Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Prevail: Prevail is an AI-assisted testimony management and court reporting platform that delivers real-time transcription for legal depositions and proceedings. 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 Prevail when collaborative attorney note-taking and key-moment tagging during testimony 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.
Prevail is an AI-assisted testimony management and court reporting platform that delivers real-time transcription for legal depositions and proceedings.
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
Prevail is an AI-assisted testimony management and court reporting platform purpose-built for legal proceedings such as depositions. Its AI Speech Capture panel begins transcribing the moment a Session Manager presses record, displaying spoken dialogue as structured segments with speaker labels and timestamps that update in real time, while machine learning improves accuracy as the session unfolds. Transcripts are synchronized with the session audio and video, and certified transcripts are delivered within a few business days. Its transcription and translation services handle audio and video files of multiple formats and support over 90 languages. The CheckMate solution consolidates real-time transcription, speaker identification, and collaborative note-taking into one workspace, with secure integration to a firm's chosen LLM for AI-generated analysis. Prevail supports remote, hybrid, and in-person proceedings and is accessed through a web-based interface, meeting SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 standards. It is built for legal professionals including law firms, corporations, and government agencies.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Prevail is custom pricing (contact sales). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Prevail |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Real-time AI transcription with live speaker labels and timestamps |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Audio/video synchronization with transcripts during sessions |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Collaborative note-taking and key-moment tagging (CheckMate) |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Secure integration with a firm's chosen LLM for AI analysis |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Transcription and translation supporting 90+ languages |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Support for remote, hybrid, and in-person proceedings |
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.
Prevail
Choose Prevail if you need capturing and transcribing remote, hybrid, or in-person legal depositions in real time — strengths include purpose-built for legal depositions with synchronized audio, video, and transcript.
Buzz
Prevail
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Prevail is strong for capturing and transcribing remote, hybrid, or in-person legal depositions in real time. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Prevail is custom pricing. 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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