Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Prismical: Open-source AI note taker that transcribes meetings, lectures, and voice notes locally without bots, then organizes them into structured, actionable notes. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Prismical when capturing voice notes and turning them into structured, searchable notes matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Open-source AI note taker that transcribes meetings, lectures, and voice notes locally without bots, then organizes them into structured, actionable 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
Prismical is an open-source AI note taker, from the Amical project, that transcribes meetings, lectures, and voice notes using local AI and without an invasive bot joining the call. It captures system audio in the background and processes it locally with Whisper and Parakeet models, while optionally connecting to cloud providers such as OpenAI, Claude, or Gemini using the user's own API keys. The project is MIT-licensed and actively maintained, with a Prismical Desktop v0.1.0 release in May 2026 and beta mobile apps for iOS and Android. Built with Electron, Next.js, TailwindCSS, and Ollama integration, it provides real-time meeting transcription via system audio capture and a floating widget that shows live transcripts as a conversation happens. Beyond capture, Prismical generates AI-powered summaries and extracts action items, and it keeps notes organized, structured, and searchable with full-text search across captured content. It also exposes an MCP server integration for connecting the tool into broader AI workflows. The combination of bot-free local capture, structured summaries, and free-forever positioning makes it a privacy-oriented alternative to cloud meeting notetakers for individuals who want their recordings to stay on their own devices. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Prismical is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Prismical |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Bot-free real-time meeting transcription via system audio capture |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Local-first processing using Whisper and Parakeet models |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI-powered summaries and action-item extraction |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Floating widget for live transcripts during a conversation |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Full-text search across captured notes |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Optional cloud providers (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini) with user API keys |
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.
Prismical
Choose Prismical if you need individuals transcribing and summarizing meetings or lectures without inviting a bot — strengths include captures meetings and voice notes locally without a bot joining calls.
Buzz
Prismical
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Prismical is strong for individuals transcribing and summarizing meetings or lectures without inviting a bot. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Prismical is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary.
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