Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Scribbl: Chrome extension that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings without sending a bot into the call. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Scribbl when generating summaries and action items after meetings 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.
Chrome extension that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings without sending a bot into the call.
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
Scribbl is an AI meeting note taker delivered as a Chrome extension that records and transcribes calls and generates summaries with action items, without sending a separate bot participant into the meeting. Instead of a visible bot joining the call, Scribbl captures the audio and video through the browser, transcribes the conversation, and then produces an AI summary highlighting key points and decisions. It combines the recording, transcript, and AI output so users can search back through a meeting to find specific moments. The tool supports a large set of languages for transcription and is built to work within the user's existing browser-based meeting workflow. Its primary supported platform is Google Meet, with additional conferencing platforms indicated as part of its roadmap. Scribbl is aimed at professionals and teams who want lightweight, bot-free meeting notes directly from the browser, including people who prefer not to have an extra participant appear in their calls while still keeping searchable records of what was discussed. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Scribbl is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Scribbl |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Chrome extension that records and transcribes meetings |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Bot-free capture directly through the browser |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI summaries with key points and action items |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Searchable combination of video, transcript, and notes |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Support for many transcription languages |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Chrome extension that records and transcribes 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.
Scribbl
Choose Scribbl if you need taking bot-free notes during google meet calls — strengths include captures meetings without adding a visible bot participant.
Buzz
Scribbl
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Scribbl is strong for taking bot-free notes during google meet calls. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Scribbl 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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