |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Web access with cloud storage for recordings and summaries |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Conversion of transcripts into structured smart notes |
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.
Owll
Choose Owll if you need transcribing and summarizing virtual meetings on zoom or teams — strengths include works across major video meeting platforms and mobile.
Buzz
Owll
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Owll is strong for transcribing and summarizing virtual meetings on zoom or teams. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Owll 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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